Peekaboo, Where’s My Shadow?

In a bright, sunny town lived a man named Arin. Wherever Arin went, someone followed him closely—his shadow. They were the best of friends. When Arin skipped along the street, his shadow skipped too. When he waved, the shadow waved back. Sometimes it stretched tall in the evening, and sometimes it crouched small at noon, but it was always there.

“You are my most loyal friend,” Arin often said. “You never leave me.”

One summer, Arin decided to go on vacation. He packed his bag and set off for a faraway land known for its misty forests and cloudy skies. But the moment he stepped into the new place, he froze. The ground beneath him was empty.

His shadow was gone.

“Shadow!” Arin called, spinning in circles. He looked behind him, to the side, even under his shoes. Nothing. He hurried to a riverbank, hoping to see his dark figure dancing on the water’s surface—but only ripples stared back. He searched against the forest walls, under the lamp posts, on the dirt road. Still nothing.

“Have I lost my best friend forever?” he wondered.

Days passed, and Arin grew lonely. Then, as the clouds cleared one morning, a ray of sunlight broke through the mist. Arin looked down—and gasped. His shadow had returned, stretching proudly along the path.

Arin laughed with relief. “So that’s it! You were never gone. You only appear when light shines and my body blocks it. In darkness, you simply cannot exist.”

From then on, Arin understood his shadow’s secret. It wasn’t magic, nor was it alive—it was the dark shape born whenever light was stopped. Because light always travels in straight lines and cannot bend around objects, part of the ground behind him stayed dark. Shadows disappeared at night or in gloomy places, but they always returned with the light.

And so Arin and his shadow remained best friends, knowing they could only be together when the Sun joined them too.

🔬 Science Note:

A shadow is formed when light shines on an object and the object blocks the rays. Because light travels in straight lines and cannot bend around the object, the area behind it stays dark. That’s why shadows vanish in darkness but return whenever light shines aga