The Sun Side

Jackson may not have been the most intelligent creature on the face of the Earth, but he knew that he did not have to live in darkness his entire life. The very idea of travelling to the Sun Side was one which was not to be discussed in his household. His mother acted as if those two words would engulf his family in a curse had he said them one too many times. It was not Jackson’s fault that he was so intrigued by the idea of seeing the light, for he had only known the quiet twinkle of the stars for all seventeen years of his life. Those who discussed the idea of taking the Journey to the Sun Side were shamed and ridiculed for making such preposterous propositions. From the age of five, Jackson’s school teachers had instilled in him the idea that life had always been this way, and he shouldn’t be concerned about the things he couldn’t change. 

But despite the notion that most people on Jackson’s side were led to believe, life had most definitely not always been this way. There was a time in which both sides saw the rising and setting of the Sun. Dawn–that was the time in which the night sky fell as the mighty ball of fire overtook it in means of its ever so powerful glow. It indicated the commencement of the day. This is when the birds began to sing their morning hymns, the night owls nestled again in their hidden crevices, and the sunflowers shaped into their open blossoms. Each morning offered a fresh start, despite the events that yesterday may have encountered. Then there was dusk–when the Sun lowered into the horizon, shedding intense rays of vivid reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows. Once its painting brushed away, the sky became engulfed by a deep pool of stars from millions of miles away, shining ever so brightly despite the glowing orb of the Moon.   

One day, hundreds of years ago, this cycle ended. No scientist, astronaut or physicist was able to determine the reasoning behind this strange phenomenon. The Earth had halted in its course and was no longer spinning to expose either hemisphere to the Sun. The Sun rose in the west and set in the east, and it would stay this way forever. This divided the Earth. The side upon which the Sun still shone was known as the Sun Side–where the Solars resided–and the side which lived beneath the stars was known as the Star Side–where the Stars resided. 

Jackson was a Star. He was pale and frail and possessed eyes as deep and dark as the night sky that floated above him. Jackson hated, more than anything, the idea that he’d have to live in darkness his entire life.  Although he did not know of what once was, he knew there was a side of the Earth that was wrapped by the warmth of the Sun’s light, and he longed to go there.  

This wish was not impossible; such a trip did exist–they called it the Journey. It was a seven-day train ride that brought one from the land of the Stars to that of the Solars, and it also cost a fortune. Another notable detail regarding the Journey was that once you left either side, you were forbidden to return. What the other side held was unknown to those on their own side, which made the trip that much more enticing. As Jackson had the greatest sense of adventure, he began asking his mother about the Journey at the very age of eight. Very few eight-year-old Stars even knew such a trip existed. His mother, adamant on the idea that speaking of the Sun Side would curse their family, advised him to never speak of such a subject again. It was a forbidden language under her roof. 

Again, when he was ten-years-old, Jackson asked his mother, “When will you ever take me to the Sun Side?”

“Jackson,” she’d say, “my answer has not changed, nor will it ever. Now, go tidy up your room like ten-year-old boys do.”

He felt defeated. His one true wish in life was as impossible to come true as hoping for a star to fall into his hands out of the galaxy above him. The best course of action, he decided, would be to keep his wish for himself; telling others of his desire and receiving responses of how unrealistic and ridiculous he was only deepened his pain. He would save up every penny he could, and he would take the Journey by himself.  

When he had turned seventeen years old, Jackson went to his mother with a jar of his savings; just enough for one ticket to the Sun Side.  

“You’re far too young to go on the Journey by yourself, Jackson,” she laughed.

“Mom, please. It’s taken me so long to save up all of this money, won’t you please let me go!” he persisted. 

“Why must you insist on going, Jackson?”

Jackson told her why. He told her that although he enjoyed looking up at the stars, he felt the dark became too dark sometimes. How he could look up at the stars and never have to squint his eyes because there’s nothing bright enough to make him have to squint–and he wanted to look up at the sky and squint his eyes. How he felt like he could see more if only there was light. You can hide forever and ever in the dark, but you can’t hide in the light. It is in the light that you see what truly exists, not a silhouette of what might be. He told her that he didn’t want to hide and that sometimes he wishes he could just turn on the light. That’s why he longs to go on the Journey; so he can turn on the light.   

A small tear crept from her eye as she embraced Jackson in her arms with a tight squeeze. All of the years that Jackson had been begging her to go to the Sun Side, she had never truly listened. Although her ears may have been open, her heart was not. There had to have been a reason that the Journey existed; Jackson was not the only boy to wish for such an adventure.  

“Go, then,” she smiled. Although she did not tell this to Jackson, she, too, wondered what it would be like to turn the light on.  

Only a week later, Jackson had purchased a one-way ticket to the Sun Side. When it came time for his departure, he boarded the train with no hesitation; wherever he was going had to be better than the Star Side. His mother waved him a farewell and stood silently as her only son embarked on the solo adventure of a lifetime.  

On the train, Jackson pondered what the Sun Side might be like. He imagined a vast, open land filled with the widest assortment of wildflowers and clovers and dandelions. The plumpest, juiciest fruits would be growing in plentiful bunches in forests of trees of apple and orange and peach and cherry. He would savour them all. Birds flew throughout the land happily spreading joy through their songs, and taking short breaks along the way back to their nest to collect fresh worms from the soft ground for their chicks. He sang along to their chirps. The people walked amongst the land looking radiant and happy and healthy. Their skin glowed beneath the sunlight and their hair reflected the golden rays that stroked them from above. He imagined everything with a golden tint across the lens of his eyes; he imagined looking up into the sky and squinting his eyes from the brightness of the Sun. Every ounce of this land was full of pure happiness; every human, every animal, every insect, every fruit, every flower, every strand of grass. They all lived happily under the Sun’s rays.  

Jackson had only remained sane over the course of the seven-day train ride through his imagining all of the splendid things that he could possibly arrive to in the Sun Side. He could not contain his excitement when the Journey had ended and it was approaching his turn to exit the train. As he neared the steps, he could already see the sunlight as it poured into the exit doors of the train. It was golden and blazing and perfect. As he reached the first step he paused for a moment and inhaled the Sun. There would never be a more perfect moment than this, he thought. He continued down the steps and stopped on the sidewalk, once more. This time, he truly took in the brilliance of the Sun. Tilting his head backwards, opening his arms as if giving the Sun a warm embrace, and smiling up at the sky, Jackson felt more content than he had ever felt in his life. He felt warm inside and out–a way that he could never feel in the Star Side.  

As Jackson began to familiarize himself with the town, he noticed an oddly strange pattern. It appeared that residents of the Sun Side did not, in fact, enjoy being out in the Sun. It had been a week since he first stepped off of the train, and he had not come into contact with a single person from the Sun Side.

Another thing Jackson had yet to discover was the abundance of nature he had imagined Sun Side would possess. Each day he sought out a new adventure, and each night he would be disappointed as he returned back to his lonely hotel room having not yet found what he was searching for. There were no birds chirping along as they awoke each morning, there were no forests of trees with heaps of fruit on them, and there were no fields of flowers of varied assorts. Jackson felt as if the Sun Side was a mere illusion that he had created in his mind as a warm escape from the Star Side.

Two weeks had passed since Jackson had arrived in the Sun Side, and despite his constant misfortune in finding a beautiful place there, he pursued his adventures daily. He was going about his normal routine of soaking in the snug air emitted by the Sun when he stumbled upon a teenage girl sitting silently on a park bench. He was instantly stricken by her as she was dressed completely inappropriately for the comfortable weather that the Sun Side experienced. She was covered head to toe in clothing–from the top, she was wearing a fluffy knitted hat with earmuffs on top, sunglasses over her eyes, a chunky scarf looped around her neck, tucked into a puffed jacket, and long pants which fell down to her ankles, where they were met with snow boots that had been tightly laced up. To Jackson, she looked ridiculous. But, he had no other choice but to approach her considering she was the only person he had seen outside since his arrival two weeks ago.  

“A little warm for that, don’t you think?”

The girl jumped up from her seat, startled by Jackson. She lowered her sunglasses from her eyes and took the slightest glance at him, who stood in front of her. His skin as white as the snow she had only seen in her dreams nearly blinded her. She quickly pushed her glasses back up to shade her eyes.

“You’re not from here, are you?”

Jackson took a seat on the bench next to her and began to inquire about this place. He learned that her name was Nina and that she was covered from head to toe because of the damaging effects that the Sun has had on the Solars’ skin. Nina told Jackson that most Solars will have, have had, or have detrimental skin diseases–it has become a normality for them. For this reason, most do not dare to step outside, even if fully clothed like Nina was. She lowered the scarf from her neck, revealing hundreds of red, flaky spots on her skin.  

“This is what the Sun does,” she said.  

How miserable they must be here, he thought.  

It was not long before Jackson began to grow miserable as well. He had seen no other soul outside besides Nina, and the loneliness began to creep in. All he longed to do was rest outdoors beneath the beating Sun. Nina had warned him of the dangers that came with soaking in the Sun, but she had also admitted that such a delicacy was often hard to resist.  He had been in the Sun Side for but a month when he noticed some odd red spots were beginning to form along his neck. He had never seen such spots on his skin before. But, he did recognize them from when Nina had revealed her skin from beneath her scarf. Surely he was not developing skin disease! Jackson recalled the conversation he had with Nina that day and remembered what she had said just before she had to part ways. He was now beginning to understand.  

Nina told Jackson that she does see the beauty in the Sun. The gorgeous haze that it casts upon the Earth–she could stare at it endlessly. And although she loved the intensity of the daylight, sometimes it would get too bright. In those moments she wished she could, for once, look up at the sky without having to squint her eyes. She said she would love to see what lied beyond the sun and that she heard stars were quite magical to gaze upon. But the Sun keeps them hidden in its light, so she’d never be able to witness their intense shines. She said that sometimes she wished she could turn off the light and see what mysteries lie beneath it.      

But that’s what I thought of turning on the light, thought Jackson.