The Shadow That Wanted a Nap

In the brightly-colored, bustling town of Sunny Meadow, there was no sound more common than the thump-thump-thump of Maya’s sneakers. Maya was a force of nature, a small, bright comet fueled by enthusiasm. She ran before she walked, skipped before she ran, and danced during every minute in between. From sunup to sundown, she was a blur of movement, and her life was a magnificent, non-stop adventure. Her best friend and constant companion was her shadow, Shady. Shady was a dark, patient silhouette that stretched, shrunk, and bent to mirror every impossible leap, sprint, and spin Maya performed. But lately, Shady felt less like a companion and more like a stretched-out rubber band pulled to its absolute limit. Maya's boundless energy was simply too much. One brilliantly sunny afternoon, as Maya was attempting a complex series of alternating high-jumps and twirls in the town square, Shady felt a sudden, profound exhaustion. It wasn't the physical exhaustion of a long run; it was the sheer, constant effort of mirroring every unpredictable, high-speed turn. In a quiet, almost imperceptible moment, as Maya's foot was suspended mid-air before a final, grand pirouette, Shady simply decide