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The Legend of Shadow (Alamat ng Anino)

Once there was a boy named Ani, son of a hunter of the Ipo tribe. The boy was always
alone, because he had been suffering from an awful skin disease. Nobody wants to play with him, or
be intimate with him at the very least, because they were afraid to catch his horrible ailment.
This isolation made the poor boy very depressed. He knew, by heart, that no one could heal
him, for it was the curse given by the highest god of the realm Emre. His father, very greedy in
nature, tried to catch a fowl the gods and goddesses of the realm has prohibited capturing. As a
punishment, god Emre put forth a curse on both Ani·s father and him. His father·s was the loss of
ability to converse; his was the horrid skin blotches.
The boy accepted the curse whole heartedly, because no one dared defy a god·s will. The lack
of friends is what Ani is so poignant. All he wanted was a friend, and yet even that was taken by the
gods so it seemed. Every time he sees his blurred reflection on the still surface of the stream water, he
wished he could regain his former body, free from every blemishes and impurity. Why cannot man
accept him, that he did not understand. Why his friends have deserted him, is something he will
never comprehend with.
The heart breaking seen in front of the stream was noticed by the goddess Arde, a lesser god
of the heavenly realm. She is extremely sympathetic of the boy·s misery. She knew she cannot heal
one that is conjured by a greater god, but she knew she could help him, and surely she would.
A dweller of the heavenly realm must not show their true nature to a mortal, that·s why she
came down in the form of a little girl. The girl suddenly materialized beside Ani, which surprised
him.
The boy could not help but stare at the astounding creature. For the first time someone did
not yelled at his face at the sight of him. No humiliation has been heard, just a faint smile that crept
from the rose red lips of the unfamiliar child.
´Ani, is that?µ asked the girl
´Yes, that is my name, might I ask how you have come to know it?µ he asked in return,
looking overly petrified.
´If it did occur not to the knowledge of the mortals, heavenly beings do not in any chance
show their nature to their subjects.µ She answered, eyeing the boy she is eager to help.
´If that is the truth you are speaking, then let me ask, if it does not bear me rudeness, exactly
who am I talking to?µ he politely asked.

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´I am the incarnation of Arde, sister of Emre, the god who punished you and your father
with the sickening disease. I am here to help you, though retracting a curse is something I am never
able to do. Let me hear your wish and I·ll do something about it.µ The girl explained.
The boy was dumbstruck with the revelation he just heard. It was like once in thousand
years that a god came to talk to a mortal, much less to grant a selfish wish. Nonetheless, he will seize
the chance to be happy, at any cost.
´Good goddess, whatever I did to find your favor I am thankful. One thing I would die to
have is a friend who will never desert me even in fire, in water, or in death never depart from me.µ
The goddess found herself thinking. She cannot make man very loyal to him, nor have
someone do her will. That she cannot do. However, she can create something to accompany him.
´And if I cannot give someone of blood and flesh, will you accept something isn·t? she
inquired.
´As long as he looks like a person, someone who looks like me, that will do.µ He stated.
´What if he cannot talk to you, will you still accept it?µ
´I will, gratefullyµ
With the response, the goddess caressed the boy·s head. A black figure formed behind him.
Something of his figure, but did not had any features.
´Only Emre can make a person out of nothing. I can only make silhouette. I·m so sorry
this is all I can do.µ
The boy stared at the foreign being behind him. He walked and it followed him. He jumped
to the water and it·s still beside him. Whatever he did, it followed. It did not depart from him.
´Oh great goddess, I thank you for this. Surely this creature you·ve given me will never leave
me.µ The boy exclaimed.
The goddess was very happy, and in split second she vanished. She looked down from her
place, watching Ani as he ran into the fields happy.

-The End-