Dawn arrives, drives out the night, brightening the sky-
Shadowman awakens, to find a way to die.
Jonathan said it used to be cold in winter. Now there are no more seasons, and winter has become the time of the long nights—the time where we stay outside longer because the Sun will rise late.
On the shortest day of the year, we don't have to go to sleep. We spend the night in the house of Old Jonathan, where he tells us stories of the old world, where the people would sleep at night and walk in the sunlight without going blind. Stories about Glassdome and Shadowman.
Our houses have tiny little holes in the roof. They allow in just enough sunlight to change the darkness into the familiar shine of the stars. The main hall in Old Jonathan'sJonathan's house has only one big hole through which a single beam of light wanders over the floor during the day.
With our legs crossed, we sit along the sun path that the beam will follow on this day, and Old Jonathan sits across from our half circle.
The little ones are very excited. It is their first time, and they are fascinated by the beam and the strange light that fills the rest of the room. We older ones are supposed to watch out for them. Many times, children have tried to touch the light. I did, myself, when I was a little girl.
Jonathan'sJonathan's first story is always the one about the boy who fell asleep under the wandering beam. After that, they all inch away from its path a bit.
But my favorite story is the one about Shadowman.
"In the old times, when people lived in the light, Shadowman was a ruler," he begins the story, then he pauses and waits. "Was he a king?" one of the little ones asks, as expected.
"No, he was not a king," Jonathan continues. "Kings only rule over their country, but Shadowman ruled over people. Many people in many countries. His power was bigger than that of kings or governments."
"When the Sun began to burn people, Shadowman refused to hide from it. He took to the mountains and had his people build a city named Glassdome there. And its glass changed the deadly rays of the Sun into the light people used to live under in those days.
"Shadowman lived in Glassdome, and only the smartest and most diligent of his people were welcome there. Meanwhile, the people outside began to avoid the Sun.
"We sleep during the day, and we go outside at night. The Stars and the Moon are the only lights we need to see. The Sun but blinds and burns us. While we sleep, only the caretakers in their heavy suits wander outside in the daylight to protect our crops. They can see Glassdome. It is still up there in the mountains. On certain nights, the moon will reflect in the glass, and there will be a glint where no star can be. Then you too will know where Glassdome lies."
He pauses again, and I whisper into my little sister's ear, "What happened to Shadowman?" She immediately blurts out the question aloud. Jonathan winks at me and smiles. Then he continues.
"Oh, Shadowman and his smart folk lived for a long time in Glassdome. But his people did not bear many children anymore. One day they realized that they would perish, and nobody would be left.
"Shadowman again refused to accept this destiny. If he could not have a legacy, he would stay alive himself. He called his best doctors and told them to make him immortal. They would build devices and gadgets, and they put them into his body so he could resist death forever.
"Shadowman then allowed the people of Glassdome to become immortal as well, so they could keep him eternal company."
This time it is not necessary to encourage anyone—two of the little ones want to know if these people still live in Glassdome.
"They lived there for such a long time that Shadowman grew weary of the city. He longed for the world outside that he had not seen for many many years.
"So he called his doctors again and told them to make his body resist the deadly Sun so that he could go outside and see the world. But they only shook their heads and said that they were unable to help him this time. The Sun was the only thing that could take away his immortality, and there was nothing they could do about it.
"But again, Shadowman refused to accept this, and he called out to all the people in his city if there was anyone who could help him.
"Eventually, a scholar came forward, and his name was Scientist.
"He told Shadowman that it was possible to protect him from the Sun forever, but in order to do that, he would need everyone in Glassdome to contribute.
"Shadowman told his people to give Scientist whatever he asked for, and Scientist took many things and built a black star.
"He called the black star Satellite, and he sent it up into the sky. Satellite became Shadowman'sShadowman's protector. Wherever he went, Satellite remained between him and the Sun, preventing it from shining on him. Shadowman had his own night now. It was as big as a village, and it followed him everywhere.
"And Shadowman left Glassdome to see what had happened to the outside world."
Now the little ones want to know where Shadowman went, and of course, Jonathan has an answer to that question.
"He wandered the earth alone for many years and visited all the lands he knew from the past. He lived during the day and slept during the night, as he had always done it. Many caretakers of many villages told of his passing. Shadowman was not interested in the people who live at night. He wanted to find his own kind, people from the old time of the daylight. But he could not find any in all the lands in the whole world.
"One day, he became tired of looking, and he decided to return to Glassdome.
"But there was no one left there to greet him when he arrived back. Scientist had used many important parts of Glassdome to build Satellite, and soon after Shadowman had left, people were unable to live there anymore. Many of them had died, and the others had gone away.
"Then what did Shadowman do?" Usually, they ask where the people of Glassdome had gone, but Jonathan continues with this question just as well.
"Shadowman was very sad because he had lost his people. He lived in Glassdome for a while, but soon he could not bear to be alone anymore. But he could not live outside either because he was scared of people like us, and so Shadowman became very lonely, and eventually, he longed for his own death. Since the Sun was the only thing that was able to take away his life, he decided to send Satellite away so he would die in her light.
"But Satellite did not obey. It remained where it was, and even if he tried, Shadowman would never reach the light he saw ahead of him. His night followed along wherever he went."
Jonathan remains silent for a moment while looking into everyone's eyes.
"To this day still, Shadowman wanders the earth looking for his death. Though he avoids our villages, he sometimes grows so lonely that he comes to look for little children. He takes them away into the mountains and makes them tired so they will sleep at night. And they have to stay with him, because they cannot escape his shadow. So be careful, when the Sun disappears during the day, Shadowman is coming"
That is the cue. The beam of light goes out, and everything goes dark. The little ones are scared and scream. Some begin to cry. I hug my little sister and tell her that everything is alright. I know that Jonathan can open and close the hole in the ceiling from his seat. I don't believe in Shadowman anymore.
After a few seconds, everything is over, the light returns, and Jonathan laughs.
"Well, you little scaredy cats, I guess I'd better tell you a funny story next!"
Suddenly the inner door opens, and a caretaker enters the hall. Jonathan gets up and walks over to him with a grim look on his face. As the caretaker removes his helmet, I recognize Father. His damp hair sticks to his forehead, and he seems exhausted and distressed. In his hand, a bundle of crops. My little sister wants to run over as she sees him, but I hold her back. Now is not the time to bother him. I catch up with her just before she reaches him. She keeps complaining as I pull her away, and they whisper, but I will never forget the words I hear.
"...we need your advice, Scientist," says father, and Jonathan replies with anger in his voice.
"Why do I have to tell every generation, again and again, I do not want you to call me that..."
When shadows creep across the land,
the sunlight flees before his hand.
He comes to take you silently,
to ask, “Do you bring death to me?”
ns 15.158.61.8da2
