Chapter 4

My father, Julian, came home after a year away.

Eleanor filled the table with food. She kept every curtain drawn, and she set the table in the darkest corner of the living room.

The house held its usual dim hush. Julian stepped inside, looked around, and let out a quiet breath. He picked up a glass and turned it in his hand.

"Eleanor," he said, "you have carried a lot these past years.

"You have done all this for Penelope," he went on. "You have given up a normal life, even the sun."

Eleanor's eyes filled at once.

"I would do anything for her," she said. "But Sophie has suffered too. She is still a child, and she stays inside day after day. She cannot go out and play. She has never even seen an amusement park."

Julian listened, then reached into his wallet. He pulled out a black card and held it out to Sophie.

"Sophie," he said, "take this. It has no limit. Buy what you want. Let me make it up to you."

"Thank you, Dad," Sophie said. She took the card and turned it over in her hands, her face lighting up.

Julian watched her, then glanced back at Eleanor. "Why do we not plan a trip to the coast?" he said. "We can book a hotel with a proper light-controlled room for Penelope. Sophie can go to the beach, get some sun, and feel the wind off the water."

"No." Eleanor answered at once.

"The coast is worse," she said. "The light there cuts through everything. Even if Penelope stays inside, reflections can still reach her."

She reached for Sophie's hand and held it tight.

"Penelope cannot take any light," she said. "Sophie, you are her sister. You should stay with her. That is only fair. You cannot think only of your own comfort."

Sophie snapped.

She grabbed a plate from the table and hurled it to the floor. It shattered with a sharp crash.

"Why! Why should I be dragged down my whole life?" she screamed.

Her voice tore through the room.

"Sixteen years! I have never seen the sun once! Now I cannot even go on a vacation! This is worse than being locked in prison!"

She stormed toward me, shoved me to the side, and jabbed a finger in my face.

"It is all because of you! You monster! Because of you, I live like a prisoner who cannot see the light!"

Eleanor caught Sophie in a desperate embrace, rocking her. She whispered that she understood, that all of this was to keep me safe.

Julian frowned and snapped at me.

"Penelope! Go to your room! Do not make Sophie angry or ruin the house!"

For sixteen years, this had been the pattern.

Whenever Sophie lost her temper, I was always at fault.

But not this time. I stood up from the floor.

I stood up from the floor.

Step by step, I walked to the massive living room window.

All eyes followed me, wide with shock. I ripped the mask off my face.

Then I yanked the heavy curtain open.

Sunlight poured in like a flood. The room, once dark, blazed with light.

It hit me directly. I let it wash over my skin.

I turned to face my stunned family and smiled.

"Dad, Mom, look," I said. "My allergy is gone!"

Sophie's scream cut through the room, sharp with fear. Eleanor's voice trembled with disbelief.

I seized Sophie's arm and tugged her toward the sunlight.

"You always wanted to feel the sun, didn't you?" I whispered in her ear. Just for us, so no one else could hear, I added, "Take off the mask and stand in the sun with me."