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"Und, wenn ich fragen darf, was ist denn das für ein Ding, Ihre Seele?" -Adelbert von Chamisso, Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte, 1813- “Please forgive my rudeness for following a stranger like this.” The man in gray, who had been trailing behind me, bowed his head and greeted me politely. “It was only for a short time, but I was able to walk by your side with a happy heart. I apologize for saying this, but… I couldn't help but gaze at your beautiful, truly beautiful shadow, time and time again." The man lowered his head slightly, casting his gaze down toward my feet. “You may not feel it yourself, but as you stand there in the sunlight, you cast such a dignified, noble, and magnificent shadow beneath your feet." A brief silence followed. Then, he continued cautiously, as if making a request he had long agonized over. “It may be a presumptuous thought, but... would you, by any chance, be inclined to transfer your shadow to me?” It felt as though I could hear him chuckling softly. "In exchange, I will give you anything you desire." ————— I should never have made that deal. Having lost my shadow, I became a being that could no longer be called human. People whispered when they saw me casting nothing beneath my feet, pointing fingers and avoiding me from a distance. During the day, when the sunlight poured down, I couldn't take a single step outside. Unable to endure even the smallest light, I had to live by hiding in dark places. But what was harder to bear than anything else was the fact that the person who had quietly turned their back on the shadowless me was now smiling by the side of another lover, as if nothing had happened. I couldn't bear to watch them closely, nor could I completely look away. I just watched from afar, from a place where the light could not reach. Time passed like that. To me, from whom light, people, and life had all drifted away, the man in gray appeared once again.