Let Your Light Shine

Erica huffed from the backseat of the rental car. Why her? Only her stupid family would get so excited about the possibility of seeing the Aurora Borealis for themselves. What was the big deal anyway? She’d seen pictures of the phenomenon on the internet. It looked cool enough, but not cool enough to catch a plane to this frozen wasteland in the dead of Winter. She was cut off from her friends up here in Alaska - no cell service - and was much more interested in what Greg Milacent was doing to embarrass himself this week. Her attention hog of a boyfriend was always pulling pranks and stunts that frequently landed him in detention. No doubt, she would be bombarded with a deluge of texts, emails, and videos when she got back to civilization. But right now she’d give anything to hear the familiar *ping* that indicated that a text was received.

“I’m too old for this,” the fifteen-year-old said petulantly, crossing her arms over her chest. Lisa Zwaners had a bigger rack than her and was always flaunting that fact by wearing tight shirts that accented her cleavage. It was a point in his favor that her boyfriend was one of the only boys in their class who didn’t ogle her. He may be a goof, but he wasn’t disloyal and she loved him for that. “Why couldn’t I have just stayed with a neighbor, Mom? I’m missing midterms! And Janice’s birthday party!”

Her mother just sighed. Deep down Erica could understand why. They’d been having this same argument since the moment her parents’ announcement. That was two weeks ago. But Erica couldn’t just let it go like she usually would have. Janice was her best friend, and it killed her inside that she would be missing her best friend’s Sweet Sixteen. Her parents had gone all out; it would be the event of the year! And here she was, stuck in the dark, frozen wasteland of Utqiaġvik, Alaska. Her brother elbowed her and she elbowed him back, glaring at him in annoyance. Corey just grinned, his pearly whites almost too straight and even to be real.

“Chill out, sis,” the twenty-year-old grinned. “You’ve been griping about this trip since we left Kentucky. You’re here. You’re staying with us. You might as well try to make the best of it.”

“That’s the thing though,” she griped quietly to her big brother, knowing full well that everyone in the car could hear her. Her father hadn’t even turned on the radio; it was dead silent in the car with the notable exception of her bellyaching. “I have important things on the go in Bowling Green! I don’t appreciate being yanked out of my life like this!”

“We understand that your friends mean a lot to you, honey,” her father soothed her. “But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We need to take advantage of it. If that means missing a little school, your mother and I are okay with that.”

“And what if I’m not okay with it?” Erica fired back. “Janice is going to flip her lid when I get back. I can’t lose my best friend!”

“It’s not all about you, Erica Jordan Winters,” her mother snapped. “Each of us has other things going on in our lives, but like your father said, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I know that this isn’t how you envisioned your Thanksgiving, but I believe it will be worth it in the end. And you’ll have a ton of pictures and videos to post about this grand adventure that you've found yourself on. Won’t that be worth the inconvenience?” Erica sighed heavily, unconvinced. She knew that there was nothing she could say to convince her stubborn parents to send her home, just like there was nothing they could say that would make her accept this stupid family trip. They just didn’t understand! She was the ‘it’ girl in her class. The girls all wanted to be like her with her smooth skin, fashion-forward clothes, and makeup. Guys wanted to date her, and tripped all over themselves to curry favor with her. But she had to be present to stay ahead of the popularity curve. It was maddening just how little her family understood about her problems.

“I hate this,” she muttered angrily, slamming herself back against the seat and feeling miserable.

“First World Problems, eh sis,” Corey said in mock-sympathy. “Erica, I guarantee this is going to be worth it. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this night. How long Mom and Dad and I have waited for this moment. Everything is finally coming together. We’ll be able to--”

“That’s enough, son,” Harold said firmly. “There’s no need to go into details. You’ll ruin the surprise.”

“Surprise?” Erica asked, her interest piqued. Since when did her parents keep secrets? Their lives were open books to her, had been all her life. The way they touched and held each other like a couple of teenagers was disgusting. What were they hiding? And why was her goofball brother in the loop while she was left out? Her baby blue eyes narrowed, but before she could voice her displeasure her father turned on one of his smooth jazz mp3s. Their eyes locked through the rearview mirror and he smiled at her. Giving up on getting her questions answered, the girl snuggled in the blanket she had draped over her parka-clad body. Why did it have to be so darn cold? She contemplated this as a soothing saxophone played a solo; jazz was her weakness; she couldn’t stay mad at her father when he was indulging her with her favorite band. Giving her father a glare, she got comfortable in her seat. It was going to be a long drive

_---_

 “Wake up, Sleepyhead.”

Her brother’s voice was laced with excitement. She groaned and stretched, comfortable where she was. Then he started tickling her. Erica spasmed with laughter, determined to get him back. Soon the car was filled with laughter as the siblings did battle in the Tickle War. Since both were extremely ticklish, it was a pretty even match.

“Alright, you two. Settle down. It’s almost time,” her mother said with laughter in her voice. Cynthia didn’t want to miss a moment of this Heavenly show. Both parents exited the car, settling a thick blanket on the ground in front of the vehicle. That’s when Erica noticed for the first time exactly where they’d stopped. It was an empty, snow-covered field. There was nothing but snow for miles and the only light was that of the car’s headlights as the car idled. 

“Wow. This is great, guys,” the teen said, her voice dripping sarcasm. “This is a great spot. It doesn’t scream ‘serial killer’ or ‘ritualistic sacrifice’ at all.”

“Very funny, Munchkin,” her father chuckled. “Come on out. The show’s about to start.” Erica stared at them as if they’d lost their minds.

“That’s alright, Dad. I can see just fine in the toasty car. It’s just lights in the sky; I got this.” After one more jab at her ribs, her idiot brother exited the vehicle to sit on the blanket. Before she could retaliate, she looked up and gasped. The sky was being segmented by ribbons of light. The ribbons were all different colors, but green was the primary contender. They danced across the sky, seemingly taking their time. As if knowing that they had captured her attention and had all the time in the world to beguile her. It was so beautiful… The girl left the warmth of the car and stumbled her way to the blanket, never taking her eyes off of the gorgeous display. The uneven terrain forced her to hold onto the car to get to the blanket, but she finally made it.  

This was the Aurora Borealis? No video clip could adequately capture the beauty of the lights. Erica took a deep, shuddering breath and was surprised to feel tears sliding down her cheeks. Was this what she’d been missing all her life? She was openly weeping at the sight. She felt a warm, solid hand on her shoulder and somehow pried her gaze from the heavenly lights.

“Mom I-” The words died on her tongue as she turned her head to address her mother. The woman was glowing. Her body was luminescent; she blinked but her mother was still luminous, her body pulsing in time with the aurora borealis. The same thing was happening with her father and brother. The girl looked down at herself and saw that she was just as radiant as the rest of her family.

“What the f-”

“Relax, Munchkin,” Harold smiled, looking perfectly comfortable with the situation. “There’s a lot to explain.” For the first time in her life, Erica fainted.