There was a little house in a small town that resembled all the houses around it. Like in most houses there lived a person inside that also resembled all the people around him. Paul was of normal height and build, his dress sense was not daring, and he worked contently at an average paying job. People who knew him would say about him, “That Paul is a pleasant guy, never had a problem with him. Spends most of his days in his house.” His neighbours would say, “Lovely man, likes to keep to himself though. Never really seen him out anywhere.” But what the neighbours didn’t know was that Paul was very much not alone and hadn’t been for a very long time.

In the little house that Paul resided in, he sat not alone but with company. He didn’t know her name, but he thought it to be impolite not to address his company, so he began to call her Lady.

Lady never talked, not even a whisper. She preferred to keep to the darker corners of the house far away from the windows or other sources of light. It is notable how very tall she was, her neck often bent as to not bump against the top of the ceiling. Paul had noticed during the first few days after she had appeared that the structure of her body was very abnormal, at least for human anatomy. From the bottom of Lady’s feet to the top of her neck her body was curled around as if she were a washing rag being squeezed dry. The first time poor Paul saw her he was quite concerned and wondered if he should seek a doctor. But after a good long while he thought better of it, after all, she would not have such a wide grin on her face if she were in pain.

Paul was unsure on how to treat his new guest, but he put up a good front. It was clear that Lady did not like the sunshine, her smile would always fade if Paul were to open a window and she would flee back into the shadows quickly. The next step for Paul was to offer her some food and drink, but he quickly came to realize that she would never speak, or for that matter, eat. Poor Paul was perplexed for quite a while, he had no idea the proper way to interact with his newfound housemate.

Paul toiled away contently at his job with an occasional conversation with a friendly coworker or acquaintance. But for the most part, Paul stayed to himself and never told anyone about his guest Lady. He would come home every day and find her in a corner or sometimes even under a bed or in a closet. He would greet her with a pleasant smile and go about his business. At night Lady would move about throughout the house, but never in the bedroom where Paul slept. He had made sure to keep the door shut as to allow her to go about her business without the risk of disturbing his rest. Paul had taken the liberty of covering the windows with some plain but still tasteful curtains so that the moonlight wouldn’t bother her.

A very long time passed as Paul still lived in the same house and in the same town, but with new neighbours. He worked the same job and came home every day and greeted Lady with the same kind smile. Once one of his oldest neighbours, on the day they were set to move someplace else, asked Paul, “Paul, you seem nice so please do not see this question as rude. But you have lived here for so long doing the same thing day after day. Don’t you want to do something more? Go out and do something different?”

Paul thought long and hard about the question that was posed. With a gentle smile, he simply responded with, “No.”

And that is when it clicked for dear Paul. That day when he returned home, he looked up at Lady smiling down on him. “I believe I understand you now.” Said, Paul. “I do not mean to pry, but you have been here for a very long time, and I must admit that I have grown curious of you. I often wondered why you came here and what might your intentions be. I never truly found a sound answer for that question, and I have become quite resigned to the thought that I never would. Until now that is.”

Paul sat down in his chair and continued, “I feel that people view me as some sort of sad case, of someone who has become stagnant like water. They look at me and say, ‘how sad he must be, to live alone and not move about. How sad it must be to be like poor Paul.’”

With a knowing smile, Paul looked up at Lady. “I must say I’ve only now realized how similar we are, you and me. I wonder if that is why you came here. You too do not like to go out, I can tell the thought of that bothers you. You keep alone and never ever draw attention to yourself, but while that can make others feel unhappy, you seem content. I can tell by the smile on your face even now, this is where you are happy. I know that others may look at you and think how strange it must be to be you, how strange and twisted you must be. I figure that is one reason you may prefer to stay in. But it is not wrong to be who you are, dear Lady, it is not wrong to be happy.”

Paul sat up from his chair with a spring in his step and walked over to the window. He pulled the curtain shut from where a little streak of light had been poking out and turned back to his companion. “Personally, I like being ‘poor Paul,’ and if shadows make you happy then shadows you will have.”