History has forgotten which event led to the other but it is well known that when New York stopped reading, the city was home to the shadows.
The shadows came with dark clouds over head and the city turned gray and misty. It's unclear if people could see the shadows but it seems that everyone knew they were there. They waited in the corners, in the empty seats on buses, and in classrooms when class was out. They didn't move but were everywhere filling up rooms with their inky, stagnant, dark presence weighing down the stale air. People weren't afraid, they were resigned and uninterested in the shadows; they were largely uninterested in anything. They walked languidly down the sidewalks, they sat idly at their desks, and they ate boring, flavor-less food; the dark specters hung limply all around them like jellyfish, sucking the color and energy from the city. The hum-buzz-click of the city had become a whisper... a whimper... and a sigh.
Nobody knew quite what was wrong with the city. Few could remember it ever being different. But deep in the back of the people's stomachs, they felt that something was amiss. A group of concerned citizens managed to shake off the malaise long enough to gather together. Through grunts and nods and unorganized sentences they agreed that something was wrong and someone... should do... something. A few long pauses passed when everyone forgot what they were doing, but someone regained their focus by throwing a bottle feebly and then tumbling over.
They asked the city for help. They appealed directly to the foundation of the land for a solution to the undefinable problem. The city paused for a moment, considering a course of action. Then it rustled and stirred. Dust lifted and hovered in the air. The City inhaled and gathered itself... Then in a flash, a beam of light shot through the clouds. The beam fell to the city floor where two great, mighty, golden lions stood. Looking over the tops of the buildings they surveyed the dreary expanse with impassive regality. They drew a mighty breath that chilled the city and froze the shadows; the dust waited apprehensively. A roar erupted from the lions and every part of the city reverberated with the din. The people felt their bones shake with warmth as the shadows relaxed their grip. The lions leapt into the sky and bounded down the street in opposite directions, the sunlight glimmering in their bright golden manes. Light followed them between the buildings as their hair slid over the tallest windows, knocking pigeons off windowsills. They leapt lightly over buildings like they were toys, pounding down the streets with paws as large as taxis. Beams of light broke through the cloud barrier everywhere the lions went; the city was coming alive again. Roars echoed and the air shook, every street rumbled, every building quaked, every room filled with lights and colors as books were shaken off the shelves, they flew open and words filled the air with their music.
The lions eyed the pockets of shadows and the specters vanished in gray puffs. The beasts slowed and met together in the center. They peered over the city, ensuring that their work was complete. They had shrunk to only slightly larger than normal lions. They had given their color and energy to the city and were now a noble shade of stone. They climbed with great dignity up a large flight of stairs. Laying down slowly, they came to rest.
They remain there today, waiting to spring into action, should the city ever again need their powers.
This is story that sums up a lot of what I think is important. I tried to bring in my love and respect for words and stories into it (that would be why it sounds like I swallowed a thesaurus). Apparently my vocabulary has even surpassed my various spell-checkers, they told me that "regality" wasn't a word... well I showed them. Also I had some issues with leapt/lept/leaped, anywho...
I hope you enjoyed it,
Joey
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