In the Shadows

Today I went exploring outside. In my house, I am the most comfortable. I am safe. It is familiar and I know what’s around every corner. It is home.

Outside of these walls, there are a lot of unknowns. Sometimes at once, and it can be very overwhelming. I can’t look around at my surroundings and see what’s 20 feet away so I’m learning about these unknowns in a different way. The wind blowing on my face, a car horn honking, a dog barking, a twig I stepped on, an airplane flying by, the siren from a firetruck. I hear my brother laughing but where is he? Where did he run off to? I freeze when I discover something new, but I’m slowly learning about things in which I cannot see. I can see my feet, so I’m just going to focus on that and often look down when I walk. You got this, Cora. One step at a time. Let’s go explore. 

Today as I was walking on the sidewalk, I noticed a dark spot. What is that thing? It moves when I move. I lift my leg, and that spot lifts too. I stare at what my mom is calling ‘my shadow’, curiously and cautiously. And then I turn and see an even bigger dark spot on the sidewalk in front of me, blocking my path. Mom says it’s a tree Shadow. That is huge! Is it a giant step? Is it a hole? It’s so different than the surface I’m standing on. If I step on it, will I fall? Will I get hurt? It’s so bright on this side of the sidewalk where I am standing and I can see more clearly what’s around me. That looks dark over there in that “shadow”. Ehh…I think I would rather not. I don’t trust those things called Shadows yet. It’s playing tricks on me and my eyes. My depth perception is off and I feel very uneasy. So I turn around and go back where I came from, from the familiar path I just walked. Tomorrow though, tomorrow is a new day. And tomorrow, I may take a step into the shadows.