They say that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all but in this day and age of on-line friendships and romances, the saying should be amended. For is it still better to have loved and lost if you never really knew the person, if you’d never seen them or held their hand. Is it still better to love a shadow.

Bert thinks not. Bert who loved a shadow and then lost it. Bert who dreamed of how the blue leather would shimmer, Bert who dreamed of the close-close embrace of moulded fiberglass, Bert who dreamed of connecting the pieces of the puzzle, the blades and the boots, to form a work of art.

The blades now lie alone at home, and they will continue to do so for many more months. For, you see, Berts love, Berts promised ones have been cancelled.

His foot molds have been unceremoniously returned to him like a love trinket thrown in his face. And his skates, his poor skates have been snuffed out of existence before they were even allowed to exist.

Beware all you who love a shadow, for shadows are delicate things, wont to dissapear beneath the slightest of cloud-and they will leave you without even the smallest comfort of the memory of their touch.