It was so bright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I squinted my eyes shut, unable to look at everything around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2026I can\u2019t see!\u201d Elonyah said from near by. She sneezed, then sneezed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe either! It\u2019s so\u2026bright!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stood in the waist-high water, eyes slowly cracking open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it was finally bearable to open my eyes fully, I took a look around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was so much color. My underused eyes could barely take it in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cElonyah! Look! What\u2026what is this place?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCeceleah, I think this is the world.\u201d El\u2019s voice was solemn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I couldn\u2019t help a laugh. \u201cYeah. I think it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We squelched out way out of the water, eyes wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I suddenly turned and studied Elonyah. I could see her, see her features. She was dripping wet, her arms wrapped around a grey mat and clothing bundle. Her hair was a dark brown, clinging to the sides of her face. Her eyes met mine, wide with wonder. Her skin\u2026was a pale, almost sickly white, revealing veins and dark circles under her eyes. Her lips? A purplish-blue tint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked down at my own arms. My skin was the same color as hers. Purple and blue veins crawled up the inside of my arms. \u201cWe look\u2026strange.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our eyes met again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voices rang out from nearby. \u201cHello there! Are you lost?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I whirled around. My eyes were weak and struggled to focus. I finally located the source of the sound. \u201cUm. Hello. We aren\u2019t lost, exactly. We are\u2026new here though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A half dozen people made their way toward us. They looked\u2026different. Healthier. Their skin wasn\u2019t the sickly cream color ours was. It was more of a tanned color. They were\u2026rosier. Pinks and reds instead of blues and purples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They stopped a few paces away from us, staring. \u201cWhere do you hail from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I glanced at Elonyah. She shrugged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe come from the caves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose caves?\u201d someone asked, pointing behind us to the cavernous opening the river ran through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes. We\u2026didn\u2019t know there was a world out here. We didn\u2019t know there was such a thing as light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They stared at us longer. \u201cYou\u2019ve never left that cave? Do you at least have fire?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elonyah looked at me. \u201cFire?\u201d She tested the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They gawped at us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do you see?\u201d a girl about our age asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2026don\u2019t.\u201d I shuffled my feet, still cold, but the brightness was somehow warming me up. \u201cIt\u2019s so warm<\/em> and bright<\/em>,\u201d I said to Elonyah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The people from outside seemed hung up on the fact that we had no light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe it! Why wouldn\u2019t you go explore, see if there is more to the world?\u201d a skeptical man said, arms crossed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe live in the safest part of the world. There is nothing else. We stay here for our own good,\u201d Elonyah and I recited in unison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt least,\u201d Elonyah added, \u201cthat\u2019s what the Leaders say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd we did explore. Here we are now,\u201d I gestured to the wide colorful world around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou look like you\u2019ve never seen the sun,\u201d another commented. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen skin so pale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked down at my arms again. \u201cDoes sun change your colors?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Someone chuckled. \u201cThe sun is the light in the sky. It does sort of change your color, at least from that white to something\u2026healthier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I glanced up. There was so much to learn about this world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n * * *<\/p>\n\n\n\n I lay outside, staring up at the stars. A fire<\/em> crackled a few paces away from me. It was hot and orange and bright. It was amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the people managed to accept that we were, indeed, from a lost cave tribe, they ushered us to their village and showed us the world. There were windows, animals, hot food, fire, plants that grew in the sunlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was all so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I rolled over and faced Elonyah, reveling in the fact that I could see her face. \u201cEl?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHm.\u201d She was laying on her back, arms crossed behind her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSorry I got upset with you earlier. This is\u2026\u201d I couldn\u2019t find words to explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIncredible,\u201d Elonyah supplied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I nodded. Just hours ago, we hadn\u2019t known what a nod was, leaving us confused when people answered us like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After further clarification, though, we had both adopted the form. It felt\u2026rebellious somehow. Like an act of defiance against the Leaders who had lied to us for so many years. Who had killed our parents because we dared to question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m never going back,\u201d Elonyah burst out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I laughed. \u201cMe, either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n