A Flickering Silhouette

The warmth from the small wax candle reached me first. I drew in a steady breath and tested the tension in my right hand; my fingers responded freely, no longer locked in stillness. Gripping the slender rod of the puppet I held, I gave it a deliberate, gentle tilt forward. As the cutout shifted, its silhouette crept subtly across the illuminated parchment screen before me, blending with the shadows of the paper queen. There was no mechanism pulling me—only my own quiet will #theshadowfamily