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 Anis father
and him. His fathers 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 gods 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 boys 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, thats 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? asked the girl
Yes, that is my name, might I ask how you have come
to know it? 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. 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?
he politely asked.
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 Ill do
something about it. 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.
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 isnt? she inquired.
As long as he looks like a person, someone who looks
like me, that will do. He stated.
What if he cannot talk to you, will you still accept it?
I will, gratefully

With the response, the goddess caressed the boys 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. Im so sorry this is all I can do.
The boy stared at the foreign being behind him. He
walked and it followed him. He jumped to the water and its
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 youve given me will never leave me. 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-