Luminis Metamorphose

The First Lights

Five years ago, bright beams of light fell all across the earth, bathing the world in an otherworldly glow. Nobody knew what it was or where it came from. Some believed it was a divine sign, while others feared it was the end of the world. But the light went away as fast as it came, and life returned to normal. Or so it seemed. Within a year, strange things began to happen. It started with a few animals exhibiting unusual behavior, and soon, it became apparent that the entire ecosystem was changing. Deer became aggressive, and rhinos developed tougher skin. Some herbivores even started to consume flesh, and predators began to hunt in packs. People around the world started to realize that something wasn't right.

Scientists scrambled to find an explanation, but they were stumped. Was it the lingering effects of the light beams? Or something else entirely? As the years went by, the changes became more pronounced, and the world fell into chaos.

And that's where I come in. My name is Cliff, and I was just 18 when the Light Pillar phenomenon struck. I was on a flight with my sister to Australia when the plane was hit by one of the beams. Half the plane lost power, and people panicked as the light bathed the cabin. I looked out the window and saw more pillars in the distance, some bigger and brighter than others. They stretched across the horizon like a beautiful but eerie light show. Eventually, the light faded, and the plane's electronics came back on. We landed safely at the airport, but the experience stayed with me. 

When I checked online, I saw that the phenomenon had occurred all around the world. Many people believed it was the work of aliens, while others suggested it was a natural phenomenon caused by light reflecting off snow. But I could do research later; first, we needed to get out of there. My sister and I were waiting for our bags to appear when we heard someone screaming our names. After we retrieved our belongings, we wondered who could be calling out for us. Mom had said she was busy, so I wonder who would pick us up. Then, I had a thought about who it might be.

When we walked out of the baggage retrieval area, we looked around to see who was shouting our names. "Who would yell when you can just wait for us to come ou—" I couldn't even finish my sentence before I was tackled by someone. And, of course, it was none other than him.

"CLIFF! Dude, long time no see! HAHAHA," he shouted while hugging me with a dumb smirk on his face. "Why did you tackle Cliff like that? Jeez, get up and let's go already. You are so embarrassing!" It was the sibling duo, Herohi and Sora. "Ouch. Hey, guys, long time no see. Did you guys just get here?" I asked them as I tried to stand back up. "My bad, dude. Here, take my hand." I grabbed Hero's hand and stood up. "No, it's not that long. We have been here for 20 minutes, dad is waiting for us in the car." As I looked around, I see Sora chatting up with Alice. 

"Cliff, I am so glad you guys are fine. I heard what happened while you were on the plane," Sora said to us in a faint, shaky voice.

"Yeah, it all happened so fast. I didn't know how to react. Half the cabin was lit up, but it was weird to see there was a distinct separation of light, like I was right on the edge of a wall. I looked outside, and there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of beams across the horizon," I said as I looked at Alice. It seemed like she wanted to ask me something.

"Did you also see it?" she asked. "When I was in the light, I tried to look at you, but I only saw half your body. It was like I was captured in a cage of light. It felt strange though; it felt warm but not too hot, bright but not blinding. Not only that, but it felt nice." she suddenly started to mumble, "it's like there was someone talking in my head."

"Sorry, guys, we can talk about it more later. Let's go; your dad is probably wondering why it's taking us so long," I said. I packed all the luggage onto one cart while Sora held Alice's hand and Hero pushed the cart. We caught up on how things had been. It had been two years since my sister and I had to live with family in Europe. There was a reason our parents didn't tell us, and even today, we still didn't know what it was.