It was a peaceful afternoon.
Haruka wandered aimlessly through the park.
The wind swayed the trees, and golden sunlight bathed the grass.
Somewhere in the distance, children laughed, and small birds chattered in the branches above.
A rare day off.
Between the relentless routine of work, these quiet strolls had become Haruka’s smallest luxury.
Then—
A shadow flickered at her feet.
“Hey, onee-san! Let’s play shadow tag!”
A small voice chirped behind her.
Haruka turned.
A young girl stood there, smiling up at her.
She looked around seven or eight years old, dressed in a white sundress, with long dark hair draping over her shoulders.
Her bright eyes shone with mischief.
“Shadow tag?” Haruka echoed.
“Yeah! Can you step on my shadow?”
Haruka hesitated, then smiled.
It had been so long since she had played such a simple game.
“Alright. But no running away, okay?”
“Hehe… let’s see if you can catch me!”
With that, the girl twirled around and darted across the sunlit lawn.
Haruka chased after her, laughing, reaching for the dancing shadow—
But every time she got close, the girl slipped away, light as a falling leaf.
“Wait!”
Finally—
Haruka’s foot landed on the girl’s shadow.
“Got you!”
But—
Something felt wrong.
The shadow was fading.
At first, Haruka thought it was just her imagination.
But as they continued playing, the girl’s shadow grew paler and paler, as if it was dissolving into the ground.
Then, the girl suddenly stopped.
“Onee-san…”
She turned back to Haruka, her expression unreadable.
“Can I… stay here?”
Haruka felt a chill run down her spine.
“What do you mean?”
The girl lowered her gaze, smiling uncertainly.
“I don’t really know. But… when I come here, it feels fun. It feels real. But then… I just… disappear.”
The wind stirred.
Leaves danced in the air, rustling softly—
And in the next moment—
The girl vanished.
As if carried away by the breeze.
Not even her shadow remained.
Haruka stood frozen.
Had she imagined it?
A hallucination? A dream?
Yet—
She could still feel the warmth of the girl’s laughter lingering in the air.
The Search for a Shadow
After that day—
Haruka began returning to the park every weekend.
She walked the same paths, searching for a small shadow on the grass.
Listening carefully to the wind—
Waiting for that soft voice to call out again—
“Hey, onee-san! Let’s play shadow tag!”
One more time.
