Light in a Dark Sanctuary

Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. Hundreds of years ago the villagers would gather and rejoice to see it, or so Maria had heard. Now it was an annoyance at best. A reason for thick curtains and early bed times. At worst, it was a poignant reminder that they were trapped here, without reprieve and without hope. Everyone felt it, whether they wanted to admit it or not.

Maria lay in bed staring at the little streams of purplish light intruding into her very plain room. When she was small she used to pretend that they were pretty and sometimes she would reach her fingers through them and make the sparkles. She even felt kind of proud that some people couldn’t make sparkles and she could. Now she was just ashamed. Her ancestors had done this thing. Had trapped them here. And what was the use of life if it couldn’t be lived?

Pepper snorted in her sleep, startling Maria even though they’d been bunk mates since Pepper was a baby. Maria peered over the edge of the bed and studied her little sister’s unconscious, drooling face. She couldn’t help but chuckle. Pepper was cute in spite of herself and her annoying habits. Maria was glad that the council had decided to ask for volunteers to birth an extra child and that her parents had agreed. She turned back around and closed her eyes, determined to sleep. Just as she began to see some interesting shapes and had begun an intense conversation with one of them, Pepper snorted again and then called out.

“Maria!”

“Shut up!” Maria answered in a half-awake mumble.

“Maria!”

“What? I’m not showing you the sparkles.”

“Maria!” Pepper screeched. “Where are you?!”

“I’m right here stupid - calm down.”

By this point Pepper breathing was heavy and quick. Maria felt a twinge of panic herself about whatever unknown danger her sister might be perceiving, so she sat up and peered back over the edge of the bed. Pepper was sitting rigidly upright, staring straight ahead - her chest rising and falling unnaturally fast.

“Pepper?” Maria whispered hesitantly.

Pepper turned her face up in her older sisters general direction. Maria screamed and her body moved to get away, but only succeeded in tumbling backwards off the bed and hitting the floor with a thud.

Peppers eyes were unseeing, entirely white and glowed with enough radiance to illuminate her nose and eyebrows and cheekbones. Clearly terrified, her face showing with fear only made her eyes look more horrible in the darkness.

Maria scrambled to her feet and started screaming for their mother and father whose hurried footsteps she could already hear outside the room. Time was practically standing still. Ironic as that was in The Sanctuary.

Mother was the first to open the door, but immediately shielded her eyes with her arm and looked away.

“Maria - step out of the light! I can’t see!”

Maria instinctively lifted her arm and looked at it. Sparkles of intense light were flickering within an inch of her skin so thickly she could barely see her hand. She scooted away to a dark corner and the sparkles disappeared.

“Maria!” Pepper called out pitifully as Mother and Father rushed to her side. “Where did you go?”

“What do you mean sweetheart?” Fathers voice shook as he searched his youngest daughters unseeing eyes.

“Where did Maria go, Papa? It’s all dark now.”

Mother and Father looked at each other. “Have you heard of this happening since…?”

Mother shook her head.

“Darling,” she said. “Can you see us?”

“No Mama.”

“Could you see Maria just now?”

“Yes, and then she disappeared.”

“Ok,” said Mother. “Maria, in a moment I’m going to ask you to come back into the light. Father and I are going to shield our eyes and I’ll tell you when. Three, two, one… now.”

Maria stepped back into the purple light coming through the window. Instantly the room lit up, as if someone had turned on a very bright light. Pepper looked straight at her and smiled.

“There you are, Maria!”