You have always been practical. Logical. The kind of person who double-checks the locks and laughs at horror movies. So when your shadow starts moving on its own, you assume it’s stress. Lack of sleep. Anything but what it actually is. At first, it’s subtle. A delayed movement. A stretch in the wrong direction. Then it begins reacting to things before you can see or hear them. Grabbing. Blocking. Protecting. The shadow doesn’t speak, but it knows.