Allergic to the sun

The sun. That golden yellow fiery ball in the sky. Not that Alex had really ever seen it with his real eyes but from the pictures on the internet he'd sneaked to look at, he had seen them.

Ever since he could remember, he had always been confined to their huge home. He never lacked anything though, his dad always made sure he granted his every wish except for the one wish he wasn't even allowed to wish- stepping outside.

It made no sense but what could a thirteen year old do? Technically, he didn't lack anything. Having being homeschooled his whole life and having toys more than enough to open a toy store, his life was supposed to be perfect.

He hadn't considered his way of living weird until the day he was staring through the window, looking at that golden globe in the sky and his dad came in. As a young boy who saw something he had never seen before, he excitedly called his dad to check it out.

His dad's reaction never left his mind. He frantically jumped at the window, dragging the blinds to cover it and immediately scowled at Alex. "Alex, don't you ever look at the sun."

Alex was confused. Though it hurt his eyes, he just wanted to stare at that yellow fireball a bit longer. "Why, dad?"

"Because it's bad. It's dangerous."

His dad adjusted the blinds again and eyed Alex one more time. When the look on Alex's face made him feel a little safe, he left the room leaving a confused ten year old boy behind.

'Fathers were always right.' 'Fathers would never guide you wrong.' 'Fathers only care about your well-being.' Miss Montgomery, his homeschool teacher had lectured him so of course, he believed his dad and concluded the sun was bad and dangerous...for him. When he was seven, he had peanuts and developed rashes all over. After the doctor injected him with a rather large needle, he said peanuts were bad and dangerous for him. He said he was 'allergic to peanuts.'

Guess it wasn't just peanuts he was allergic too. He was allergic to the sun too.

It finally made sense. Little wonder his dad never allowed him go outside or look at that round object that illuminated the sky. The sun might have the power to ignite the sky but he was pretty sure to him, it only had the power to ignite terrible rashes onto his skin like peanuts did. Or even worse!

And since he still had intentions of living longer, he was just going to have to do away with the sun.

Either the sun was attracted to him or he was attracted to sun, Alex couldn't figure out which but he knew he spent half of the time he spent on the internet reading about the sun. Turned out the sun was actually a star that the Earth revolved around and from which it received light and warmth.

It suddenly felt unfair. If the earth received light and warmth from the sun, why wasn't it the same with him? He also deserved light other than the stable power supply and warmth other than the one he received from hot chocolate on cold nights. It didn't seem fair that he was the only one allergic to the sun. The Earth wasn't so why was he, a sixteen year old boy who lived in Earth, allergic to the sun?

Curious as a cat, he kept on researching on his allergy. Eek, a random internet user said he was a vampire. He definitely wasn't a vampire. He confirmed it while he was brushing his teeth the following morning.

Another random user said he was a rare case and had developed a rare allergy. That made him feel weirdly special and fueled his interest on getting to know more about his 'rare allergy.'

He slowly developed a new habit. Everyday, he would find himself staring out of the window anticipating the sun's arrival and the minute it teased its presence, he'd drag the window blinds as fast as he could.

It was a Saturday morning and as usual, he was sitting by his window anticipating the sun's presence. For him, weekends meant no Miss Montgomery and no dad around since his dad was always off for a new business trip or the other during weekends.

That fateful Saturday took a different turn. It was still early for him to be fascinated by anything but he was. It was a girl. A girl he had never seen before and though he lacked experience on seeing girls, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on.

What was that feeling? Her beauty was mesmerizing. So mesmerizing it made his seventeen year old heart flutter.

Without knowing what took ahold of him, he grabbed his coat and headed downstairs. Aware of his rather poor social skills, he picked his only friend and immediately searched for 'how to talk to a girl that makes your heart flutter'.

He could do it. He still had at least an hour before the sun arrived so he would be fine staying outdoors. All he needed to do was smile and ask for her name. Probably another time when time decided to be on his side, he'll ask for her Facebook or Instagram username and finally create an account of one of those. He had always longed to have one of those social media accounts the teens in the American teen series he watched used but it seemed like they were apps for people with actual friends and knowing how hard he fell out of that category, he never bothered.

His hands were trembling when he opened the gate. His dad now trusted him to never leave the house so their security man was relieved of his duties. He stepped out into the familiar yet unfamiliar environment he lived in and slowly to the spot he saw the girl responsible for his sudden boldness.

Unexpectedly and sadly, she was no longer there. It was almost like she vanished.

Naturally, he was supposed to go back inside disappointed and then sulk for a while but he didn't. He couldn't. His feet wouldn't move. They felt stuck.

He looked around him realizing he was actually outside. His surrounding was illuminated by a different type of light. It wasn't sunlight but it was definitely better than the type of light that illuminated his dark home.

He closed his eyes hoping to finally feel a different type of warmth. The type the Earth received from the sun.

The sun wasn't out so maybe that explained why it didn't feel as good as he expected but it definitely felt a hundred times better than the warmth he felt from hot chocolate on cold nights. It was like a brief warm hug and he let himself get lost in that moment.

Suddenly, an unexpected guest arrived. He felt his skin prickling and he looked up to see the yellow ball he dreaded yet loved appearing slowly.

Immediately, he ran inside. His quick steps were quickly replaced by heavy panting as he got inside. He hurriedly stripped off his clothes and soaked himself into the bathtub filled with warm water.

The warm water only seemed to reminding him of the temporary warmth he felt few minutes ago. How nice would it have been if only he experienced it for a few minutes longer.

He could if he wanted to, right?

He closed his eyes imagining all the bad things that could happen if he decided to expose himself to the sun. As scary as it felt, he still wanted to.

But he needed an excuse. An excuse to use to defend himself in case he got caught outside. A girl sounded like a perfect excuse for a teenager's rebellion so he decided to use her as his excuse as he patiently waited for the next day so he could finally use a stone to kill two birds.

Sunday came. Slowly too. Immediately after Alex had breakfast at 8:00am, he stationed himself by his window waiting to see his two fantasies. His Facebook and Instagram accounts were ready and though he had no idea whatsoever on what to do with them, he could at least boast about having not just one social media account but two.

At exactly 9:11am, she arrived. She was dressed in regular shorts and a oversized pink sweatshirt. Her blonde hair was tied up into a messy bun and she looked even more beautiful than he remembered.

He wasn't going to lose her this time. He jumped stairs, hurriedly heading downstairs to meet up with her. Luckily this time, she hadn't vanished when he stepped outside.

"Hey!" He managed to get her attention and stop her from going back into their home.

She turned and gestured with her hands. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, yes." He was nodding awkwardly as he walked towards her. "Hi."

"Oh, hi," she smiled. Good gracious. She looked like a freshly bloomed flower and even smelled like one. "What's up?"

"Eh? Um, nothing. I mean, nothing much."

She chuckled. "Oh...kayyy."

He exhaled. "I saw you from the window in my room yesterday and liked you. If it's okay can we be friends?"

Jesus, did he really say that?

She smiled. "Of course, sure."

"Oh my God, really? Thanks! I'm Alex by the way."

"Sylvia," she kept on smiling. "Wanna come in? My parents just left and a huge house with no one gets boring easily."

He felt his confidence coming. "Oh? Okay. Of course. Sure!"

They talked for hours and hours and God, they clicked. They had similar taste and views on a lot of things and she was extremely impressed especially because he lived in a cave his whole life.

"Um, Sylvia, I have to go now," Alex finally said. The morning sun was gone already and it was approaching the time for the afternoon's.

"Oh. Why though? I thought you said you were home alone."

"Yeah but," he was just going to let her in. "It'll get sunny soon and I won't be able to walk outside."

"Why?" She laughed. "Cause you aren't with sunscreen?"

"No. Actually, I'm allergic to the sun."

"You're what?"

"Allergic to the sun. I know it's sounds strange but it's true. It's a rare case."

She wanted to laugh again. "You must be a vampire then."

"No, I'm not. I'm just a normal boy who's allergic to the sun." Even his statement contradicted. There was nothing normal about that.

"Oh, honey," Sylvia got up. "There's no such allergy. I'm a hundred percent sure."

"There is. I am a living proof."

"Okay, let's say you actually are," she was getting entertained. "What happens when you get exposed to the sun?"

Her question hit him. He had never actually been exposed to the sun not even once so he had no answer.

"I don't know. I've never been exposed to the sun. All I know is I'm allergic to it."

"You've got to be kidding me," she was really laughing.

"I'm not. My dad told me it's bad for me. That's why he never allows me go out."

She leaned towards him. "Alex, we're the same age. How are you so naive?"

"But-"

"Shhh," she placed her hands on his lips, his heart immediately beginning to beat faster than usual. "One thing's for sure. Your dad definitely doesn't want you out of the house but it's not because you're allergic to the sun. He has other reasons and you're just too naive to figure out."

She couldn't keep on doing this to him. Her touch and whisper made his inside tingle.

"No, no. I'm going home. Bye." He jumped home grabbing his coat as he headed towards the door.

"I'll kiss you." He stopped in his tracks. What did she just say?

"Wait a little longer for the sun to come out," she continued. "You'll stay under it and if it turns out that you aren't allergic to it, I'll kiss you. But if you are and anything goes wrong, my dad owns an hospital so bills on me."

It was a dangerous and yet appealing offer. He wanted it. He wanted to feel the warmth of both her lips and the sun.

"Okay, fine."

They were both standing at the entrance to Sylvia's house, a small roof preventing the sun from touching them. Sylvia had rolled his sleeves so the sun could touch him as well as it could.

"You ready to be proved wrong?"

He nodded. He exhaled. He was about to feel the sun he had always longed for so there was no need to be worried. Rashes couldn't kill, he'll only look terrible for a while but at least he'll know he did one of the items on his bucket list.

He closed his eyes, raising his right foot then the left. His eyes flew open as he felt something burn his skin.

The burn was in a good way. It wasn't the kind of burn that made you shriek on the top of your voice but the type of burn that made you want to shrink into the moment.

Damn, it felt good. It actually felt good. An unfamiliar warmth griped him as he closed his eyes to feel it. It felt strangely comforting.

He tried to look up at the now welcomed guest but it hurt his eyes. Instead of a wince from the pain, he let out a cry of joy. He was in the sun! He finally felt his own share of warmth the Earth felt. As it illuminated the environment, he felt his heart getting illuminated too.

Without getting over the warmth from the sun, his body felt another type of warmth as Sylvia pressed her lips against his. They stayed in that position for a while before she pulled away and said, "I told you you weren't allergic to the sun, silly."

Now 10:24pm, he laid on his bed replaying the day's event in his head. He ended up staying longer than expected at Sylvia's and then lurking around the streets to feel free.

He got back home past 8 to meet his dad freaking out. He was shaking and yelling demanding where he'd been but Alex was too happy to get angry like his dad.

He still remembered the conversation. Word for word.

"I'm not allergic to the sun, dad," he replied his dad's question of 'where the hell have you been?'

"What?" His dad looked confused.

He laughed as he rolled on his bed reminiscing the memory. He had expected his dad to be just as surprised as he was but he wasn't. Instead, he asked him if allergy to the sun even existed.

He laughed again.

"Oh, no, son. You're not allergic to the sun. I said the sun was bad and dangerous because your mum is. Her name was Sunshine and everytime I looked at the sun, I was reminded of her."

"So, I'm not allergic to the sun."

"Of course not. Your mum's a psychopath. After we got divorced and I gained your custody, she threatened to take you away if she ever set her eyes on you and knowing fully well the type of woman your mum is, I knew it was not just a threat."

"Oh? So you didn't lock me up all these while because I was allergic to the sun."

"God, no. I was scared and you being a weak child ever since you were little scared me more. Of course, you're not allergic to the sun.

He smiled as he rolled on his bed for the hundredth time. He wasn't allergic to the sun. He was finally permitted to feel warmth from the sun and external environment.

He had a date planned for the next day with Sylvia to a beach. The hottest beach in town, she had added.

When she asked him to remember to pack sunscreen along with his things for their trip, he laughed and said, "What do I need sunscreen for? Afterall, I'm not allergic to the sun!"