The Shadow written by Khaliunaa Munkhbayar

A six year old little girl was standing and staring with fascinated eyes at the sky. She looked at the two cranes flying slowly, flapping their wings to the southeast, said happily:

- “Sister Nora, look there… a crane. What happened with the promise that you will go with me and look at the fledglings”.
- “Okay. Sure” she said, walking to the knoll holding the girl’s hand. While jumping up and down, the girl said:
- “Sister Nora, where do the cranes go?”
- “To bring food for their fledglings…”
- “From far away?”
- “Yes, delicious food is always away.”
- “Then every day?”
- “Every day!”
- “Do the fledglings ask for delicious food every day?” the girl asked.

Nora answered tiredly: - “Yeah.”

- “Then how they come back so quickly?”
- “Because, they have wings.”

The girl pondered a while and said, - “Then perhaps, mommy is gone for a chocolate.”

- “Why?” Nora asked surprised.
- “Because, I ask my mom for a chocolate every day. And, mommy would say, “A chocolate is not in this desert. The town is a far-away place. Mommy will bring when I go to town.” Mommy has no wings. That’s why she is late, eh?”

Nora didn’t think so she said, - “I don’t think your mom went for a chocolate.”

The girls said: - “Then, where did she go?”

- “I don’t know” she said, but remembered the mother of the girl went to town with a lad, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She used to say with stress, “I want to go to town. I asked for my husband to transfer to town, but he wouldn’t budge. If I do not to turn into lizard, why should I stay in this desert,” as Nora recall.

Then, there came the knoll and seeing the two crane fledglings crying open-mouthed asking for food,

Nora said: - “Oh, what terrific animals.”

The girl jumped forward saying: - “Wow.”

Nora said: - “Wait, go from here, you might reflect your shadow up on them.”

- “What would happen if my shadow fell on them?”
- “Their mommy will leave them. Look at your shadow. It’s black. They get dirt on from your shadow.” And she looked at the girl.

The girl was standing with tears in her pretty little eyes and her lips were shaking. Nora said with wonder: - “Are you OK?” and held her hand.

The girls said with a shaking voice: - “Mommy rejected me and left.”

- “No no, why would she reject such a pretty girl.”
- “No, she rejected me. The day before mommy left, the man who was talking to mommy told me that I would get sunburned and sat me under his shadow. That’s why mommy left me.”
- “No no, don’t speak of such a thing” Nora said, trying to comfort the girl. - “Only birds get dirt on from people’s shadows. Only birds.” and hugged her by the shoulders. Then, there came a couple cranes flapping their wings with the sound gurr-gurr.