Into the Light

            She heard their screams in the distance. They were not dark screams, but light, happy ones. The screams of playful children giggling and teasing one another.

This is what woke her. She opened her eyes and rubbed away the dry flakes around her lashes. She slowly, weakly raised her body from the mattress, aware that it was much lighter in her room than ever before. She stood up and blinked rapidly, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the abnormal brightness. There was a large window to her left. Through the window was nothing but the dull hum of darkness, but not today. Today, through her thick, tan curtain, there was a kind of light. Not the kind of light that came from the yellow electricity, but a strange, natural one. Now, of course, she and everyone else hadn’t the slightest clue what natural light was. The world outside was a light black. Dark enough to mask the beauty of the world, but light enough to make out where one was.

            Slowly, her body weak and heart beating fast with the anticipation of what lay beyond, she made her way out her door and into the black house. She stood face to face with a rickety door. What lay beyond was a quant sitting room, with a large, clear, double door. She trembled as her pale hand reached towards a curved knob. She clasped it, and let out a breath as she pressed down and the door clicked open, revealing a stream of light into the hallway. Her heart seemed to leap out of her chest as she thrust the door open.

            It was a shocking sight. A sight that lasted no more than a second before her eyes snapped shut and her body jolted with pain. Her hands flew to her face in an attempt to shield herself from the unearthly light. She stumbled back and hit into the wall. That one, quick glimpse had frozen her whole body. Her eyes were throbbing and stung, refusing to open. She took a moment to breath before finally opening her eyes again. They opened to see that the light had turned her hands a sort of glowing red, as if it was shining right through her skin. Slowly she walked forward, carefully moving her hands up to create a visor of sort. Her mouth hung open in amazement. The world was on fire, burning with a brilliance she had never known. Her mouth turned to an astonished smile as she took in the sights. Though mostly blinded, she saw a beauty like no other, colors she knew but never so bright, textures she had felt but never truly seen.

            Then she saw it. Through the intense white that burned into her dark-familiar eyes, she made out two figures. Small and skinny, she thought them to be children. They laughed and screamed with delight as they rode bikes with tassels down her road. They were happy, and were not shielding their eyes. They continued down the road into a much brighter patch of light until they were not longer visible.

Confused and amazed, she stumbled back to the door, and upon shutting it she was once again, amazed. She turned around to the hallway that was once dark and found it to be lighted with the white light from before. She shielded her eyes with her left hand and used her right to feel her way upstairs. Upstairs she went to another sitting area. She saw that this too, was flooded with the natural light. She heard her family’s voices in the background. Eager to know what they thought of the light, she stumbled towards the kitchen. Once there, in the white covered room, she squinted and finally made out their shapes. They did not notice her, but she soon grew panicked. She did not care if they took notice of her presence, but they did not seem at all aghast by the new and strange light. Their blurry figures seemed to bask in it.

She backed away and hurried back down the stairs and into her room. She and everyone around her had been in the dark for so long, or so she thought. Perhaps she imagined it. Perhaps they weren’t in the dark at all. Perhaps they were seeing clearly and she had only pretended that others were also in the dark, so that she would not feel alone. She grabbed a hair-tie and pulled her long hair into a pony tail.

            She left the house and walked down the street. She walked it mostly from memory. She made her way down a rode and the few who passed her seemed to take no notice. Eventually she entered a small town. Her eyes were not as blind now, but still stung with the beautiful light. She took in the view around her and realized that it was not as beautiful as it seemed. The buildings were cracked, neglected, and crumbling. The people held ugly frowns as they went about their business, unconcerned with the trials of the ugly, raggedy people that lined the alleyways. The gutters were blocked by trash and muck. Bottles, blackened gum and cigarettes lay smashed into the sidewalk. She walked down the street and took in the images she had never noticed in the dark. The people were mean, and angry, and covered in scars. They had rough hands from long hours of unfulfilling work. The children were not as happy as the ones she had seen riding down the street. They had matted hair, stains on clothing not suited for someone so young, and they crinkled their noses as they screamed out their demands to their worn parents. She had never seen these horrid sights before, and yet it all seemed so familiar.

            Shocked, she backed up a few steps and collided with a stranger. This stranger was not like the others. He looked content; he did not have worn hands and cruel eyes with tattered clothing. He looked happy. “Oh! I’m so sorry!” he apologized with a worried expression and squinted eyes. “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you!” she apologized with hands covering the shower of light beaming onto her face. The stranger squinted and looked around, seeming to have forgotten the incident. “Indeed, it does seem a bit darker than usual, doesn’t it?” he smiled and squinted in the way she often did when it was a bit too dark to see things properly. It was then that she realized that he did not see the natural light, just as the children riding down her road had not. Her eyes searched his blank face and suddenly recalled the day, many years ago, when she had chosen to be kept in the dark. She remembered being blissful when she had to squint her eyes to see what she assumed was there in the dark. She remembered mistakenly opening a door once, and being blinded by light. She remembered returning to see only in the dark by choice, knowing full well that someday she would have to see the light again.

            She looked around at the passing strangers, and saw those who were still in the dark, unscathed, happy, and ignorant. She saw them pass right by the gruff, scarred beings who continued to see in the light, who saw and accepted the horror around them. She stepped aside to let the stranger pass. She watched him go, considering yelling after him that he was a fool, that he cannot run from what is real forever. She found herself thinking bitter thoughts of the tragedy that would fall upon that fool who remained in the dark. She realized these dark thoughts and felt ashamed. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were dirty; dirty as those around her. She would wash them when she returned home, but in the mean time, she decided that she would never try to see in the dark again, or take refuge in the shade. She would take in the truly horrific and cruel world around her and accept it as others had done. She did not really want to, this choice did not make her happy, but she knew that it was a necessity.  That there was no point in hiding under the covers of night when the unavoidable reality would always be right there.

             She went home and walked into the kitchen, seeing her family for the first time. She saw her happy sister’s wrists covered in scars with a frown embedded on her face. She saw her parents glare down at their drinks, unhappy and worn. She saw her brother wringing his hands and glowering at the pressures of society thrust down on him and the judging, speculating eye of his fiancé. Then at the end of the table she saw her younger sister. Six years old and smiling brightly. Her skin was clear, her dress was yellow, her hair was in messy pigtails. What she noticed most though, was that above her wide accepting smile, were two sparkling eyes, squinting to see her perfect family in the darkness.

            Her eyes watered as she walked over to her younger sister. She threw her arms around her and hugged her tight. She let her know that she loved her. She told her to stay strong and that she was a beautiful person and must never change, not for anyone. The little girl smiled and giggled. The sisters clasped hands and went downstairs into a dark room where the younger sister could go on mighty quests, and the older sister would pretend that she could still see in the dark.