• I woke up with a start and my teeth sunk down into my tongue.
    It seemed as if the White Shadow even followed me into my dreams.

    I looked around. The Shadow lurked around the house, at night and at day and no matter how many times I told it to go away, it wouldnt leave me alone.

    But the thing was, I wasnt at home. In fact, I didnt know where I was at all. I slowly lifted my body off the floor, realizing that I was chained to the wall. I pulled on them, as heavy as they were, trying to free myself. Then I saw The Shadow again.

    He walked through the empty doorway, slowly, not even looking at me. I froze. What did he want from me? He stopped about 5 feet in front of me, his hair gently blew in the tortured breeze, and he looked up. His eyes were big and the color of the night. Deep and full of sorrow. They sparkled as his eyebrows wrinkled, then he stepped closer.

    'You have something I've wanted,' The Shadow began, 'something I have wanted for so long. Something I thought I could never get, knowing it was something no one would give to me.' He stepped so close that his ice cold nose touched my cheek. His breath was so cold it burned my skin. I cringed and tried to pull my self lower to the the ground, to get away. I slipped myself downward, but his deep white hand pulled me up to face him.

    I had a chance to look at him for the first time in detail. Eyes like a newborn kitten, hands with muscles that were unseen since he was all white except his eyes. His hair fell over his forehead, almost covering his eyes, and his legs showed strength and speed. His breath wound around my head and I couldnt keep myself from shivering. This Shadow that wouldnt stop following was now going to tell me why. But what could he possibly want?

    All he had to do was touch the chains on my hands and they fell off. They hit the floor with a hollow clunk and he just looked down at them. I looked down, too, thinking there was something to be seen. Unfortunately, there was nothing to be seen except chains, and as soon as I looked down, The Shadow pinned me against the wall.

    'You have to promise me,' he pleaded, 'just promise me you wont refuse my request.' His eyes were suddenly full of sparkling water, and as his tears fell, they disappeared as his icy skin devoured them. He let me go, and I fell to the floor, regaining balance and staggering towards the corner to get away from him. He was the wind in my hair, and he appeared next to me, to close to me, and he took my hands in his and held them so hard I could see ice forming along my arms. His arms slid across my waist and he tucked his head on my shoulder. Then he whispered, letting the cold flow of his breath trace my every fear...

    'If I tell you my one wish, will you make it come true?'