Chad meets the Green Shadow

Chad stood before the Spirit of the Green Shadow, feeling very much humble in the presence. It was the first time in Chad's long life that he had seen the Green

Shadow's true form, and it truely astonished him. Chad had expected to see a mighty king like figure with a long white beard sitting on a majestic throne, but all

he saw was a young boy's head with bright green hair, the color of grass in the early spring. Just a head, mind you. No body what so ever. The head seemed to float

in front of Chad like a balloon who's string was tied down and was fluttering in the breeze. Also, and to make the whole ordeal all the more strange, the head of the

boy couldn't have looked any older than 4 or 5 years of age. The boy had a mischievious grin on it's face. "Tell me, hero," said the floating head of the boy, it's

voice not matching it's face. The voice was like that of a thousand horses galloping all together. The green haired boy continued to speak. "Am I not what you ex-

pected to see?"

Chad remained silent. For a moment, he dropped his gaze from the head of the boy, but quickly looked back up in respect of the creator. "After all," Chad thought

to himself, "This is the Spirit of the Green Shadow I'm in the presence of. He created this world and all life in it." The head of the boy smiled. "Yes I did," he

said boldly, "But you still haven't answered my question. "I am not what you expected?" Chad finally shook his head. "No," he said softly, "You are not what I ex-

pected. Not at all." The boy, also called SOGS (an acronym for Spirit of Green Shadow) smiled wryly. "Surprised that the creator of all life would appear as a child,

and nothing more? Is that it, hero?" Chad nodded solemnly. "Don't be so surprised by appearances, my friend. Remember your former masters teaching about judging

books by their covers? You do remember, don't you?"

Chad pondered the memory. It had been so long ago. He had been but a boy then. He was old now. Even after all these years, Chad still missed his old teacher,

Tucker. He had been such a good friend to him. "Yes, you do miss him," said the boy, his head still floating freely before Chad. "But I will tell you a truth. You

and your teacher WILL meet again. This I promise you, hero." When Chad heard this, he became emotional and had to turn away from the Spirit of the Green Shadow's

boy form. Tears filled old Chad's eyes. "I..."he began to say through sobs. "Yes. I believe you. I believe I will see Tucker again...someday..."

There was a long silence before either spoke again. Finally, the boy said, in his horse galloping voice, "I have yet another surprise for you, hero. Come, face me

again." Chad signed and tried to compose himself. After doing his best at looking presentable, he turned back to face the mighty child. "Never have I shared my true

name with any human. Well, today that all changes. For today I will tell you my true name, if you want to know it. But you must know, this knowledge comes with a bur-

den as well. If you choose to hear my true name, you must never share it with any other human soul. If you do share my true name with another human soul, your own

soul will be perish. So I ask you, Hero. Do you want this burden? Or, look at it this way. It could be the greatest blessing ever bestowed upon any human if you

obey my wishes. So, what is your answer, hero? Yes or no?"

Chad stared at the floating head of the boy for what seemed like an eternity, but finally, after thinking long and hard, said confidently, "I want to know your true

name! I will honor your wishes and keep the name to myself until my last day." The boy grinned. "I know you will, hero. And so the time has come. My true name is

Webb."

Chad looked startled. The boy must have mispoken. That couldn't have possibly been his true name. But Chad knew it had to be true. The Spirit of the Green Shadow

would never mispeak. "You look surprised, hero," said Webb. "Doesn't my name fit my face?" Webb grinned sarcastically. "To be quite honest," Chat muttered, "It

doesn't fit at all. You sure have a lot of surprises, don't you?" Webb grinned again, showing perfect child like teeth. "That I do," said Webb, cheerfully, "And I'm

happy to say I have many more to give. To you as well as to all who remember me." Chad smiled wearily. His work was done. He had freed the trapped souls from the

realm of darkness, and was now in a state of limbo, somewhere between both the dark realm and the world of the living. He felt so calm and relaxed here with Webb,

that he wished to stay with him forever. But he knew he would have to return to the land of the living soon.

"I have one more thing to tell you, my friend," said Webb, floating closer to Chad. Webb look more serious now than he had during the whole encounter. "I'm list-

ening," said Chad with a sigh. "Good," said Webb. "My final words to you are words of wisdom, but you may also find some comfort in them as well. You see, hero, my

title, the Spirit of the Green Shadow is more than just a strange title thought up by men or elves. That title means so much more. Only a few have ever deciphered

it's true meaning. Of course I am a spirit. That part of the title speaks for itself. I am the spirit creator. I love my creation."

Chad quietly thought about this for a moment, then went on listening to Webb speak. "Green Shadow is harder to understand. The elves have understood this better,

as they are of the green wood tree which I created for them. The first humans understood this as well, before their fall. They were created in the western woods

where they should have stayed. But evil lured them out of that safety zone, and the rest is history. The word Green in my title simply refers to the creation of life

itself. All the green and blooming things, as I intended things to stay. But others went their own way. Ruined my plan. Destroyed the green world which I created.

So were half way there." Webb paused and watched Chad's expression. It was a mixture of awe and exitment. Chad was entirely captivated by Webb's words.

"Do you wish me to continue?" Webb asked, half toying with his friend and servant. "Yes! Absolutely! I wouldn't miss a second of this story..." Webb nodded and

slowly floated back a bit from Chad. "Alright, hero." he said calmly. "Shadow. It's the last word in my title, but it may be the most important word of them all.

For you see, a shadow can be understood to be something good or ill. It's a mystery. You never know what lies in the shadows until you investigate, see it with your

own eyes. Many hold to the belief that shadows are evil or of an evil source. But that is absolutely not the case at all. For there would be no shadow without light.

Light causes shadow."

"And now to my final point. As the creator, I am hidden. I appear only to whom I choose to appear to, at my own will. This makes me almost shadow like. But I am

not evil or wicked like Zall an the other fallen messengers. (Zall is the most powerful dark messenger. He fell and rebels against Webb) The best word to describe me

is mysterious. So Green Shadow, in simpler terms, simply translates to Life Mystery. This my not make sense to the common man, but if you think of it this way, I,

the creator, am the mystery of life. Those who go searching for me will find me, and those who don't won't. I am now finished."

Chad understood now. The title Green Shadow, which he had studied for so long to understand it's meaning, now made perfect sense. He sighed. He felt so weary.

"I'm ready to go home now," he said. "Thank you for everything...um...sir?" Webb smiled, this time a long, friendly smile. "You are free to return to the land of the

living, hero," said the head. "But remember this, Chadious Olivious Longtooth. I shall always be with you. Goodbye for now, my friend..."

A moment later, Chad found himself back in the forest of darkness in the land of the living. He was truely alive again. Not to say he had ever been dead, but he

had become the first human being to pass into the realm of darkness and return to the land of the living unharmed. He sighed. His adventure was over. Now he could

return to his hut and live out the rest of his days in peace. So with that, Chad began the long journey back home.

THE END