Until the Sun Falls

Chapter 1

Jackie

I watched the late afternoon sunlight filter through the cracks in the shutters that blocked the windows. It illuminated the dust mites, turning them to glitter and giving them life. They spun and twirled elegantly in the air. I liked to think I would do the same if I were lucky enough to be in full view of the sun.

With time that soft and glowing sliver of light slowly crawled across the floor of my bedroom. From the safety of my bed I watched it, letting my mind wander while the sun devoured the darkness bit by bit...

Darkness. The word had always sounded so lonely to me, probably because it perfectly summed up my life. It was all there was, and all there ever would be for me. My pale skin had never been kissed by the sun, and my hair was never given a chance to blow in the warm wind etched with sunshine. All my life I had been kept behind drawn windows and closed doors. I was frequently reminded that sunlight was a terrible and dangerous thing, but only for me.

My sister, Eilene, was allowed to be outside in the light. Her childhood was filled with playing outdoors and gardening with our mother, who kept an impressive number of rose bushes alive by what seemed like sheer will. Eilene swam with her school friends during the hot summer days without worry, and I watched with envy as her skin turned golden and freckles rose upon her cheeks. I knew I would never be able to enjoy life the way she did. Not while I was constantly under watchful eyes, and lock and key.

Other than the numerous restrictions and rules regarding my freedom outside my home, I had everything else a girl should have growing up. I was loved and cared for, I was doted on and given gifts relating to whatever hobby I was interested in at the time, and my parents let me dictate every detail of my room where I would spend my days reading or painting. There was just one part of my life that didn't match up with every other girl my age, and that part meant I would grow up mostly lonely. No one wanted to play indoors with the freak who could only go outside on the rainy days.

"Is she ill?" They would ask, "What's wrong with her?"

When I asked my parents these same questions that the other children had asked me, they simply said, "You are allergic to the sun. Just a moment in the light could make you blister and have seizures. We are keeping you inside to protect you."

When I told the neighbor kids this they started calling me a vampire. They teased me ceaselessly until my sister put an end to it.

Eilene was always coming to my rescue. Older than me by only a year, she was so much lovelier a child than I was. She had golden brown hair that grew long down her thin frame, eyes of sapphire, and a pure smile that could get her just about anything. She empathized with me the most out of anyone. While she preferred the sun and thrived in its rays, she never hesitated to dance with me in the rain and rejoice at the arrival of a storm. On the sunny days Eilene would bring me things from outside, like the flowers, and she would stay indoors with me more often as we got older. In time her skin paled to a shade close to mine, but I was always paler.

She was my best and only friend back then, and if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have the freedom I do now. It took years of her protesting and arguing with our parents before they had finally agreed to let me go to school with her.

It was just three years ago that Eilene had arrived home after her first day of her sophomore year. She found me at the dining table I used as my desk in the afternoons, working on my math equations. When she came in the door she was careful as always to not leave it open too long. The excitement of Eilene's first day put me in a melancholy mood every year, so I had greeted her with a sad smile and politely asked her how her day went.