Small Wonders · complete story

When Tia’s Shadow Took a Holiday

Tedray · Light & imagination

Tia’s shadow was usually very obedient. It stood when she stood, danced when she danced and became enormously tall in the evening. On Tuesday, it sat on the garden bench and crossed its legs. ‘I need a holiday,’ it said. Tia looked at her feet. They had no shadow at all.

‘What does a shadow do on holiday?’ she asked. ‘Something different,’ it said. ‘You always choose the dance.’ Tia sat beside it. ‘I didn’t know you wanted a turn.’ The shadow pointed to the sundial. ‘Today I would like to be a clock hand.’

They asked Auntie to join their make-believe game. Auntie placed a toy beside the sundial and helped Tia draw where its real shadow fell. Later they came back and drew the new position. ‘A real shadow changes when the light changes,’ Auntie explained. ‘It doesn’t go on holiday by itself.’

Tia’s pretend shadow stretched one arm toward the first mark. Then it stretched toward the second. It looked very serious. ‘I am now a time expert.’ A butterfly landed on the sundial. ‘What time is it?’ Tia asked. ‘Butterfly o’clock,’ said the shadow.

At midday, Tia wanted to play chase. Her shadow wanted to make funny shapes on the path. They agreed to take turns. First Tia held her hands like rabbit ears and watched the real shadow of her hands on the ground. Then, in their story, the pretend shadow made a rabbit and Tia copied it.

The rabbit became a teapot. The teapot became a giraffe with very short legs. Auntie joined in as a dancing umbrella. Everybody had a turn, even the toy, which remained impressively still.

In the evening, Tia and Auntie looked again at the sundial drawing. The toy’s real shadow had grown long. Her pretend shadow stretched across the garden too. ‘My holiday was lovely,’ it said. ‘May I choose another game tomorrow?’ Tia promised it could.

Next morning, everything was ordinary again. Tia’s shadow followed her feet. But she stopped on the path and asked, ‘Rabbit or giraffe?’ The shadow did not speak, of course. It made exactly the shape her hands made. Tia chose a rabbit, and left a very long imaginary carrot beside it.