by Johnathan Jackson
It all started when Dalen Prince blew out the candles on his cake for his 17th birthday. It was a rather plain affair that only inspired excitement in the dullards. Dalen shared similar sentiments but he found himself lucky enough to have parents who still did this for him. With a harsh and heavy blow to the candles, the sparks flicked off and a light smoke danced into the ceiling. His father clapped him on his back as a sign of congratulations and his mother lovingly sobbed over a “brand new chapter in his life”. It was the same as always and Dalen mostly relished the consistency. He maneuvered himself away from his parents and went to grab a knife to cut open the cake. It lay there cold, gray, yet glistening. Dalen made a move for it when an animalistic screech, high pitched and gravelly, pushed out towards him.
“Meow.” His hand paused. A black cat had found itself seated on the counter pawing at the knife that should be in Dalen’s hands. The young man gave a skeptical look to his parents but they didn’t share it back with him.
“Don’t take too long Dalen, I didn’t pick strawberry for your benefit.” His father said while rubbing his stomach crudely. His mother snickered quietly and the sounds of that laughter were akin to a yipping puppy. Dalen probably would have let out a small pity laugh if his father hadn’t been repeating the joke all his life. But he wasn’t worried about such stagnation. Dalen was worried about how the cat was eyeing him, almost daring him to take the knife it had in its claws.
“I’ll cave.” Dalen thought. He reached for the knife and with a sudden speed the cat opened up its small mouth and bit down on Dalen’s hand. Hard. The young man grunted in pain and furiously tried to pry it away. Seeing the cat flailing about as its teeth sunk in deeper was almost comical. His parents were talking or perhaps shouting as he was moving but Dalen couldn’t be too concerned about them at the moment. The pain seemed to be increasing at a significant rate too drastic for Dalen to handle, only further disrupting his balance and–
“Jesus! That cake cost a fortune!” His father said worryingly. (The cake was always cheap)
“Well, aren’t you clumsy!” His mother said jokingly. (She always said that)
The point is that Dalen knocked over the cake and fell on top of it. Its artificial pinkness oozed on the tiled floor and Dalen’s blood dripped over it in a flood. The young man hadn’t known when the cat released him and it pissed him off that the feline was now nowhere to be seen. Such a peculiar event couldn’t happen again, could it?
It could. Dalen Prince had finally decided that he should at least be in a romantic relationship by now. Everyone else he knew did. The young man decided on a not too tall, not too short, not too ugly, and not too attractive young woman. She had been in his Chemistry class in 9th grade and figured that small connection would benefit him. He ended up with a phone number not too different from his and they planned a date.
“Where would you wanna go?” Dalen asked her.
“I’m not sure, why don’t you decide?” She responded.
“How about bowling?”
“I don’t like bowling.”
“Ice skating?”
“I hate the cold.”
“Movie?”
“I haven’t seen any I have liked.”
They decided to go shopping at the local mall but Dalen was already beginning to regret pursuing the chick at all. The young woman pranced about with her self-righteous noncommitment, picking up something and quickly putting it down as something else had caught her eye. Dalen merely crumbled as he followed her around like a petulant child. His mood didn’t seem to have any chance of brightening until the pair came into a store. Dalen could care less about the name of the property he was standing in but he did care about an item so haphazardly placed in a bargain bin filled with cheap jewelry.
It was a glistening chrome gray chain that reflected a silver light in between Dalen’s eyes. It seemed to be stainless and the object gave off a sense of peculiarness best suited for one such as Dalen Prince. The young man ignored his date’s flouncing and bent down to reach for the chain.
“Meow”. The black cat crawled out of the bargain bin and scooped up the chain with its small mouth. Dalen cowardly backed away, deftly looking at the scar on his hand which marked the cat’s attitude towards him. His parents had assured him that no cat was present on his birthday and resolved the thing to be related to the “stress of growing up” but now there lay proof of Dalen’s enemy.
“It’s all yours, kitty,” Dalen said while raising his hands. He moved to turn around and was quickly greeted with a ring to his face. The impact was heavy and Dalen felt it scratch horridly to the left of his forehead. He groaned in pain and felt warmness trickle down lamely. He furiously wiped the small cut’s redness away with his hands and spotted the ring which was spinning on the floor. It lacked any design to cause such damage and Dalen grunted in annoyance as he spotted the black cat swishing its tail. It seemed to be prepped for another attack but Dalen Prince was far too pissed to let that happen again.
He rushed the bargain pin without thinking and before he was able to reach the black cat it jumped high into the air. It was a sight to see and unfortunately, Dalen was in awe of the spectacle for too long and found himself crashing into a bin full of somewhat heavy objects. He flipped frontwards, landing on his face while the bin emptied its contents on the floor. Dalen heard the sound of employees or bystanders rushing to see the sight but all he cared about was ending that damned cat!
As he rose slightly off the floor he saw the cat strutting away from him. Almost as if it noticed Dalen’s eyes on it, the creature stopped and turned around, clutching the chrome chain in its mouth. With a dramatic flourish, it bit down the chain, snapping it apart. It seemed to smile at Dalen’s anguish as it faced frontwards again and disappeared from view.
Dalen did get a second date though.
“Meow”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Dalen Prince thought. Currently, he is riding a Ferris Wheel by himself. After 3 months of dating it seemed as though his girlfriend had finally picked up on his lack of enthusiasm. They had been arguing all day and it got so bad that she up and left him at the amusement park. Dalen couldn’t find it in himself to care that badly but he did feel somewhat crummy about it. He decided to take his hurt feelings on the rotating attraction and a few seconds after it started the black cat appeared to the left of him.
“Meow,” it said, swishing its tail. It peered up at Dalen and its small mouth seemed to curve into something similar to a smile. This rightfully creeped out the young man, causing him to stand up from his seat and back into a corner.
“Listen, I don’t like you and you clearly don’t like me, okay? I don’t know what I did but I am willing to apologize if you leave me alone from now on.” Dalen stated. The cat cocked its head to the left, almost not understanding Dalen’s words. It crawled its way on the seat towards him and crouched up to be on its hind legs, coming with a tallness that barely reached Dalen’s stomach.
“Okayyyyy” Dalen said awkwardly. The cat ignored the young man’s musings and slowly lifted a dainty black paw. Dalen merely stared at the appendage with a look of uncomfortableness and couldn’t help but want to retreat further into the corner despite it not going that deep. The cat whimpered in frustration and seemed to be trying its best to wiggle that paw around to draw its importance.
“Do you want me to shake your paw?” Dalen asked dubiously. The cat in question shook its head, yes and the young man’s stomach started to lift a little. The cat was obviously trying to form some sort of peace with him! It was offering a handshake to squash all of the tension that was between them for some reason and Dalen was certainly glad for it! He excitedly grabbed onto the cat’s paw and shook it with elation. It was embarrassing to admit but he was starting to become a little paranoid. The cat was such an enigma that Dalen couldn’t help but break into cold sweats at night, anxious for the feline’s return but that was all over now.
“I am sorry for whatever I did to you, ya know,” He said whilst still shaking the paw.
“It’s been really hard dealing wi-”
The Ferris Wheel came to an abrupt stop. Dalen let go of the cat’s paw and quickly spied through the window. He had just so happened to be at the tallest point and couldn’t help but curse his luck.
Wait a minute.
Dalen’s eyes immediately went back to the black cat and the young man could tell its smile had gotten deeper and certainly more sinister. The young man was gunning to kick that cat so hard one of the windows would break but merely a blink later and the cat was gone. Just leaving him on a stuck Ferris Wheel seemed pretty tame for the cat. Dalen would just have to wait for the intercom to come on and figure out a time in which he would be carried down. However, the cat was never one for long-term pain. The little creature loved to cause a nice but short painful experience in Dalen’s life.
“So what would it be?” Dalen said aloud. The very moments those words were spoken the young man heard a sharp creak from the cart he was residing in. His stomach began to sink into his butt when several more creaks started to sprout around him, getting louder and louder.
“No way.” Another creak.
“No way.” Another.
“Oh God,” Dalen whispered, and with a startling finality a loud crack emanated from his cart. The young man dropped to his stomach as the cart began to tumble down the Ferris Wheel. He had heard that if an elevator started to descend rapidly a person was supposed to spread themselves out in hopes of shifting the damage from the force around the body.
It probably was only a few seconds in actuality but it seemed like years to Dalen as he fell. He did see his life flash before his eyes but it was all so repetitive and similar that it bore no importance to him.
The cart landed with a crash scaring the bystanders and the pigeons. One brave employee set out to check on the passenger even though he knew quite well what he would find. Some pieces of the infrastructure fell with the cart so the brave young lad picked what seemed to be a glistening gray pole and jammed it into the doors. He pried and pried and with great detriment to his arm the doors came loose and he was greeted with quite a sight. He saw a young man relatively younger than himself in a rocking position with quite a pissed-off face.
“Took ya long enough.” Dalen Prince said tiredly. The employee seemed to be in quite the shock but all Dalen could focus on was the swishing tail that wormed its way between his savior’s legs. The young man wanted to catch the thing, he really did but he was feeling quite terrified and couldn’t force himself to move his legs.
They called him ‘Miracle Boy” in the newspaper. It was pretty funny.
—————————————————————————————————————————
Now there proved to be many instances in which Dalen Prince and that mysterious black cat interacted. After the Ferris Wheel accident, it started to appear more frequently and was very obviously ruining Dalen’s life. He could barely keep himself functional when something bad seemed to happen once every week. He tried his best to run, fight, or hide away from the feline but for whatever reason it always found him. This hopelessness that grew inside him eventually became so unbearable that the young man found himself seated at a bench in the pitch-black darkness of night.
“What am I supposed to do, God?” Dalen asked. The young man was never truly that deep into his Christian religion but almost every time something went wrong he couldn’t help but pray. Whether it be to ask for a favor or guidance is truly left for discussion. The poor boy groaned into his hands with self-pity encompassing him. Dalen Prince never felt like he was someone cruel or mean in particular. He was just a poorly average kid stuck in a poorly average life so, why can’t the cat go for somebody else? Sure it took great lengths to not kill him but the life-threatening experiences weren’t something Dalen wanted to be collecting. He just wanted to continue to be average and even if it was boring at least he wouldn’t be dealing wi-
“Meow.”
No.
Dalen had figured out its pattern. It wasn’t supposed to come two times in a week! If it did that it would mean..
“The pattern is evolving.” Dalen thought hopelessly. Even in the deep blackness of night, the cat’s yellow eyes shone bright, haunting the poor boy. Dalen could just spot the signature swishing of its tail as it stalked forward to him. The young man swallowed loudly. He almost felt like letting the cat do whatever to him just so he could be at peace. He was tired of wallowing and just wanted to feel some semblance of normality. The moment he was considering and acting upon his acquisition he saw the cat’s stupid little manic grin. The feline was enjoying his pain causing fury to rage inside of Dalen.
“Fight it is.” Dalen thought. With a quickness that shouldn’t be allowed on someone so basic as him, the young man rose from the bench, kicked his foot up, and prepared to stomp this creature out until all of its 9 lives were spent!
“That’s quite enough.”
A voice appearing out of nowhere proved to startle the young man causing him to lose his balance and fall on the ground. He groaned and tried to get up before a powerful light blinded his eyes. It burned for a few sharp seconds and dubious expressions were released but as his eyes adjusted he was greeted to the sight of a hunched old man holding a flashlight.
“ You too, Shadow.” The old man said, quickly pointing his flashlight at the cat. Wait. The cat that only Dalen could see?
“You can see it?” Dalen said excitedly to a complete stranger. The old man studied him carefully for a before responding with:
“No, I cannot.”
“What? But you know it’s there, how can you not…? Wait, did you call it.. Shadow?” The boy said switching between thoughts and being quite confused.
“I would prefer it if we walked and talked. You being on the ground is not doing any good things for my back at the moment. ” The old man said tiredly.
“What about that thing!” Dalen said quickly, pointing to the cat in outrage. The feline in question however was not focused on Dalen. It merely eyed the old man in wonder and with a quick glare to its proclaimed enemy it strutted up to the elder and crawled its way to his shoulder. To Dalen’s surprise, the old man didn’t shrink or stagger with the added weight almost as if the cat wasn’t tangible at all.
“Looks like that’s settled,” The old man said, walking and stopping in front of the boy.
“Please, let’s walk and talk.”
Dalen still eyed the cat suspiciously but did eventually get up. The elder and Dalen gave each other their names and soon the pair began to walk along the park trail.
“Soooo…What exactly is the cat?” Dalen said lamely, kicking a loose pebble from the trail.
“It’s your shadow,” The old man said plainly.
“What?” Dalen interjected.
“The cat is your shadow or rather it’s the manifestation of your luck. Bad luck that is.”
Dalen nearly stopped in shock but forced himself to keep pace with the hunched man. It did make sense in all actuality. Terrible things would almost instantly start to happen once the cat was there and it always was at Dalen’s expense. But that logic didn’t keep the young man from asking more burning questions.
“Why is it so drastic at times then? Bad luck is like stubbing a toe or guessing wrong on a test but the cat nearly killed me! It dropped me from a Ferris Wheel!” Dalen said exasperatedly. The old man snorted rudely and the cat’s grin even in the dark still illuminated menacingly.
“How is that funny? I could have die-”
“But you didn’t, you couldn’t have. Bad luck never kills, it only interferes.”
The old man interjected.
“That’s stupid,” Dalen stated. The old man’s eyes grew tight but he didn’t see the need to rebuttal.
“People die in literally the most unfortunate and bizarre ways! That’s definitely bad luck.”
“No, that’s humanity. We are always killed by our humanity.” The old man said, suddenly stopping in the path. Dalen followed suit but scoffed as he did so.
“Really? How bout natural disasters? People die from those, so how are we always killed by humanity?” Dalen spat out. The old man sighed at the outburst but didn’t seem perturbed. His eyes clashed with Dalen’s and the sudden softness in them grew to try and calm the young man down from his anger.
“The moment that we are born we are cursed to die. Because we are human we die, no matter the circumstance. Bad luck or rather one’s Shadow only serves to interfere but it does have a deeper intent.” The elder said tightly.
“Which is..?” Dalen asked.
“To teach a lesson.” responded the old man. This caused the young man’s brows to furrow in confusion.
“ A lesson? All this cat is doing is screwing with me! How could there be any lesson?” Dalen said, nearly shouting at the old man. The elder however did not falter in his stance despite his deep hunch but his face did take on a more remorseful look, causing a rise of uncomfortableness in Dalen.
“What?! I thought you would answer my questions, so tell me why I would need a lesson?!” Dalen yelled. The old man regarded him with one eyebrow raised above his forehead.
“Because you can see it, Dalen. No one in this world should be able to see their Shadow but you can. I mean the only reason I know it’s perched on my shoulder is because of my teachings but it shouldn’t be visible.” The old man stated somberly.
“So why can I?” Dalen said quietly. The young man didn’t know why but he could just tell that old hunched man knew. He probably had already known the moment he could tell that Dalen had interacted with the damned cat.
“I don’t presume to know you, we just met. But I do know this: you don’t pay attention. You are so absorbed with the label that is averageness that you have stopped noticing the world around you. You go with the motions and don’t do much to change them. It would make sense for someone who bears no connection to the world to recognize its mysteries. Ironic isn’t it?” The old man said, chuckling.
“S-So the only way I could make the cat go away is to take charge with my life?” Dalen proposed.
“Possibly but your Shadow can’t ever go away.”
“What?”
“Bad luck can never fade or otherwise we would never have struggled! Humanity would be vastly different. Just think of al-”
“Stop!” Dalen shouted. The elder took a pause and made a clicking sound with his teeth, feeling slighted at the interruption. Dalen smiled apologetically at him and said:
“I’m sorry, okay? This is all very overwhelming. I just want the cat to stop making such big messes with my life. I’m fine with the occasional stepping in dog poop now and again; although I would prefer not having near death experiences anytime soon.”
The old man took in his words soundlessly and began to stroke his chin. After a few moments of quiet thought he suddenly reached into his pockets. He carefully tucked out a pair of glistening gray gloves and gingerly tugged them on. Dalen watched with bewilderment and considered saying something but he didn’t get there. The elder used his hands with such quickness and caught the black cat in his grasp. Both Dalen and his Shadow were quite surprised at it and the young man felt some satisfaction as the cat desperately fumbled for freedom.
“I can’t help you with that sadly. My teachings never prepared me for one such as you but I am positive that once you stop seeing your Shadow it won’t be quite as bad.” The old man said, shaking the cat a little more before dropping it. The feline hissed at the pair of humans and darted from the path into the night. Dalen had some hope it would leave him alone for today but deep down he knew better. The anguished look on the young man’s face caused the elder one to groan and with great reluctance he pulled off his shiny gloves and handed them to Dalen.
“R-Really? Why?” Dalen stuttered. The old man rolled his eyes.
“Yes, really. Shadows tend to be very malleable when it comes to certain items. The gloves will help you reign it in and I don’t have too many uses for them anyway. I do grow tired of your moping however. I mean your karma is so bad that I had to travel here and find the source!” The old man said, exasperated. Dalen’s eye widened and some form of a question was waiting to be released from his mouth but the old man waved him off quickly.
“No more questions! I can’t stand it. Let me do a good deed in peace.” The elder said and he promptly started down the path in the opposite direction. Dalen held the gloves as he watched the hunched man walk into the night, muttering to himself. The young man seemed content in letting him leave and crossing their meeting from his mind but that was just so…painfully boring.
“Thank you, Kotoru!” Dalen shouted. Huh? Since when did Dalen Prince start using names?
The old man, no, Kotoru didn’t make any sign that he cared about Dalen’s thanks. Yet if anyone were to stumble upon the old hunched man it was possible there was some traces of an arrogant but proud grin.
Dalen Prince stared for a few short seconds at the disappearance of the stranger before he turned around. The shimmering gloves were laid limply in his palms and indescribable emotions flooded the fool’s young brain. He merely shook his head and walked with purpose down the path knowing damn well he was not alone in the slightest. No……………
It Follows as well.
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