The fierce winds had at last diminished, making the wastelands easier to travel. Underneath the shrouded sky, the little girl walked along a stone wall, balancing herself and humming a tune.

Walking next to her, was the ever-curious shadow, watching her playfully skip along the wall.

“You seem happy,” said the shadow.

“I suppose I am. After all, I’m not alone anymore,” the girl explained as she hopped down from the wall. “I could say the same of you, Mr. Shadow.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you are always smiling. You seem happy all the time,” she said, pointing to the shadow’s never-ending grin.

“I’m smiling?”

The little girl laughed, despite it being a genuine question on the shadow’s part.

“Hey, what’s that over there?” she asked, pointing off in the distance. The little girl scurried to investigate, the shadow following behind at a leisurely pace.

The two came upon something shriveled on the ground.

“What is it?” she asked, crouching to get a better look.

“Well I’ll be. It’s a flower. I haven’t seen one of these in quite some time,” the shadow said whilst scratching his scalp.

The withered plant was slumped over; all of its petals lay on the ground, dried out and crumbling away. The stem was wrinkled and old, bent and just barely able to hold up what was left of its style.

“How sad,” the girl said as she reached forward to touch one of the petals. For only a moment, the petal was dyed a brilliant white but quickly faded, returning to its decrepit state.

“Interesting,” the shadow said.

“I think… I may be able help the poor thing,” she said.

The little girl held her hands over the dead flower and closed her eyes. As if by magic, the stem straightened and became a healthy, vibrant green color. Beautiful, large white petals sprouted forth, and soon the flower was revitalized. What’s more, it now glowed with the same light as the little girl.

“Oh ho. Fascinating,” the shadow said.

The little girl smiled as she looked upon the flower’s radiance. “It’s so pretty!” Pure elation in her voice.

Her joy was soon dashed however when a black mist floated in and wrapped around the flower, choking the plant. It’s newly grown petals turned black and fell to the ground, joining the pile.

“But why?” she whimpered.

The little girl tried again and once more the flower bloomed, only to be withered away by the mist of darkness that appeared soon after.

Sadly she caught the petals that fell into her hands. “I don’t understand.”

“It is because of the outweighing force of darkness in this world. It can easily overtake such a tiny light.”

The little girl looked at the shadow with a pained expression.

“I still don’t understand.”

The shadow looked away, scratching his head. A frustrated sigh escaped his breath. “It’s a little complicated, but in this world darkness is the reigning force. It is instantly attracted to an opposing force and comes to devour it, much like how my brethren were always chasing after you. Their numbers and power greatly exceed your own.”

“Strange,” the little girl muttered, looking around. “I’ve noticed they have not attempted to chase me anymore. They just sort of stand there, staring at us.”

Far off in the distance, the little girl could make out crowds of shadows, eerily watching them with an unsettling focus, yet never getting closer, as if they were incapable of doing so.

“Why do you suppose that is, Mr. Shadow?”

“Probably because I have been by your side these past few days. One light and one shadow. When there is a perfect balance like that, one force cannot outweigh the other.”

“Balance?”

The shadow tilted his head and let out another exasperated sigh. “It’s complicated to explain. You know I don’t like complicated things.”

“Please?” She insisted, putting her little hand over his claw.

The shadow stared at her and finally conceded.

“Think of a scale. When one object is of greater mass, it will outweigh the other. However, if there is equality, then the scale is balanced. There is harmony.”

“You really know a lot of things, don’t you, Mr. Shadow?”

“Heh, I suppose I do. Not sure how, I just… understand them somehow. Like things I remember, though I’ve no recollection as to where I learned them to begin with.”

“Do you remember anything else?”

The shadow thought for a moment, eyes turning to slits as he searched the clouded dungeons of his mind. “Lights. Lights everywhere. Parchments with equations scribbled in ink. Glass vials…” The shadow listed things off, his eyes far away as if trying to grasp something. After a few moments, he looked back at her. “It’s complicated.”

The little girl’s gaze went back to the flower. Her eyes focused as if it were some great puzzle to be solved. After taking the shadow’s words into consideration, an idea formed.

“This balance you speak of… Do you suppose it would work on this flower?”

He shrugged. “Heh, who knows?”

“Well then, let’s try together.” The little girl held her hands over the flower once more and gestured for him to do the same.

Kneeling next to her, the shadow held one claw over the plant. “Nothing’s happening,” he said.

The little girl did not waver. She kept her focus on the withered plant.

The shadow watched the determined look on her face. With a sigh he turned back to the flower. “This isn’t going to-”

Just then, the flower slowly blossomed. White petals grew forth, the stem straightened and with a sudden flash of white and black energy, the plant was alive once more. This time however, it did not glow brightly; but nor did it wither away. The flower simply remained.

“We did it!” she cried, hopping up and down.

“Well, I’ll be. It seems we did.”

The little girl took hold of the shadow’s claw. “Come! Let us find more!” she said, cheerfully dragging him along.

The power of balance. It’s not something I particularly find interesting…

The little girl looked back at him as they ran, her smile lighting up the world.

However, the girl seems to enjoy it. I will follow her and see what comes of it.

***

Over the next few days, the little girl and the shadow wandered the land, finding remnants of the things known as flowers, and restoring them to their former beauty. With each new plant, color was beginning to return to the world.

With nothing but a joined touch from them both, the earth became fertile. What was once a rocky, dust-filled wasteland, was now beginning to flourish with a vibrancy of green alongside a multitude of other colors from the revived plant life.

The little girl seemed to shine brighter in those days, and in the months that followed she was never short on smiles. Her joy only seemed to make her all the more radiant and, in turn, it made their dark world seem much more alive.

One day, the shadow watched the little girl as she danced amongst the flowers, twirling and laughing. He sat beneath a large plant he explained was called a “tree.”

Heh, we’ve certainly been productive these past few months. The shadow thought, looking at the green grass beneath him. Reviving these patches of earth and plants has been an interesting experience.

“Mr. Shadow!” the girl called, shaking him from his reverie. “Come dance with me!” With a giggle she ran over and took the shadow’s claw, dragging him to the clearing. She twirled and pulled the shadow into her dance, her bubbly laugh echoing in the field.

The shadow let himself be pulled, all the while watching how gleeful it made the little girl.

Heh heh, such a strange creature she is. I wonder why she enjoys moving like this. Why does it bring her so much joy?

The little girl gave her usual infectious smile and suddenly the whys didn’t seem to matter.

“Tell me,” he began. “Tell me now what your wish-”

“Listen! Do you hear that?” She stopped suddenly, looking off at a nearby hill.

The shadow listened and heard a faint sound, similar to wind, yet of a different nature. It rose and then receded in volume.

“Curious, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sound like this before,” the little girl said. She darted up the hill and the shadow followed behind lazily. They both reached the top and looked on in awe.

Before them was an enormous body of water that seemed to stretch out endlessly. It was black in color and moved with a graceful sway. The little girl scurried down the hill and reached a new type of earth. It was soft beneath her feet and scattered like powder.

“What is this earth?” She asked. It’s dry but very soft.”

“Sand,” the shadow said, taking a handful of the new earth and letting it slip through his claws.

“And this?” she asked, pointing to the water. The little girl took a few steps toward the body of water that crept up the land then receded as if frightened. Carefully, she dipped her foot in and jumped back.

“It’s cold! What is this?” she whispered.

“I believe this is called, ocean. Though I’ve never seen such a thing before.”

“How is it that you know its name then?”

“To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure. I just do.”

The little girl swallowed and stepped into the water. Instantly, a small radius around her turned to a shimmering blue color.

“Yech! Salty.”

She turned around to see the shadow wiping his mouth and spitting. “Look at this, Mr. Shadow!”

He looked up and noticed the radius of bright blue water. “Oh ho! Traveling with you has certainly brought its share of interesting sights, little one.”

“Come, let’s try our magic!”

“Magic?” The shadow shrugged and walked next to the girl. She took hold of his claw and closed her eyes. The shadow’s eyes widened as the water around them shined. Instantly, a wave of blue color expanded from their small circle and shot out across the body of water, reaching far into the horizon. The girl laughed in delight, cupping her hands and throwing the now purified water into the air. It trickled down on them both.

“This is incredible, Mr. Shadow!” she said, throwing more water. As she did, an arcing band of color appeared in the air, translucent in its purples, blues, and reds.

The little girl gasped. “Beautiful…”

The shadow stared at her, stared at her eyes twinkling in wonder… the splendor completely lost on him.