Riddles in a Fiddle!

Here we go... My third blog I've written since I've been an Intermediate kid! But anyway this is a blog to say I've given up Quotes... but taken up Riddles... then after a while I'll give up Riddles...for Quotes and so on and so forth, Yada, Yada. So here are you first 4 riddles... first 2 are Easy but the 3rd and 4th riddle is hard!! So if you answer all 4 correctly your name will be in one of my blogs... or if you don't want to use your name then a weird username or word would be good... even a series of numbers e.g. Atarah= 123456... So her are you first Fiddle Riddles!

Easy:

I come in darkness, but fill the mind with light. I bring enlightenment to some, while gripping others in the hand of fear. With me it can be a journey of inexplicable joy and sorrow. What I will show you will often be unreachable. Journey with me and what you see may haunt you. Journey with me and you may never want to return home. Journey with me and you will never know when it will end. What am I? 

I'm so fast you can't see me, Though everyone sees straight through me, I don't stop until the day you die. What am I?  

Hard:

A petshop owner had a parrot with a sign on its cage that said "Parrot repeats everything it hears." A young man bought the parrot and for two weeks he spoke to it and it didn't say a word. He returned the parrot but the shopkeeper said he never lied about the parrot. How can this be?

Which word in the English language becomes shorter when it is lengthened?  

Get all 4 correct and you'll get your name on my blog to say CONGRATS!!!