Shadow Without, Light Within

 Shadows Without, Light Within

By JessicaRae

The doors to the Great Hall had been carefully closed, marking the end of another

beautiful Winterfest. The wild winds blew around the tunnel folk and the helpers

as they carefully made their way toward the higher network of chambers and

tunnels where the kind people Below made their home. These lower tunnels, so

devoid of light or beauty, currently rang with the contented laughter of the

partygoers. The flicker of the many golden candles held aloft danced on the stone

walls around them, giving it a gentle, inviting glow – if one stayed in the boundary

of their light.

One helper walked a bit behind the group, who were now singing some cheerful

tunes on their trek up the passageway. It had been hard to hide the pain that the

helper felt inside during all the Fest’s grand speeches. Father had spoken of the

bygone era of the tunnels. “This was a land of lost hope, of twisted dreams, a land

of despair, where the sounds of footsteps coming down a tunnel were the sounds of

terror.” His poetic words ran through the helper’s thoughts over and over, despair

and lost hope becoming a mantra of darkness, as each step carried them up the

tunnel. Times had changed quite a bit since those early, dark days. Now, the light

held in some hands of the group cast its glow across them all. Although it was a

lovely, hopeful sight, the shimmering warmth could not touch the heavy, aching

darkness, that still lay at the helper’s heart like a stone.

“No one will notice if you step out of the light.”

The helper nearly froze mid-step in alarm at the sudden voice. Tunnel folk kindly

stepped around the helper, some accidentally colliding at the sudden block in the

moving line, and continued upward, their chatter fading into the background as the

helper looked for the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Glittering eyes blinked on the

dark wall opposite the small caravan.

What on earth?

The slim outline of a long black dragon peeled itself from the craggy surface and

slipped into the throng of laughing folk. Close enough to reach out and touch, it

chuckled, the dragon’s lips curled upwards in what could have been called a smile,

had the curve completely reached its eyes. “I have been here for quite a while, and

would you believe no one noticed me either. See, they think their candlelight

brings them this great light, but in truth it brings a distinct boundary to the edge of

the darkness, gives me plenty places to hide. It's fun, you know, this darkness.

Makes you blend in with the shadows and no one sees. They think their lights

dispel it, but no. It merely shoved the dark aside for a moment, but it always comes

back when the light is gone. So, what are you? You have darkness, I can see it

around you. But the source is kept in here.” The creature’s long, thin tongue

flicked toward the helper’s chest.

Startled, the helper stepped sideways to avoid the apparition touching them,

resulting in colliding again with a tall figure. Looking up, they found themselves

next to the friendly pipe master of the tunnels, Pascal. He had nearly dropped the

basket of silverware he was carrying on his shoulder at the sudden jostling, but

quickly recovered and cast a shy, gentle smile in the direction of the helper.

“Easy there, topsider. Bit narrow here for you, is it? No worries. Here, take a firm

hold of my arm, there, that’ll keep you steady.”

The helper frowned, not used to this continual show of kindness, and feeling a bit

overwhelmed, reached and let their fingers barely grasp the rough cloth of his

sleeve.

“Look at you, a topsider, heh?” The noisy black dragon flitted in and out of the

shadows on the wall, disappearing and reappearing with each flicker of the

candlelight. The helper shut their eyes for a moment, the sight of the quickly

moving creature making them feel dizzy and disoriented.

“I say!” The dragon was suddenly at their side again, its black eyes glimmering

with the reflected light of the multitude of candles. “Aren’t you a bit weak, there!

Really! Need physical support to just stay with the crowd? Hey, you don’t need

that, a mere helper like you. You are simply slowing the good fellow down. Just

hang onto me, and I will guide you in the shadows. More room to walk there and

think your own thoughts. The light is so crowded, look how you are being jostled

around.”

The helper dodged another helper carrying a bundle of tablecloths on their

shoulder and glanced ahead at the merry group, most of them tunnel folk, climbing

toward the upper network of tunnels, and then turned their focus to the eager

dragon beside them. In that moment, it felt as if the scaly creature was the only one

that had noticed the helper’s weariness and emotional fragility. This was not true,

but the helper had already forgotten the offering of Pascal’s arm. It had vanished

with one glimpse of the dragon’s eye.

Reaching toward the specter, the helper laid a hand on the mane of the creature.

Immediately, a dark strength filled the thoughts of the helper, and they put one foot

in front of the other, following the light but falling further into the darkness.

They had almost reached the main tunnels again. All around the scaly dragon and

his helper swirled the cheering and happy voices of those saying farewell to the

helpers and those that had needed their help.

“Come this way,” spoke the creature, tugging the helper away from the cheerful

mob.

They considered for a moment, but when no one seemed to be paying any attention

to them, they accepted the companionship of darkness and moved down the side

tunnel with the creature.

The voices faded into the distance with each step toward the darkness that the

helper took. “Isn’t this great?” the dragon exclaimed, swishing along beside the

helper. “There is only darkness here. No fighting with the light.”

“But I can’t see,” the helper replied, confused. “What good will being in the

darkness do if I can’t see anything?”

The glittery eyes, all they could see of the dragon, slowly turned their direction,

blinking very slowly, ominously. “I thought you wanted darkness?” the creature

hissed. “I brought you here because you couldn’t stand the light.”

“The light had nothing to do with it!” the helper explained, fear beginning to

replace confusion. “I -I just wanted someone to listen, to notice that I was feeling

so broken, and you listened, you noticed. But it hasn’t made me feel any better. I

want to go back, please take me back to the tunnels.”

“I don’t rescue,” the dragon replied haughtily. “I devour.”

The helper then realized that this darkness was not coming to aid their sorrow, but

to feed from it, to grow stronger from someone else’s weakness.

They took a step away from the glittering eyes, trying to control their breathing,

and orient themselves to the direction that they had come from.

The dragon chuckled.

“Mere human, you really think that you can simply walk back into the light? Look

around you. There is no light here except for my eyes. The darkness is your home

now, you cannot escape it. You don’t know which way to go to get back to the

light.”

The helper felt as if their entire world was crumbling around them. They were lost.

Forever. The scenes of yesterday still rolling over and over in their mind, the

gaiety, the joy, the singing. It was all gone, the last moments of light they would

ever experience. Sinking to the ground, the helper curled into the tightest ball

possible, begging their mind to wake them up from such a horrible dream. In the

darkness, all other senses awoke in the absence of sight and something in their

pocket caught their attention. After a moment’s hesitation, an idea dawned on the

helper.

“I am not forgotten,” the helper said softly, drawing the newly discovered

something from their pocket slowly, fingers grasping tight to the smooth surface

with all their strength in case the dragon tried to take it away. “These people, I

must mean something to them. I – I see it now. They made sure that I had the light.

Before I ever saw the darkness, they gave me the light. I - I just chose not to use

it.”

“What do you mean,” the dragon snarled, confusion in its tone. “There is nothing

here but me – and my darkness.”

“Yes,” The helper replied, fishing in another pocket. “It is darkness. Truly, true

darkness. And yes, you make it – very - dismal and enslaving. But only if one does

not turn on the light they already have.”

There was a strike of a match, loud in the stillness, and the tiny flame leaped up, as

if eager to dispel the darkness.

“No! No!” the creature growled, leaping toward the dimly flickering glow. “You

don’t need that, you need me! You love the darkness; you love the shadows!”

“You are a long way from the path,” a gentle, familiar voice spoke behind them.

With an angry hiss, the creature faded back into the shadows, eyes glittering in the

candlelight.

Pascal stepped from the shadows, a kind smile on his face. “Lost you back there,

topsider. There’s tea in the library and Mary made cake, don’t want you to miss it.”

Gladly, the helper reached out a hand for support and stood, dusting off the tunnel

dust, candle still clutched in one hand.

“Handy things, candles, aren’t they,” Pascal asked softly, and the helper nodded,

glancing back to see if the dragon still hovered beyond the edge of the light. Pascal

reached out and turned their gaze back toward him with one finger, shaking his

head.

“Let it go, topsider. Stay within the light, and the darkness can only threaten its

presence. It can’t touch you inside the light.”

“But what if I am ever alone,” the helper asked, following him up the tunnel,

concernedly glancing back every now and then.

Pascal smiled but kept walking.

“You are never alone.”

He turned and pointed toward the Helper’s chest. “The light is always in there.

May be dim sometimes. May even go out. But it can be relit. Just hang around the

people you love. Don’t ever listen to a voice that tells you that darkness is your

only option. Follow the light. It will lead you back to what matters.”

“Thanks, Pascal. I truly appreciate you coming back to find me. You noticed I was

gone?”

Pascal smiled kindly, moving along the tunnel again.

“When you spend as much time as I do listening to pipes by yourself, you know all

about the darkness. It kind of just comes sometimes, you know, at night, when no

one pops in to visit. But these people, these tunnel people, they all have stories.

They all know darkness, but yet, they choose the light over and over again.”

The helper nodded thoughtfully, following the gentle pipe master toward the

increasing sound of laughter and family.

Far away in the shadows, the dragon of darkness slipped away, looking for

someone else to deceive.

Far away in the tunnels, a bitter heart dwelled, scheming, hating, seething.

“Hello, darkness.”

“Hello, Paracelsus.”