Sonic the hedgehog and related characters are property of Sega.

Sun Kissed

Monday morning. The day after the long awaited two day respite from the prior week's work schedule for most laborers and the beginning of the repetitious cycle to once again repeat itself to the dismay of those who tried desperately to cling onto every second of their weekend.

The life giving rays of the early morning sun shines down upon the sleeping town signaling the start of a new day for its citizens, most of whom are content with waking from a peaceful night's sleep in anticipation for what the day has in store for them. The same cannot be said for one Mobian who goes about his days as seeing the 'glass half empty' a way of life for himself.

Shadow the hedgehog, upon being awakened by the shrill of his alarm clock, with a loud growl, he threw off the covers and reached for the clock sitting atop the nightstand and threw it; smashing it against the opposite wall from where his bed sat. A moment later, the daily routine started with the perturbed hedgehog getting out of bed and dragging himself into his small, sparsely furnished bathroom to freshen up. After grooming himself to his satisfaction, said hedgehog made his way into the kitchen to prepare a simple breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, toast and the high point of the day, (well, according to him) a steamy cup of French vanilla coffee.

Once breakfast was over, he made his way towards the front door but stopping to sift through the mound of mail sitting on the entryway table, "Bill...notice of due rent...junk...bill...cancellation notice...junk...another bill..." Shadow threw his hands up in frustration and vented, "Why can't we go back to a time where life was simpler where one didn't have to worry about obtaining the means for necessities like food and shelter? This is ridiculous!" he concluded with dropping the mail on the floor and walking out of the house and on his way to work.

The work day was a typical one for the pessimistic hybrid whereas the morning commute left him just short of chaos blasting everyone aboard the train because of his mounting discomfort with passengers pushing and shoving him as they entered and exited. As Shadow walked into the lobby of his workplace, he was given warm greetings by fellow co-workers in passing to which he paid no attention and continued on towards the elevator to take to the floor of his office. Once settled in his office, Shadow's high strung boss, Mr. Moore, a tall and slender human presumably in his early 40's, knocked once and allowed himself entry with the day's assignment in hand.

"Ah, Mr. Hedgehog, it's good to see you so early! How was your weekend? Do anything special?"

"Same and no." replied Shadow.

"Oh come on! You're so young and full of life, hedgehog! I know you got together with the guys and hung out at your favorite watering hole, right? Did you see the game yesterday? Who'd you bet on? I had my money on the Eagles and lost about half my paycheck! Hehe, that didn't sit well with the missus, of course."

Shadow's left eye started to twitch as he stared menacingly at his boss in an effort to throw him a hint to end his incessant babbling and leave already.

"OK then, I'll take that as a no. Well Shadow, here are the invoices for you to look over and file." Mr. Moore slammed a large stack of papers on the desk and continued, "I'll have more for you once you're done with those. Holler if you have questions! Oh, and have a great day, alright?"

"Sure thing, Boss." Shadow answered dripping with sarcasm.

With that, Mr. Moore took his leave. Much to the relief of Shadow, he was left alone with the mindless task of sorting and filing...and his thoughts. 'There has to be something better for me out there than this dead-end, waste of time job.'

Three agonizing hours later, Shadow set aside his paperwork and prepared to go on his lunch break. Having decided on where he'd spend his break, the dark hedgehog made his way to the local park nearby via his favorite mode of travel, Chaos Control.

With not much money to afford himself a meal at a restaurant, the ultimate life form settled for a nearby hot dog vendor and decided to try at the suggestion of his rival, Sonic, a chilidog. Once he was given the chilidog, he looked at it with distaste and thought, 'I don't get it, what satisfaction does that blue buffoon get from ingesting ground cow innards wrapped in an artificial casing anyway? Guess it wouldn't hurt to try one. Besides, what other choice do I have?' And with that, he bit into it with disgust and slowly consumed the wiener.

As Shadow was finishing his lunch, a young koala girl dressed in a plaid turquoise short sleeved shirt under overalls and white sneakers, decided on much needed rest and plopped herself on the bench beside Shadow after playing with other children and wearing herself out in a nearby play area. Shadow arched a curious eye ridge at the young interloper.

"Hello mister. Hope you don't mind that I sit here." The young girl said with a cheerful smile.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you that it is rude to interrupt someone?" Shadow quipped with a stern voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I'll find somewhere else to sit..." As the koala began to rise from the bench, Shadow let out a heavy sigh of remorse. "No, you do not have to leave; you can stay."

"Thanks!" The little girl sat back down and looked up at Shadow and noticed a melancholy look on his face. She decided to engage him with a bit of small talk in an attempt to cheer him up.

"My name is April. What's yours?"

He turned his head slightly towards April and answered, "Shadow."

"Shadow? Like what follows behind us everywhere we walk? Cool name. Mine is the fourth month of the year."

"Thanks, I guess. April is a nice name for you as well."

'She reminds me so much of Maria; mature well beyond her years. It is as if she's come back somehow in another form...' Shadow thought silently.

"Do you have a family?"

"No, I don't have one. Why do you ask?"

"You seem like a really nice person. Why do you look so sad?"

"You are quite inquisitive for someone your age."

Bemused with Shadow's comment, April tilted her head to one side and asked, "Inquisitive? What's that?"

"Being very curious is what it means. I now have a question for you April. Where are your parents and do they know where you are at this moment?"

"Oh, my dad is here with me, but don't worry about me though. He lets me go anywhere in the park as long as he can see me so, it's cool."

"Hmph, if you insist." Shadow resigned and continued sulking; staring straight ahead at the park patrons.

After a moment of silence, April tapped Shadow on his shoulder breaking him out of his daze. "Shadow, you never told me why you are so sad."

"You don't want to know."

"Yeah, I do. It might make you feel better if you talked about it, you know."

Shadow looked at April skeptically for a second then lowered his head before speaking. "I guess; if you say so. I had someone very special taken from me in such a way that it has left me, for lack of a better word, bitter."

"Whoa. Where were they taken to?"

"She...Maria...was like a sister to me. She was so young, so innocent. She was like a beacon of light that could cut through the thickest of darkness. She and I were inseparable. She died tragically and there was nothing I could do to save her, nothing." Shadow finished solemnly.

"How did Maria die?"

"Please, I'd rather not say; it's...it's just too hard. I try my best not to think about her tragedy so I'm not haunted by it at every waking moment."

"Oh, she sounded really cool. My mom passed away too. She was really sick. I miss her." April finished with a hint of sadness.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Shadow said with sincerity.

April reached into her pocket and handed Shadow a small pewter pendant in the shape of the sun. "This was my mom's. One day my dad gave it to her because he said her love for us shined as bright as the sun. Here, take it. It will always remind you that, like the sun, Maria's love is shining down on you."

Shadow looked down at the trinket and traced a finger along its surface. "I...I couldn't take this from you, your mother had given it to you and..."

"Nah, it's ok. I carry mom everywhere right here." she said while pointing to her heart. "And just knowing that wherever I go, she's shining down on me from above watching over me, that makes every day a bright and sunny day and I'm happy with that." April finished with a small smile and a glimmer in her eyes.

Before Shadow spoke again, he and April turned their attention to someone calling out for their child.

"April! April, it's time to go now honey!"

"Oh, that's my dad calling for me. Whenever you're feeling sad, just look at the pendant and think about Maria smiling down on you, ok?"

"I'll do that and...Thank you."

"You're a good friend Shadow!" April finished and threw her arms around her new friend in a light hug which left Shadow surprised at the sudden gesture.

"I'll see you around. Good bye!" April ran off to the area where her father awaits.

"Good bye, April." He said with a chuckle.

April, now standing next to her father turned back to face Shadow. She gave one last wave which Shadow returned and then was led out of the park.

Shadow, left with only his thoughts, 'No, that's just silly to think that Maria has come back as April!' the hedgehog shook his head of the thought; scolding himself.

Looking down at his watch and noting that his lunch break was about over, he began gathering his things but stopped to think about the young koala girl known as April who'd left quite an impression on him. In fact...

THE NEXT MORNING:

We once again find Shadow stirring from a restful night's sleep. This time however, instead of his usual moaning and grumbling about having to interact with society, we actually find him rising from bed and stretching out his taut muscles, and then walking over to his window to watch the dawn of a new day...all while letting out a contented sigh and grinning!

The change in his mood has now carried over to his workplace where if any employees who still tried at welcoming Shadow with a warm greeting were surprised to have him actually return it and as a bonus, either receiving a wave or an actual handshake! The sudden change in his mood didn't end at 'good morning'. The morning meeting, he was attentive; his daily assignment was given to him without complaint and a growl in return, and up until his lunch break, he kept all communication with his co-workers amicable.

LUNCH, SAME TIME, SAME PLACE….

Shadow pondered on what he'd have for lunch and decided that chilidogs weren't so bad after all and ordered two from the vendor and made his way to his usual bench to enjoy them. As he looked about the people engaged in various activities around him, he came to the conclusion that life on earth isn't too bad and that he should make an honest effort to find his place among them and give himself a chance at happiness.

Shadow, after finishing his lunch, leaned back on the bench and looked up to the sky and thought, 'Maria, like April with her mother, knowing that your loving spirit warms me like the sun's rays and is also felt with each passing of the wind, I can go on through this life as you wanted and…I'm happy with that.'

The End.