Watching as his other-persona made wandering steps towards the known greyish road, he tried to advise. However, the directions they were supposed to march at the start, were total opposites. For some reason, his voice seemed unheard by his light side reflection.

“Hey stop, we should go the other way! Where are you going?!” He also tried shouting, but the soul-less body just continued its never-ending wobbling down the predestined path.

The glowing figure stared at the various shadows and shouted at them after hearing their strange voicings. The shadow looked at himself meandering through past-like events. It was trying to pull the light spot towards the other side of the road. The vagabond and its shadow would be the most appropriate term to this strange pair.

“Hey come on, I want to go to the other side, hear me! We need to go there! Towards the ancient zone!” The shadow continued to shout but it didn’t matter, the sounds didn’t arrive at the needed place.

(Strange Sounds) The sound of laughter came from the surrounding forest. The murky and misty timberland encroached both of them, it trapped them with curved roots and gloomy soil. Childish laughter started to sound behind each tree, it gave rise to the creepy atmosphere. The smell of burnt food and alcohol invaded the whole area.

“Damn run, what are you doing idiot!?” He shouted at the shining boy. But he didn’t move, he just stayed still and stared at the abyssal demons with curiosity.

“Fuck, run they are going to kill you, idiot!” The shadow tried shouting once more. “Run! Come on! Move it! Damn…. What do I Do! Come on you idiot, do it for your mom!” He continued to scream, the last word seemed to make the shining boy tremble, but he remained indifferent to the shadow’s babbling.

“Hehehehe!” The Laughter started to become louder and louder. The sounds of leaves rustling and footsteps were approaching. A multitude of little shadows appeared out of the misty darkness. Each of them doing playful activities in pairs or groups, they arrived and surrounded the both of them.

“Damn we are done…” The shadow murmured as he watched the shadowy monsters block every one of their possible escape routes. There was no way out, but he didn’t feel anxious. For some strange reason, he felt relieved that he wasn’t the one inside the body, maybe?

“Hehehehe! Do you want to play?” The shadows seemed to sing in unison producing a resounding tune with childish harmonics.

“…” His shiny counterpart stared at them but remained silent.

“What are you doing you, idiot, say something, tell them no!” The shadow tried to give advice yet again.

“Hehehehe! Let’s… Play!” Following the strange shout from the shadows, myriads of hands arrived towards his counterpart's face. The poker-faced guy remained there without making the smallest of sounds.

“NOOOOOOOO!” For some reason, the shadow started to shout anxiously.

“Hehehehe!” The shadows laughed in unison as the whole world was covered by their hands. It all ended there with a mighty sound and an angry yell.

(Slap) Following the countless slaps, the shadow shouted as If feeling his counterpart’s inexpressible pain. “Fuck you! Stupid monkeys!!!”

The world turned grimmer until the slapping sounds mixed with vile shouting turned into a deadly silence. It all happened as the environment succumbed to the much-known darkness.

(Please, please play: Final Fantasy XV OST - 29. “Valse di Fantastica” Extended version on YouTube and listen while reading this part. Any remix or version can also work I like gratia mundi/accordion and violin. Just repeat till finish. Remember to use your imagination equalizer to the maximum level. Ty.)

Inside the black and cold space, he crouched, his back touching the shiny counterpart’s one. He looked between his legs towards the black abyss below. Nothing…

A warm sensation arrived from his back. ‘Hmm, what is this guy doing?’ He thought and turned his head towards his counterpart. There, he saw someone tending to his broken shiny self. A god or goddess, probably. Still, the blinding light of the silhouette didn’t allow him to determine its appearance.

The white tape started to tie both of them; it felt warm, but it burned his shadowy self. The separated figures turned into one, secondary to the white tape's patching. After that, his whole body covered in white stood up, the bandages reenergized his bearing. A voice sounded from the light before himself. “I hope you can get better... Be happy…”

He cried, as the whole world before him shook. Mist started to circulate around him. The white bandages forced his sliced self to fuse, bringing repercussions to the current environment. The dense forest surrounded his view, followed by mountains, rivers, and lifeforms. He seemed to be inside an open area in the middle of the misty woods.

On the ground, strange stones started to rise. Each of them in the form of wolves and red riding hoods sculptures. Huge poles of metal raised towards the sky. Clouds of strange liquid floated in the vault, as the light of a sun shined from an unknown source.

Gray hair started growing out of him, he turned into a strange creature. Additionally, on the strange temple’s entrance, a red-haired shadow with blue eyes appeared. Beeping sounds accompanied each of his heart's beatings.

The sounds of machinery started to turn the monotonous sound into something otherworldly. Voices appeared in the background and added vocals to a disorderly tune. By the time he caught up with the whole surrounding's metamorphosis, the background music became completely different.

A sound similar to a waltz started sounding. The red-haired shadow looked at him as a white riding hooded girl walked beside the shadow. The red-haired shadow shouted with a happy and warm voice.

“Little wolf... Don’t you know the basic courtesy?” The woman pushed the little girl in white and left towards the temple as a strange door closed.

As the words exited her mouth, numerous transparent snakes slithered down from the liquid clouds, they connected to everything in the place. The statues, the little wolf, and the white riding hood; all of them had their extremities wrapped in those.

As the crystal tubes enveloped him, his face turned gloomy. The strange tubes connected to his arms with a puncturing sensation. At the same time, he felt a cold substance entering his body and start reducing his corporal temperature. He looked around and saw that each pair of wolf and riding hood, had a steel pole where the crystal snakes descended. The one he was attached to, was nearest to the metal structure of the lady in white robes. She seemed to be the one taking care of him because the other wolves stood facing the red riding hoods in their front direction.

The pole stands with the crystal strands dragged them, they restricted their area of movement to a circumferential space. The little girl in white seemed unaffected as she jumped towards him and made a little curtsy. She smiled with open eyes and exclaimed. “Well, Hello there little wolf?”

“Stupid monkey what are you doing?” He asked with reluctance, this part of the loop was unknown to him. He never experienced such strange happenings.

“Dancing, of course, don’t you already know?” She smiled while softly grabbing the little wolf’s cheeks.

The shadows around him started doing a little posture and hugged their counterparts. They then danced in their embraces, while following a rhythmical step and spin. He observed them and saw the majestic scene with an astonished expression. The light in his eyes reflected the brown and freckled monkey in white clothes with curiosity.

“Shall we play?” The little girl looked with an innocent stare.

“Hmm… Okay” He hesitated but nodded at the end. It was because he remembered something that caused tears to fall from his eyes. The warmness from her little hands gave him a solution to this gelidness entering his veins.

“Do you know how to dance?” The little girl asked.

“I seem to have forgotten, can you teach me?” He recalled a scene in his mind with longing, it forced him to ask for help.

“Okay, First… Stand with your feet with hip-distance apart and your arms relaxed at your sides.” The little girl adjusted his posture.

“Okay…” He moved following the white monkey’s example.

“Continue by stepping your left foot forward. Land softly to give the step a light, airy feel. Bend your left leg slightly, stepping on the ball of your foot.” She smiled and grabbed his shoulder lightly.

“Like this?” He asked the instructing monkey.

“That’s good little wolf.” The white monkey eyes shined with stars. She quickly added. “Step your right foot forward so it is parallel to your left foot. Your feet should be side by side, a bit more than hip-distance apart.”

The swaying motion they did seemed a little clunky. As if a robot lacking oil was trying to perform a breakdance but ended with rusty broken shafts.

“Is this good enough?” The boy turned animal questioned the teaching freckled monkey. She locked his eyes and added. “See my hand? Do the same as me. Put your left hand on the lead’s shoulder if you are the follower. Your right hand should be wrapped in the lead’s left hand. Make sure your elbow is up at shoulder height.”

“A little softer is better. Imagine you are in a box made of clouds.” She expressed in a thoughtful look. “You should start with your left foot forward and ending with your right foot placed next to your left foot. Move with your knees slightly bent. You need to rise on your toes and lift your foot slightly as it follows the 1-2-3 tempo. Try to keep your feet low to the ground as you move from side to side.”

“Oh, I see…” The little wolf made a strange smile secondary to his childish though and current mouth.

“That’s good. See, you just need to believe that you are stepping on clouds and fly, step by step.” The girl grabbed his cheeks again, the warmth from her hands made him feel a bit… alive. 'It didn’t hurt as much? Where did my bandages go? Did they turn into this hairy and itchy feeling?' He thought.

“Hey, don’t stop there like an idiot… We need to spin!” The little girl smiled mischievously.

“Spin?” He asked with a furrow.

“Hehehe!” The girl gave a little laugh, she then took the lead and started to spin with him around the transparent snakes. She made him spin and dance to the wrapping of such crystal tubes filled with the cold liquid.

The sensation of doing a yo-yo waltz was unique. Wrapping yourself in an elastic string and then spinning with the added angular acceleration. It was a freeing sensation.

“Oh!” He found this entertaining, he could feel a warm feeling rise from his weakened heart. It felt incredible as the poisonous chill entering his body was countered.

The whole wolves and riding hoods dancing around them gave an incredible show. The opposite poles made a dragging force were they spun, this made them walk away and return. Instead of a box area, they danced in a circumferential area of their own steel pillar. They started jumping and sensed they could fly or do something like a strange pole dance fused with a trapezes’ show. All of that with a waltz background music of course.

The spinning started to accelerate as the music started to go faster and faster. He felt a little dizzy with the following spins. Despite that, he felt excitement as the cold sensation fleeted every time he touched or hugged the white monkey in the dance. ‘This is so cool and fun!' His mind could feel the cries of his never found light before. He cried but smiled.

“Hey don’t cry!” The little girl wiped some of his tears.

“Hmm,” He nodded towards the strange monkey. Instead, his tears continued flowing.

“Come on let's spin more till the whole place turn dizzy!” The monkey made a teary face as if understanding what he felt. Still, she jumped and started doing more difficult things to follow. She just spun and even tried to grab the liquid clouds above those metal tubes.

“Hahaha,” He gave a hearty laugh and tried to follow, the figures around the both of them seemed to learn and copied their leading movements. They danced till the small sun dimmed slowly and everything turned darker than it already was.

The rhythmical steps followed by the soft jumping in the current tempo was sensational. As they whirled around the misty area, the skies started to show myriads of falling stars. The lights reflected and diverged when in contact with the liquid clouds forming colorful images. The beautiful auroras in the dark vanished slowly, while the pairs remained still or adjusted their tempo to watch that magical moment.

"Little wolf that's incredible." The little monkey's face flushed, it highlighted her freckles.

"It's wonderful." The boy moved gently while making her spin.

"Hehehe!" The girl closed her eyes and laughed with her pitchy tone. She then gazed at the sky and asked. "Little wolf do you want to touch those?"

"Eh? What are you planning little monkey, we already tried but they are so high..." The wolf boy frowned at the little monkey's idea in disbelief, as they continued the mesmerizing dance in a gentle tempo.

"See this, they stretch a lot... We can create something to climb with them... Do you dare?" The monkey smirked mischievously at him.

"Hey, that might work! Let's do that! Hahaha! This is going to be fun!" He affirmed the plan as both of them separated and run in opposite directions, giving each other their backs.

After that little pause, the dance accelerated, it turned more dreamy than it already was. The cristal snakes were stretching by their constant spin, it allowed them to dance together in an embrace for a longer time. The constant efforts and perseverance made them realize how incredible this was. But they already had a goal in their mischievous eyes; to touch the skies. They whirled and wrapped in the crystal strings, bringing them around their counterpart's metal stand. The pair of metal tubes now looked like two big needles with crisscrossing crystal threads.

The ladder styled structure allowed them to do a balanced show now. As the tubes stretched and they danced, the construction of the ladder advanced. The whole scene appeared majestic as crystal walls started to rise and become visible. The whirling tune followed their tiny feet, as they finally reached their goal. They jumped while whirling, trying to embrace each other below the weakened light inside the darkness.

The touching of the clouds gave them a watery touch sensation and a salty fragrance. The connected crystal snakes broke free after that forceful last jump. As they embraced each other, little drops of red liquid oozed from the place the tubes were attached. The drops remained floating in the air as he made a dancing posture with the monkey in his arms.

Time remained still as he looked at the teary monkey in his arms, he decided to cry in this comfortable warmth. While they touched the vault of the current dreamy skies. A dream sky of liquid clouds and teary red pearls, crystal tubes, and a waltz to adjust yourself.

(Here ends the sound of the Valse. Ty if you heard it. If you didn't, I hope you heard a waltz or you'll lose an opportunity maybe?)

True name for this chapter is:

The Lone Shadow's Valse.

Valse with me, inside the dark.

Wrapped in tubes of plastic strands.

Wash away all those tears in life,

Envelop ourselves in murky lands,

Use your dreams and waltz with me,

Surrounded by pearls of red luster.

Dream and fly, touch the warmth,

Express your world in dancing chants,

Shadows twist and light their soul,

Spirits sway and break those walls.

Let this song spin your mind,

Embrace the shadow at your back,

Dance alone, whirl with us,

An ephemeral waltz inside your eyes.

Touch this warm, realize your goal, A weakened sun dimmed long ago, The last light you want is inside your soul, There is only one path for you to go.

Explanations and a picture at the end.

Spoiler: Spoiler

So I tried a quote that ended in a song... I even made a shitty music background for myself. Not easy to catch. Still it rhymes... a bit... with the valse I choose.

Ignorance is a barrier between two places the dark one and the bright everyone owns. But our concept of light and dark has always been so-so without offence. That just means we still see with the innapropiate method.This is something that will take even the most intelligent lifeform long time to understand. So we will go step by step as we dance with our only loyal follower, our shadow.

The first step to avoid the demons called friendzone is to understand ourselves.

For this chapter explanation I extended a bit more. Because a waltz has more meanings that you imagine. It is one of the most interesting dances in the world. First because it was one of the most used courting dances in history. It expreses ourselves but also shows what we like to tell others. This dance is a way to express what we are, and also to understand our own tune.

A tune that can only be shown in moments where there is dark. Because it sounds so weak that it can only be heard in those moments of absolute darkness or loneliness. That little piece of treasure that shines at the depths of the abyss. Something that drives those monstrous emotions and madness away. It's your own song, like the sagas of vikings. A song of storms like in LoZ. One that shows your saddest moments but also the most beautiful ones. As they say, you only learn to sing for yourself after falling. So keep trying and dance, spin, embrace the beauty of dreaming and fantasy. (Do I really have to tell you were the sound comes? Really? Its Dump-ster)

We show what we want in the light, but our true selfs remain in our longing shadow. The little monster that we can't show others, until you turn the coal monster, into that beautiful jewel that represents yourself finally being understood.

When a person is exposed to those saddest moments or emotional stress factors, they strive to move forward. That is maturity, we learn from our experiences and we also rationalize them integrating those in our dreams. That's what creativity and abstract intelligence is. Living is fun because there are many things we have yet to know, but more than that is what we can create or dream to do.

Dancing

It's an ephemereal moment where you use dance to create language. It defines our world but lets us reach the top. We express ourselves and show what we love, so that others around understand what we hope.

It has culture, it varies for everyone around us. It represents our roots to grow safe in the worst conditions. That's why music is important in our lives. It helps us understand ourselves and reach outside our isolated bubble.

Hope you liked my long summary. I cried a bit there, I won't lie to you. I would also like if you understood this little boy I created, identifying the things and shadows in chapter 16, how he twisted them has an interesting value. But I think it would be hard since no one will spend much time in this little trashcan. Everyone likes to dance alone most of the time. And only people that are perseverant read all of the above. Even less will understand it. And none shall find the hidden meanings, since I haven't written the key to unlock them.

PS: I actually danced waltz sometime, but it's not my everyday thing obviously. Each culture has a beautiful dance, so choose that one. Raccoons only know how to wiggle, roll and scratch... those are my favourites. No I am not a dancer... I am a RiT.

Damn so many hidden meanings in this chapter...

Image of the monkey girl:

Spoiler: Spoiler

This is the monkey girl sketch I did. Well, its obviously the patient the mc met. She misses the dress and the crystal tubes... Imagine her with an additional red and white dress like a princess and red riding hood. Forgive the effect for making the semi-brown skin yellow. The original color was red, but I changed it to white, since patients usually have white clothes... Well in the future I might repaint the red.

Thanks.