SUNLIGHT

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. The room is a narrow cell with a single light and a door locked from the outside. On the wall facing the bunk is a large flatscreen.

“What are you doing? Come back to bed,” he beckoned.

“I am studying this picture on your wall. It has captured my attention.”

“It’s not a picture. It’s a window.”

“Win-doh. What kind of picture is that?”

“It’s a moving picture.”

“Moving picture. How does it work? How do the things move in it?”

He stands and approaches her from behind.

“It’s the wind. It blows the trees and the grasses. Do you see that?”

She becomes entranced with the movement outdoors. She tries to see every movement that she can.

“It is like magic.”

“You really need to come back to bed now, P. We’ll never fulfill our yearly quota.”

“Why was not this picture on your wall before?”

“I never opened it, in case of inspection.”

P recoils at the sound of the word inspection. “They will come again?” she whispers, shaking.

“They appeared on the screen this morning. They won’t be back for some time now.”

“They were pleased? We passed the Rancher inspection?”

“They saw us doing our work. It was perfect timing. But we must continue to be productive.”

“Yes. Still, I want to look at this picture. May I just a little more? The moving picture?”

“You’ve never been outside before, haven’t you, P?”

“Outside? What is Outside, M?”

M sidles up closer to P so as to speak surreptitiously.

“First of all, there are no screens.”

P twitches anxiously. “No screens? How is it that you would know what to do, when you were in the Outside, without a screen example, M?”

“It was long ago. I will always remember. I looked around in different directions.”

“What was your action?”

“Action? I was still for some time. I had no action. Then a wind blew against my back and pushed me in a direction. I didn’t know if it was correct.”

“I am frightened for you, M. I do not know if I can hear more of this. How is it you were in such a state? Why was this your punishment?”

“I was tending to my calf. She was in a stall that I was instructed to visit. When the calf was resting I noticed the door was left open.”

“An open door?”

“Yes. Unlocked. Open.”

“Please tell me you did not go through the open door, M.”

“I did. And I was without blinders. I could see a narrow hallway that led to sunlight at the end.”

“Sunlight.”

“I couldn’t help myself. I felt drawn to it. The sunlight pulled me like I was the grass growing.”

“What is grass growing? You speak strangely, M. I am frightened. What happened?”

“It wasn’t long before I was corralled and returned to the stall for my chores.”

“You must have been much happier working. We are most fortunate, M. We are among the few who can be productive. The Ranch needs us in order so that we may continue to exist. Our work is important.”

“When I was there, outside, it all looked so huge. There was so much to take in. The sky seemed to go on forever. The trees and the grassy fields seemed infinite. I sunk my feet into the soil. And the sunlight, the sunlight made my naked body tingle. It was such a new experience.”

“You speak so strangely, M. You must be careful. You are beginning to sound like the banished poets. I do not know if your talk is favorable to the Nation. Why do they put you to work in a stall with an unlocked door or a moving picture? There must be a reason for that.”

“I’ve wondered. Maybe it is a test.”

“A test? Or a trap?”

“Maybe it is research. They always do that. Maybe they are curious what a bull would do outside without a calf.”

The sunlight suddenly pours in through the window. They both stare at it with eyes wide open, entranced.

“Or with a calf.”

“P?”

“I would visit the Outside, M. With you. Can you do that?”

The door unlocks.