Sunlight Like Blood

By Joel Mansur

Sunlight streamed into the small cave, dripping from the crack in the ceiling, washing over the damp, mossy floor. The bright light glowed faintly, illuminating the smooth bluish-gray walls and short, spindly stalks of grass. Flower sprouts grew where the soft light touched. A group of flashflies flew into the shining light, soaking up the warmth and purring softly. In the corner, a small pool of water sat still, unmoved by the fiery light inching closer.

And slumped in front of the sunlight was a young girl.

Her clothes had long withered away, but her body hadn’t decayed and was uninjured, save for the rusted shortsword stuck through her back. The tip protruded from her stomach, crusted blood and mud covering the wound. Long, silky gold hair fell to her back. The light lapped at her legs, pale and sickly, trying to bring life to her.

The girl’s creamy pink eyes fluttered open, and she glanced around in a daze. She blankly stared at the shortsword sticking out of her stomach. Her eyes held no familiarity, yet she was entranced by the sword’s rusted edge. She looked up at the crack in the ceiling and squinted. The light hurt her eyes, and she shifted a little. The flashflies startled and darted away.

Her muscles ached as if they’d never been used. Yet, she stood up, swaying a little. The sunlight still swirled at her feet, spreading warmth through her legs. She stretched her arms and twisted her back, sighing in relief. Looking around, she noticed a pendant on the ground by the pool of water. It looked strangely pristine for how decayed the cave was. The girl took a step forward, walking out of the sunlight.

With a chilling feeling, the strength drained from her legs, and she fell forward, crumpling to the ground. The rough stone moved the shortsword, and she cried out silently. Bruises started to form on her arms and legs, and new blood oozed from her old wound. She felt lightheaded and cold, and she closed her eyes, breathing her last breath.

The girl opened her eyes again, though very slowly. It was a different time of day, and the sunlight reached her now, resurrecting her. She was still covered in injuries, but that weak feeling was gone, only leaving the soft aching of the cuts and bruises on her body.

She carefully stood up and shuffled to where she had been earlier. There was a soft patch of moss on the ground there, so she lay down on her side and stared at the pendant. For a period of time, she didn’t move. Enchanted by the pendant, she breathed in the sweet fresh air and felt the blood pumping through her body.

Her bath in the sunlight seemed to improve her body. The injuries from before were now healed, and she felt a renewed vigor in her legs. She resolved to go for the pendant again as she took a deep breath.

This time she broke into a jog across the sunlight before jumping toward the other side of the cave. Once again, as she left the sunlight, a chill took hold of her, and she felt lightheaded and weak. She landed on one leg first, which buckled, sending her tumbling onto the sharp, rough stone.

She was conscious, though.

Maybe dizzy, weak, and hurting, but she wasn’t passing out. Without noise, she winced and tensed her muscles. She felt a lot better than she had on her first attempt. The pendant was still out of reach, but she had made it farther than before—she could tell because she could see her dried blood from the first try.

Seeing the rest of the cave closer, the girl noticed what looked like a rusted metal door around the corner. It was bent and torn, but it hadn’t completely fallen off its hinges. She saw, though, that whatever had been beyond it was long gone now, crushed under pieces of the ceiling and overgrown with fungi.

Reluctantly, the girl dragged herself back to the sunlight, which pulsed through her like magic. Back in the comfortable cool of the moss, she felt sleepy and quietly dozed off.

The girl woke up feeling refreshed, the sun shining directly overhead. Stretching her muscles, she prepared to try again, bouncing on her toes.

This time, she built up into a sprint, filled with determination to make it. She leapt across the cave, now used to the chill, and landed on her feet. For a moment, she stayed up but soon lost her balance and fell down, hitting the ground with a whump. The sword moved around in her stomach.

Her wound was aggravated, and she blinked, trying to keep herself conscious. But the pain was too great, and with blurred vision, she passed out on the ground once again.

She awoke to the dull sense of pain in her stomach. Blood had dried on her thighs, and the sight of it made her queasy. Crawling on the ground, she moved back to the light, calming down once she felt the strength returning to her limbs.

After a short while, she tried again. With a run and a jump, she made it halfway across the cave but fell down once again. Annoyed, she retreated into the sunlight and fell asleep after sulking for a while.

A cacophony of strange chirps and clicks woke her up. They seemed to be coming from outside the cave. As curious as she was, her personal obsession with the pendant seemed more important, so she tried again.

She thought that the chill wasn’t as bad this time.

The girl was able to stand on her feet, and she excitedly took a step forward but immediately crumpled to the ground.

Silently gasping for breath as if she’d run a mile, she was able to walk a little.

Failure was now more familiar to her than comfort.

Awakened by a faint sound of rustling grass and tapping stones, the girl rose from the ground and looked around.

A strange furry critter was snooping around the cave. It had soft, brilliant white fur with streaks of black and purple on its body. Poking its long snout into the nooks of the cave, it sighed contentedly. The tail was twice the length of its body, and it absent-mindedly ran the end of it along the smooth walls.

With a quizzical chirp, the creature trotted up to the pendant. The girl felt a pang of jealousy for a moment and huffed.

The critter spun around and stared at the girl, who simply watched it with interest. It moved a little closer, assessing whether or not the girl was a danger. Eventually, it decided to come closer, trilling at a high pitch.

It poked the girl’s leg with its cold snout, and she drew back a little. Cocking its head, the creature hopped onto the girl’s lap and sat, looking up at her. She ran a hand over its soft head, and the creature chirped again. After a while, it shook her hand off and trilled happily. Then it leapt out of the cave; it floated gently through the air, as if the wind was lifting it, and landed on the edge of the cave’s cracked ceiling. It looked back once, then bounded away.

The girl stood with a determination fiercer than before. Stretching her legs with her blood pumping, she closed her eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath. Then she opened them, a fire lit in them, and sprinted across the cave, leaping into the air. She swung her arms wildly, trying to stay afloat. The chill spread through her body, but she clenched her fists and focused, remembering the feeling of heat, of pumping blood, of pain and fire and light and passion.

She slammed into the ground, stumbling for a moment yet still running. Heat was spreading through her veins, staving off the chill of the darkness. She was out of breath and hurting, but she kept going, her drive pushing her to the limit.

And all of a sudden, she’d done it. She stood over the pendant, bruised and battered and dripping blood, but successful.

She knelt down, scooping up the pendant with a care that she had not given to anything else. A ball hung from the small links, forming a long chain. Now that it was in her hands, she saw how beautiful it really was. There were intricately etched patterns in the light blue metal, and the links of the chain were perfectly molded. It was light, almost fragile, and yet it had no dents, no rust, no markings of any kind.

The girl noticed an odd piece of metal sticking out of the ball. She touched it gently, and it moved slightly. Carefully, she pressed it harder.

With a click, the ball cracked open, revealing a small clear crystal shard. The girl couldn’t see it very well, so she stood up, her legs strained and weak. She walked back towards the sunlight, hoping to get a better look at the pendant and the crystal. Not paying attention, her heel got caught on a split in the stone, and she slipped backwards, the pendant flying out of her hands. With a sickening crack, her side hit the stone, sending needles of pain throughout her body. She clenched her teeth, tears welling up—

Strikes of light burst across the cave, illuminating the entire room. Golden light shards broke through the air, sharp and crisp. They gently moved around, almost like a spirit. The edges twinkled and shone. The girl felt her strength returning to her, and her injuries seemed to vanish in mere moments.

With wide eyes, she looked at where the rays of light were coming from; on the moss carpet that she slept on, the pendant lay cracked open with the crystal shard next to it. Except, it didn’t look like a crystal shard anymore. It was shining so brightly that the girl couldn’t see its original shape, and she could tell that the light was coming from it.

She looked around in awe. From one tiny crystal, hundreds of light shards spawned, reflecting off the cave’s walls and filling the air. Warmth permeated the atmosphere, and the girl felt deeply content.

Glancing around, she noticed a shortsword lying on the ground beside her. Picking it up, she saw that it was rusted and damaged, just like the one in her stomach. With this one, however, she could see the back of it; the hilt looked strangely normal, except for a crescent moon insignia on the pommel. Satisfied, she dropped it back on the ground.

Standing up, the girl walked towards the crystal, picking it up. The light strikes moved with it, spinning when she twirled the crystal, vanishing when she covered it with her hands. This light, however, was filling her up with power. She felt invigorated with strength, as though she could run across the world.

Reluctantly, she put the crystal back into the pendant and closed it. The rays of light withered away, but the girl was strangely happy about it. With renewed determination, she looked up at the crack in the ceiling. Stepping back, she prepared once more.

With a start and a jump off the wall, she grasped the edge of the crack and held on tightly, pulling herself out of the cave and into the sunlight that had given her life. The world was now hers to explore.