In the Shadows

Ralph Keaper couldn’t sleep, so he walked the streets at night. He saw things others didn’t. Sometimes he hid in the shadows and watched. Drug deals. Homes where the occupants were on vacation. Businesses broken into. He saw it all. He remembered the first time he called 911. Ralph felt as if he should report this. So he bought a disposable phone.
“911, what is your emergency?”
“Someone is breaking into the Delury’s home.” Ralph whispered into his cell phone. “501 Main.”
“Police are on their way.” The operator said. “And what is your name, sir?”
He hesitated; he couldn’t give his real name. What could he say?
“Sir, your name, please?” The operator said.
“Shadow man. Just call me the Shadow Man,” Ralph ended the call before she could ask again. Hiding in the shadows, he watched two police units, their lights off, enter the house. One in front of the other waited at the back door. The robbers didn’t have a chance. They came out in handcuffs.
He returned home satisfied that he had stopped them in their tracks. The next night he hit the streets at 2 AM. He saw a drug deal go down. He walked the streets. Moonlight filtered through the trees. The world seemed more peaceful after midnight. At 3 AM he returned to his bed for a few hours of sleep.
Nothing happened for 6 nights. Then on Cherry Street he saw a reflection in the windows of a house. Then he realized it wasn’t a reflection, but that the house was on fire. He ran across the street and up onto the porch, pounding on the front door.
“Fire! Fire! Get out now. He kicked the door open. A man, his wife, and two children ran from the burning house. He called 911. Looking around, the little girl sobbed.
“Buffy. Mom, Buffy’s not here.” She cried tears streaming down her cheeks. She attempted to run back into the burning house. Her father stopped her. He hugged the sobbing little girl to himself. Ralph had no choice. He had no one at home. No one cared for him. This dog meant the world to the little girl. He looked at the family huddled there on the sidewalk, the little girl’s face now buried in her mother’s nightgown. Taking a deep breath, possibly his last, he entered the burning house. On his knees, partly to hunt for the dog and partly because of the smoke, he called out in a coughing voice. “Here Buffy. Come on, Buffy, or we’re both going to die here.”
He found the dog in the living room, huddled under a chair. He reached under and pulled out the little dog. The pup trembled in his arms. “It’ll be all right.” Ralph said soothingly. He looked around him; fire covered the walls of the home. He had only seconds before the fire blocked his exit. Leaping over the flames, Ralph ran from the burning house. Behind him, he heard the porch collapse. On the sidewalk, he deposited the trembling puppy into the little girl’s arms. She hugged the dog to her chest, weeping. “Thank you. Oh, thank you. “His face covered in soot he smiled. The father put a hand on his arm. “What’s your name? “The man asks, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Shadowman. “Then he was gone back into the shadows. He faded back into the night. The first fire truck roared up, siren screaming. Yet his fame spread. People began looking for him. The local newspaper picked up the story of the fire. He woke up one morning to see an article on the front page with the title. Who is the Shadowman? For lack of a picture, an artist had drawn a character of a man in a cape. He stayed in for the next few nights until his fame faded. On the fifth night, he went out wearing dark clothing. He saw a drug deal go down. He called dispatch using his throwaway phone.
“This is Shadow Man. I just saw a drug deal go down on 219 Coast Road.” Ralph whispered into his phone.
“Hello shadow man. Yes, we have a unit in that area.” The 911 operator said. “Can I ask your name?”
“Shadow man will do.” He ended the call.
One night he followed a convenience store robber back to his home. The man was still counting his take when the cops showed up. Ralph stayed in the shadows while the cops put him in handcuffs. He went home, satisfied. Ralph worked during the day as a warehouse manager. One morning after a tour of the Wearhouse he entered the breakroom. There on one table was a copy of the local newspaper. He broke out in a cold sweat. There on the front page was a picture of him. He wore a hood, and the photo was of his back. You couldn’t see his face. Underneath were the words: DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN? For some reason, he didn’t want them to know of his true identity. That night he stayed in the next and the next.
Friday; he was off that day. He slept in. Going to the grocery store, then to the bank. As he stood in line at the bank, a man burst through the door shouting, “Everybody on the floor. Now.” The robber wore a black ski mask and was waving a pistol around. Ralph, along with five other people in the bank, hit the floor. An older woman started weeping, her cries echoing throughout the room. “Shut up.” The robber growled. Ralph felt he must do something. After all, he was shadow man. But he felt helpless. Then he saw the robber’s shoes. He was standing two feet away. A thought came to him. As a child, one thing they did was tie shoelaces together. Unknowingly, Ralph reached over and untied the robber’s shoes. He had only seconds. If he saw what Ralph was doing, he would kill him. The man was concentrating on the teller. Quickly and gently, Ralph untied and retied the man’s shoelaces together. Thrusting the bag back at the robber, the teller ducked down below the counter. Grasping the bag, the robber turned to run and fell flat on his face. The pistol flew out of his hand. Shadow man jumped on his back, as did two of the men waiting in line. One man who weighed 300 pounds sat on his back. “Ow, ow, ow. Get off my back. You’re crushing me.” The robber cried. The heavyset man bounced up and down in response . Shadow man stood at the door, waving the police officers in. The two officers had to smile as they saw the fat man crushing the robber. They helped the heavy-set man up and handcuffed the robber. Ralph continued to operate throughout the town. But only at night. The mayor proclaimed one day in June Shadow Man Day.
Yet no one learned his true identity.