Sun Dance

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. That’s how my mother always started her stories when she was alive. But that was then and this is now. I’m in this godforsaken waste land of nothingness. Everything is burning. It doesn’t make much sense to me how God could make all this space and not save my mom from being burnt alive by the very thing that saved us humans and gave us light.

I wish she was here right now. We all do. Nothing is going to change the fact that she’s gone though.I guess we all have to live with the burning truth of life and death. Especially with what’s going on with the sun.

“ Turn on the cooler!” I heard someone shout from beside me. I knew what that meant and it wasn’t good news. I could feel the heat rise within my whole body. Sweat dripped down my back and soaked my cloths.The stomping of people’s feet echoed loudly throughput the compound. They were all running to activate the cooler.

“What temperature commander?” Meredith asked my dad.

“ Turn it down to thirty again!” He shouted. The heat was now visible on the horizon. It was another full blown solar storm. I looked at the temperature gage beside me. It wasn’t going down.

“Shit!” I exclaimed while angrily slamming my hands on the desk. “Dad!” I yelled. He didn’t answer. I couldn’t yell any louder. The heat was suffocating. “Dad!” I tried again.

He turned around.” What is it hun? !” He said.

“It’s not going down! The temperature is not going down ,” I yelled. My voice was still not up to par. He heard me cause he turned the cooler up further. The heat was subsiding. I sighed deeply but the heat in the air was still hot enough to dry my throat. I coughed. Even my sweat was evaporating. I looked at the temperature gage again. 52. I felt nauseous and dizzy. 42. The heat was getting to everyone. We all looked weak and frail from months and months of on and off solar storms. 32. The smell of vomit still plagues us. 30. The sun was neutralizing. It took a bit for the sun to calm down but the heat still hung in the air. Thank heavens for the cooler.

“Good work team!” My dad exclaimed.

“Dad?” I said quizzically.

“ Yes sweet pea,” he said.

“ What are we going to do about the sun?”

“ I’ve been asking myself the same question since you were born and it’s only gotten worse,,” he said while patting my shoulder. It’s lunch time now though if you want to eat!” He said.

“ No thanks. I’m still feeling nauseous from heat exhaustion,” I said. “ But I’ll sit down at the tables.” I walked to the tables where some guys were sitting. Tony and Brendan were their names. I didn’t like them much but it was the only spot open. Everyone was sitting down and resting.

“They say the cooler will kill the sun more,” Tony said to Brendan. Most likely in response to something said earlier when I was out of earshot.

“That’s not true!” I exclaimed, as I sat down.

“ Oh yeah! If you’re so smart why don’t you tell us how it works! Oh wait. You can’t,” Brendan taunted.

“Well actually I can! The cooler works by redirecting the sun’s heat and.”

“ And cooling off the sun’s temperature inside,” Tony interrupted.

“ No! Not exactly. My mother said.”

“ Your mother was an idiot! Tony interrupted again.

“Don’t talk about my mother like that! She was a hero,” I said angrily.

“ Yeah whatever,” Brendan mumbled under his breath.

“I’m not in the mood to talk to you about this,” I said. They mumbled something inaudible.

I didn’t know what else to say as I didn’t want to get into an even more heated argument, so I just sat there quietly. I took out my computer pad. We didn’t call them iPads any more. Only in history books. I started writing. I usually wrote to my mom, hoping she would respond back, but obviously she never did. It just felt good to write and tell her mundane things. About how my day was going.My hands tapped the keys which made little beeps with every letter I pressed. The screen light was oddly comforting. Especially since it was a lot less bright than the overpowering sun these days. The screen light had been modified so we can see it when it’s so light outside. I shifted in my seat. The wood beneath me creaked. I readjusted my sunglasses.

“ Annoying how we have to wear those so often, huh?”

I turned around. It was my dad.

“Yeah. The sun is pretty overpowering,!” I said, nodding my head in agreement.

He smiled. A soft gentle smile. The kind of smile that makes you want to hug someone. I smiled back and jumped up to hug him.

“ I love you dad!”

“ I love you too!”

The hug was a very sweaty one as it was still thirty degrees. It was hard to get the temperature any lower.

“I think I’m going to go for a walk outside to asses the aftermath of that solar storm,” I said.

“Outside? Are you sure that’s safe?” My dad asked.

“ I’ll be fine,” I responded. “ I’ll wear one of the safety suits. Where is it again?”

“ In the armoury!”

“Thank you dad. You’re the best!” I said as I ran towards the armoury. When I found it I walked in and was immediately hit with dust. I coughed. We didn’t go in the armoury often as we only went outside for assessments after storms. It was too dangerous plus the compound was the only place that could stay cool enough for us to live. It was always thirty degrees inside except when the cooler was needed like today. I looked around and found the heat protector suit. I took it and put it on. I awkwardly shifted it on my body. It was time to go outside. I stomped through the compound. I shifted inside the suit. I reached for the door and pulled it open. A blast of hot air filled my face and lungs. The sand danced in the wind. I stepped out to greet the vast expanse of nothingness. All the water had been already dried up outside. There were no trees. Those were all burnt years ago. The sky was a bright yellow, filling my vision with nothing but light. I adjusted my sunglasses under the suit. My brow began to drip sweat onto my eyes. I closed them tight. The sun’s light still etched in my vision. I took out my computer pad. And pressed the record button.

“ One hour after solar storm. Sun still looks too bright. Everything is a sign of death and destruction.” I smelled the air and let the smell linger on my tongue and in my nose. The air tasted oddly sweet but felt heavy in my lungs even with the suit. “Air feels hot,” I carried on with my recording. I saw something shimmer in the distance. “ Heat mirages happening after this storm as well as the last one!” I walked toward the mirage. “ Mirage getting further away as I try and approach. To be expected. Listening for signs of life,” I narrated. I listened but the silence was deafening. My breathing and heart beat echoed throughout my mind. “No sounds point to life other than mine,” I said into the recorder. I looked up at the sky. The sun was much larger than last I assessed which was two days ago. “The sun seems to have grown again. It doesn’t look like we have much time before it condenses,” I said. “ Scouts will continue to look for any place to go other than the compound. I’m not sure where that would be though. I walked around in the sand, kicking it up as I went. Light was all around me. The whole sky was a yellow reddy mess. “Still no clouds in the sky. No water has come to the surface for a long time it looks like,” I said. I was about to turn around but then I saw it in the distance. It was a tree in the centre of the mirage. I squinted, wondering if it was just my imagination. I instantly ran back to the compound. Once inside again, I quickly got out of the suit. I ran to find my dad.

“Dad!” I tried to yell but I was panting. I ran and pushed my way through the sea of people

but couldn’t find him. I bumped into Meredith pretty hard.

“Watch where you’re going! What are you doing anyway?”

“I’m sorry, I’m actually looking for my dad. It’s important . Have you seen him?” I asked.

“He’s in the kitchen,” she replied.

“Thank you!” I said, running away as fast as I could. When I finally pushed and shoved my way to the kitchen I saw my dad over the food maker. “Dad!” I yelled. He looked up.

“There you are! How was outside!”

“ Well it started off pretty badly as the sun is definitely going to condense soon. It’s getting to be really big and the whole sky is red and yellow. Ahh. What am I saying. I need to tell you that I saw a tree! A small one but it was there!” I exclaimed.

“A tree? Are you sure it wasn’t just a mirage?” He asked.

“ I’m pretty sure. It was in a mirage lake though! Maybe I’m just hoping too much,” I said.

“ There is always room for more hope Allison,” he said.

“ Can we send out the scouts tomorrow?”

“ I think that’s too risky seeing as you’re not even sure it was real. You’re tired and disoriented from the heat,” he said.

“ You’re probably right,” I said.

“ But if it makes you feel better. If the scouts are up to it tomorrow I’ll send them out! Deal?” He said.

“ Deal!” I responded. I yawned. I looked at my watch. It was definitely bedtime. Although, it didn’t seem like it as it was always light out to some degree.

“ I think I’m going to hit the sack,” I said.

“Okay! I’ll see you in the morning,” he replied, smiling.

I walked towards the sleeping area and sat on my bed.#42. I then undressed and pulled my pj onesie on me. I pulled the covers over my body and waited for sleep to claim me. It never came. My mind was too busy thinking about that tree. It was all I saw when I closed my eyes. It morphed into a figure right before my dream.

“ Mom?” I asked quizzically.

I woke up suddenly. I guess I did end up getting to sleep. I had to explore more today after seeing my mom like that. I had no idea what it meant. Dreams could mean anything these days. They say that sometimes dreams could be the future. Was I going to see my mom again? That didn’t make sense cause she was dead. Had been since I was just a kid. Maybe six or so. It was hard to know as nobody keeps track of seasons or months these days. The sun’s light just engulfs us all year round. I sat in bed for a bit longer, trying to let my hope flood my body. Once ready I hopped up and very quickly got dressed.

“Mom! I’m coming to find you!” I yelled to no one in particular. Everyone stared at me. I just hung my head as I didn’t want to make eye contact after admitting I wanted to chase a ghost. I had a whole new day. We needed to send out the scouts. Something was going on out there but whatever it was I knew it was an essential for our survival. I was ready to dance with the sun.