The Shadow Dancer
By Chloe and Anna
Chapter 1: Sierra
Dear Diary,
I’ve been seeing these… shadows. They aren’t the normal shadow, more like… a person… following me. I’m scared…
Sierra wrote. It was just a normal Friday night after a long long day at Oak Ridge High.
Sierra lived in a normal two-story house, in the dull suburb town of Sleepy Hollow in Upstate New York. She was the third of five children, and her parents rarely paid attention to her. They were always busy with work. Besides, they had their favorite child, Sierra’s oldest sister. She was the smartest, most beautiful girl in town. Sierra was just there. In fact, she was the social outcast at school. She never spoke to anyone except for Alexa, Sierra’s only friend.
Alexa was the opposite. She was extroverted, and loved talking to people. But Alexa had been acting differently, always wanting to spend every minute with Sierra. Sierra didn’t think much of it, until one day, when Alexa came to her with a tearful expression on her face. Her parents had been arguing for years now, but they had never talked about separating. It wasn’t like a normal relationship. You could tell that they weren’t in love anymore.
The night that Alexa came over, it was the first time Sierra had seen The Shadows. While she was comforting Alexa, Sierra saw something moving out of the corner of her eye. Everything went quiet, and shadows started dancing. Slowly, moving ever so slightly closer. It wasn’t normal; it was fascinating in a creepy way. The shadows got so close that Sierra could feel something brushing her cheek, as if it was twirling around her, moving through her over and over again. She almost started to dance herself. She was about to stand up, when she heard Alexa.
“Sierra? Are you okay? You look…” Alexa asked, in a worried tone looking up at her. Sierra snapped out of her trance.
“Huh? Wh-where am I?”
“What do you mean? We’re at your house - I came over like an hour ago…”
“Oh yeah, sorry.”
The shadows seemed to slink away and disappear into the dark.
Chapter 2: The Shadow Dancer
The girl walked through the halls, head down, people knocking into her as though she isn’t there. Something’s wrong, the shadow dancer can feel it. Something’s wrong with this girl… something’s wrong with this… place. The shadow dancer was so lost in their thoughts that the girl got swallowed up in the crowd.
“Where has she gone…”
“Sierra! How are you?” The shadow dancer whipped around at the high pitched shriek like sound that comes out of the most homely girl they have ever seen. There the girl is, her name must be Sierra.
“What do you want, Amelia?” Sierra asked nervously, trying to edge away.
“How are your friends?” Amelia asks in a sing-song voice.
“I-I only have one…” Sierra almost whispers.
“I know, just reminding you!” Amelia mocks.
“Amelia, leave me alone! I can’t believe we used to be friends!” Sierra’s face is flushed and red from embarrassment, but once Amelia hears Sierra's words, she grabs Sierra and pins her to the wall.
“DON’T EVER MENTION THAT!” She almost screams, making the shadow dancer stumble back. Amelia freezes, and with a frightened expression on her face, she slams Sierra into the wall. All of a sudden, Amelia feels something brush back her hair.
“Leave while you still can,” the shadow dancer whispers into Amelia’s ear. With that, Amelia pulls away, spinning on her heels, and runs, never looking back.
The shadow dancer watches as Sierra struggles to get up, and they feel something they have never felt before. It’s a strange feeling to them; it feels like someone has stabbed them in the heart. It's hard to describe, but they know it’s not good, nor bad. The shadow dancer wants to help, and they reach for the books at their feet. They pick them up, trying to give them back, but Sierra looks frightened and backs away. The Shadow Dancer's silhouette is a shadowy whole.
“W-what’s going on…” She says nervously.
The shadow dancer starts to get frustrated. They flip the books open, trying to find the right words to explain. They cover the words with their hand, making them bold. Although the hallways are full of students rushing to classes, Sierra is the only one who sees it. Eventually, she starts to understand.
“Are you trying to tell me something?” She asks like she’s using a ouija board.
The shadow dancer rolls their eyes and just continues.
“I am a – shadow dancer?” Sierra reads. “What’s a shadow dancer?”
“We are monsters that take over human souls…” She continues. “Are you going to take over my soul?!? Am I going insane?” She asks frantically.
“NO! I’m here to help you, but you need to be confident. Now will you let me finish explaining?”
“Sure?” Sierra says..
“Terrific.” This is the first time the shadow dancer has ever spoken in their entire life, but Sierra can hear them. Their voice is raspy and soft, tinted with loneliness. It reminds Sierra of her grandmother.
“Y-you can talk?” A startled Sierra shrieks.
“Yes, all shadow dancers can. Shadow dancers can turn into anything you can ever imagine. Their original form is a music box. Each music box is unique to every shadow dancer, here’s mine.” The shadow dancer says. Then, Sierra feels something heavy drop into her hands. It's a stunning music box. She gasps.
“It’s beautiful!”
“Yes. The music box signifies parts of my life. The black dancer signifies how I’ve been alone since forever. It’s black with pain, just like me. The broken shards of the mirror, they signify my heart. There used to be hundreds of complete mirrors.”
“Then why are they broken now?” Sierra asks, her fingers grazing over the glass.
“Your kind hunted my kin. So many fo my family have died because of humans. The mirrors are broken because my heart has been broken.” Sierra could hear the sorrow in their voice.
“How many did they kill?” Sierra asks, her voice hushed.
“Too many to count. I may be the only shadow dancer left. Unfortunately, even though shadow dancers live forever, if left alone, they will disappear when they are 1,000 years old. I’m already 998. Two more years, and I’ll be done for.”
“Wait! Didn’t you say every shadow dancer has a music box?”
“Yes, why?”
“I saw one once. It was in my friend’s attic.” As Sierra speaks, she can feel the shadow dancer get excited. The shadows around her are lively, and she can hear the excitement in their voice when they speak.
“You must help me find the other shadow dancer. In exchange I’ll help you deal with Amelia. Any longer, and I will fade away. Please help me.”
“I promise to help you. In the meantime, what should I call you?”
“I haven’t had a name in a long time, but I suppose you could call me Julie.”
Chapter 3: Sierra
“I’m telling you Juile is real,” Sierra said breathlessly. She walked into Alexia’s house. She had ran the whole way there.
“But ghosts aren't real.”
“Julie’s not a ghost, they’re a Shadow Dancer. They are these beings that live as shadows and take over forms of people, and I think help them.”
They walked into Alexia's room and sat on the bed. “Are you ok? Like did you sleep last night?”
“I am better than I have been in a long time. Aren’t you tired of hiding in the bathroom and always looking twice before entering the hallway? Aren’t you tired of always wearing clothes that are so bulky so that no one makes a comment? And aren’t you tired of being the punch line in one of the popular girls' inside jokes?”
“Of course I am, but this thing can’t help with any of that.” Alexa said, putting a comforting hand on Sierra’s shoulder.
“But Julie can help. They helped me today when Amelia was bullying me and Julie scared her off. I know I sound crazy, but I think this could work. We can spend the last two years of high school happy.” Sierra’s face was sincere.
“Um, you probably should go home. Let's talk about it on Monday, ok? Alexa said, trying to get out of the situation.
“Sure, you believe me though, right? Julie says that she’s the only shadow dancer left. I know you have a music box, right? You have the other one! I remember it.”
“Yeah, but there’s no way I’m giving that to you. That’s my mom’s most prized possession! It’s been in our family for so many generations. Every time I get within 6 feet of it, she yells at me and gets really mad. Even if she lets me have it, there’s still no way that it's a shadow dancer or whatever.” Alexa says as she walks Sierra to the door. Is this really happening? But maybe Sierra has a point though, maybe if Alexa takes control of her life she can be happy.
Chapter 4: The Real Bully
RINNNGGG! Sierra raced down the halls of the school Monday morning looking for Alexa. It was going to be the day they turned their lives around with the help of Julie.
“Alexa!” She looked different; she was wearing a mini skirt and a new Lululemon crop top, and she had her hair curled in a high ponytail. She was talking with Amelia, laughing. What was happening? Had she become friends with the bully?
“Oh Sierra, we were just talking about you.”
“So do the ghosts come out to scare us at night or can you summon them?” Amelia said with a cackle, swinging her hair over her shoulder.
Sierra heard Julie sigh in her ear. The real question was, what was Juilie going to do this time? There were so many people around.
Amelia huffed, “We’re waiting.”
“ Uhh, Alexa? Are you ok?”
“I did what you were talking about, making the last two years of high school good. And now that I don’t have you to weigh me down, I can be popular. I don’t need to listen to make believe anymore.”
“You are my best friend. You can’t do this.”
“Well we aren’t anymore.”
“Clearly,” Juile whispered to Sierra.
“And BTW the whole school knows about Julie now, so no one will ever talk to you, bummer. You are so weird.”
“That's enough.” Juilie said, their voice commanding, but not shouting. You could tell that only Sierra, Alexa and Amelia could hear. The color drained from their faces. Alexa dropped her bag; she had never actually heard Julie, and it was clear that she was petrified, but then smirked.
“There goes Sierra, always getting someone else to fight her battles. Having her ghost thingy shut us up while she can leave. I don't know why I'm not surprised.”
“I’m so done with this,” Sierra said with tears streaming down her cheeks. “You're just too hurt right now to be my friend, to be normal.”
Chapter 5: Leaving
“Sierra, it’s ok,” Julie said. They had just gotten back from school.
“IT'S NOT OK!” Sierra screams, tears rolling down like a waterfall, onto the ground. “I just lost my best friend of 13 years! It’s all your fault!”
Julie just sat there silently, soaking it in.
“Why did you even come? I thought you were supposed to take over people’s souls! Why didn’t you just leave me alone to my sad life?”
“Sierra —- ”
“NO! Leave me alone! My life would have been fine if you didn’t ever intervene! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!!!”
“You’re right, I’ll leave.” And with those words, Julie fades away into the dark corners of the room.
“Wait no… Julie, I didn’t mean it! I’m sorry," said Sierra anxiously. “Please don’t leave me alone!”
“It’s for your own good Sierra. I have to leave you.” Those were the last words before Julie disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Julie watched as Sierra walked through the halls. It reminded them of the first day, when everything was still alright. Today wasn’t much different, she still walked, head down, getting pushed by everyone, except for one thing. As Sierra walked by, everyone around her started whispering.
Demon girl, ghost lover, they called her. Crazy girl, hallucinator, shadow hunter, betrayer. Most whispered behind her back, but some, they didn’t bother..
“Where’s your ghost now?” Alexa mocked
“Nice one!” Amelia said with a giggle.
“Leave me alone,” Sierra muttered, trying to squeeze past them.
“I don’t think so,” Amelia blocked her, pinning her to a nearby locker.
“Amelia,” Sierra said.
“What?” Amelia responded in an annoyed voice
“Leave me alone,” Sierra says, not loud, but firm.
Amelia was suddenly aware of the many eyes on her.
“Let’s go, Alexa,” she commands, in a clipped polished voice.
“Are you really going to let her talk to you that way?” Alexa stops in her tracks. Sierra continues. “Is that really how you want to live your life? Do you really just want to be ‘Amelia’s Minion’ for the last 2 years of high school? Amelia’s probably not even a good friend. Does she comfort you like I did every time you came over to cry about your parents? Does she come to your each and every birthday party even when she has more important things to do? Does she always know exactly what you’re longing for?”
“I-i” Alexa stammers.
“I’ll answer for you. No. She will never be the friend I was to you. You’ve lost your best friend, and once you realize how much you need me, you’ll regret it.” With that, Sierra turns and walks away, this time head held high., everyone watching. The whispers start again, but this time, they’re good.
She’s so brave! I can’t even imagine talking to Amelia! Woah, imagine being Alexa right now…
“I guess Sierra was better off without me,” Julie thinks, smiling to themself. Then, they slink back into the shadows.
Epilogue: A Happy Ending
Dear Diary,
It’s been 10 years since I’ve seen Julie. I wonder if she’s still here. Sometimes I can feel something in the shadows, like the first day when Julie tried to take over my soul. It pulls at me, begging me for something, but I’m not sure what. Sometimes, when I’m going through something hard, I can hear Julie, telling me to believe in myself, to be confident. Remember the day I got my admission letter from Harvard? I was so scared to open it. Then, I heard Julie. They were telling me that everything would be okay. Then I opened the letter. I didn’t know if I was imagining it or not, but the shadows were happy. But that wouldn’t have been possible. Julie’s gone. Maybe they found the other shadow dancer, but I’m not sure. After the incident, I never spoke to Alexa again. I wonder if the other music box is still there, on the little shelf above the fireplace in Alexa’s house. I wonder if Alexa ever thought of me as a friend, or if I was just a pity friend. Even though she was so mean to me, I still hope she’s alright. I miss her, just as much as I miss Julie. They were both my friends.
Sierra sighs. She looks at the small painting on the windowsill. Sierra painted it herself. Although it was small, it took her 2 years to finish it. She put painstaking effort into every shard of mirror on the music box. The dancer itself was exactly like the real one. There was another music box next to it as well. Sierra had never seen it until she painted it. It was just like Julie’s but instead of the broken shards, it was a smooth, whole, piece that stretched out over the entire surface of the box.
Sierra draws her gaze from the painting to the window outside. Almost instantly, she jumps to her feet, startled at what she sees. It’s Julie, with another shadow dancer! They dance together, waltzing, lost in their thoughts together. Sierra smiled, knowing that her friend was alright. She watched Julie dance and dance, until they disappeared into the fog.
