To See The Sun

Although the outside world was unknown to her, she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. She went toward it and peeked through the slit where one dark gray curtain lay close to, but not quite against, the other. She leaned forward, inch by inch, taking care not to touch the curtain with any part of her body – Daddy would be mad if she did that.

A knock sounded at the front door of the house, and the sound of muffled voices reached her ears. Behind her, she heard a whimper, and she looked around at the shape huddled against the far wall.

“Gloria?” the cracked voice said. “Gloria, why don’t you just open the curtain a little? Surely you want to see more of the outside. Wouldn’t you like to see the sun?” Red-and-blue lights filtered in through the gap between the curtains.

“No, Mommy,” Gloria replied, ruefully. “Daddy would be mad.”

The woman’s parched lips split in a smile, dried blood cracking open on the upper lip. “Just a little bit?” Mommy pleaded. “Just to let in a little bit of light? You could say I told you to so that he wouldn’t be mad at you.”

Gloria sat on the nearby bed, her 6-year-old legs dangling, toes barely brushing the floor. “What does the sun look like, Mommy?” she asked.

“Someday, maybe you’ll be able to see for yourself,” came the coaxing reply. “If you could just open the front door, it would be right there.”

But Gloria was already shaking her head adamantly. “No, Daddy said I must never go outside,” she said. “That’s where the dangers are.” They both heard the front door open again, Daddy’s voice wishing the receding footsteps a good day.

“Gloria!” the woman hissed, suddenly angry in her desperation, “listen to your mother. Just open the window. It can be fast. Just open it, and then close it. Open it and close it, open it and close it, open it and close it,” she repeated, her words drifting off into wordless whimpers as the sound of heavy footsteps approached. Outside, an engine revved to life. Mommy hung against her chains now, sobbing without tears.

Daddy opened the door, his body rigid, his eyes blazing cold fire. “I heard you in here,” he whispered fiercely. “I’m sorry, Daddy,” Gloria began, but he interrupted her, his eyes fixed on Mommy. “Don’t worry, honey,” he said, his voice coated in silk, “I know it wasn’t you. You’re never the problem. Now go to your room and play.” A sinister smile spread across his lips. “We’ll have our fun in here.”

He took his “working” gloves out of his coat pocket and slipped them on, one hand after the other, as Gloria hopped off the bed. “See you later, Mommy,” she said, running out of the room to play, glad that she wasn't in trouble after all. As she left, she heard the chains rattle, feet scuttling against the wooden floor as Mommy pretended to be afraid.

When she got to her room, she pulled the frayed cord to turn on the light, then gazed at the yellow orb at the top, transfixed. Was this the sun? she wondered. Mommy had mentioned the sun her whole life, but Gloria had never seen it. Mommy said it was like a really big light that lit up everything when it was on. Gloria swung the pull cord, and the bulb wobbled, casting light around the room in first one corner and then the next, shining briefly on the stair bottoms that made up one side of her dingy room.

There were no windows here, of course. Just drywall, and the bottom of the stairs. Daddy had removed all the windows in the house besides the one in his room, so that no one could break in and get them. He had left that one for their safety – so that they could escape in case anything really bad happened. It was the last window. Gloria was sad that she didn’t have a window, but at least she had her light to play with. She swung the cord again, making the light dance.

She giggled and wondered if the sun had a pull cord too. If you could just open the front door, it would be right there, she heard Mommy say in her head. I can’t go outside, she thought. Daddy said so. But what if I just look outside? If I stay in the house and just look, nothing can get me. She hesitated. She felt quite certain that Daddy didn’t want her to open the door. He’d told her so enough times. But that’s because he loves me, and he wants me to be safe, she reasoned. And I will be safe! Still, she didn’t think he’d like it.

She opened the door to her room and listened. She could hear Mommy play-screaming while Daddy played with her. She heard the slap of a belt hitting something, and smelled something burning. He would be busy for a while, and he’d never know if she looked at the sun really fast. She snuck quietly to the front door and carefully began to turn the locks. She would have to be really sneaky, because Daddy could hear really well.

The last lock released, and she slowly opened the door. The first thing she saw was red-and-blue lights flashing, but that was all she could make out in the blinding glare that covered everything and made her eyes hurt. She closed her eyes tight against it, but she still heard so many sounds: somewhere, a dog barked; somewhere, people were talking; somewhere, a bell rang; and behind her, the rhythmic slapping stopped.

She closed the door in terror (Too hard! Much too hard!) and turned to face the door to Daddy’s bedroom as it opened. He stood there, fury on his face, then came and grabbed her by her arm, dragging her toward the basement. She pleaded, even though she knew it wouldn’t help her now. Daddy’s face was set, and he couldn’t hear her anymore. He pushed her toward the stairwell without a word, and she stumbled, almost falling in.

Behind her, the front door burst open with a bang and she turned in time to see Daddy fall to the ground. Men in black clothes swarmed in and grabbed her. This must be the dangers! she thought wildly, and kicked out against the man who held her in his arms. “It’s going to be okay, you’re alright now,” he assured her as he took her toward the door. Daddy wasn’t moving, and as she passed his bedroom door and looked in, she saw that Mommy wasn’t either.

Then the bright light was everywhere again, and the sounds overwhelmed her as she closed her eyes against the pain. The man continued to talk to her with a soothing voice and someone pushed a drink into her hands. “Are Daddy and Mommy okay?” she asked.

The man sighed and said, “Let’s just make sure you’re okay before we worry about anyone else. Can you open your eyes for me?”

Gloria opened her eyes to a world full of color, and just above the man’s right shoulder, a golden ball blazed, shining light on everything below, exposing the shadows. A strange joy filled her heart, and she pointed, saying, “Look, I see the sun!” She blinked and found that the light no longer hurt her eyes.

The man glanced over his shoulder, then smiled at her. “That’s right,” he said. “Come on, let’s go get you checked out.” He took her hand and led her toward a white vehicle with flashing lights. She looked around herself, taking in all the images that she had only ever seen in pictures before and, smiling, she said, “Mommy’s going to be so happy!”

“Yes, she is,” the man said. “Yes, she is.”

Behind them, two stretchers rolled out of the house, one carrying a malnourished, emaciated husk of a very young woman, the other carrying a man, now covered with a sheet. Gloria, studying all the new sights and sounds around her, didn’t look back.

Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the read. I'd love to hear what you think, so please feel free to leave a comment, click the heart, and subscribe!