A/N: Yes, yes, another story! I think this one will be interesting if it gets some publicity. Everything I write came from the depths of my mind (with a little outside help, of course) but any resemblance to your story is purely coincidence. Anyway, without further ado.

July 18, 2002

Playmate

Prologue: Into the Light

It was the happiest day of my entire life! I had grown to hate the constant hospital visits, but this was different. I had lived in darkness for all the years of my life, thinking that there was no there was. I was cured.

Perhaps I should explain my condition before I go on. It was rare and supposedly incurable. I was unable to go out into the sun. I was like a vampire or something, like my body would turn to stone if the slightest ray of sunshine on my bare skin would cause my body to freeze and I would suffocate. It took me a couple years of my life to realize how sever my condition was and how many boundaries would be put onto my life. I was allowed to go outside and play as soon as the sun had set but there was never anyone to play with. Everyone that lived near me had to go inside when the sun set, but my schedule was the other way around. At age five, it really didn't matter to me. I had my mother and older sister (who's healthy) to play with me, but once I was eight, I wanted real friends.

Who would want to be my friend? I was isolated from everyone. I wasn't able to go to school; I wasn't able to go to the park, or the mall or anything like that. I was like a social outcast. People would talk about me, my sister would say, but she said she always defended me. I trusted her. She was my link to the outside world. She brought me places when it was dark, she let me hang out with her and her friends when they came over, but rarely did they come. Thick curtains hung over the windows of our home and we had to buy certain light bulbs so my skin wouldn't bubble and fall off.

I never really minded the fact that my mother home schooled me, but I always wanted to go to a school. It wasn't the same, though I didn't know what I was missing. I begged my mom to let me go and she had asked the doctor and he quickly said no. No. It was as simple as that. My mother said that I had to accept fate and be happy with what God gave me. God didn't give me much, I'm sad to say, but I never told her that. After my father left us, mother became very religious. Luckily, I was never able to attend church because of my handicap but we always went to the mid-night Christmas mass. The church looked so beautiful that sometimes; I wanted to be able to go on a weekly basis, but from what my sister said, it wasn't that great. Mother had me read the Bible, instead.

A team of scientists from Maryland came to meet me at the hospital one day. They wanted me to be their guinea pig for an experiment to find a cure for my illness. I wanted to accept quickly, but mother said to give it some thought. I told her that God sent these people to heal me, and the next day, we agreed. I went to Maryland for about a month, going through test after test before they sent me home. That was six months ago.

I was loosing hope in them and finally accepted my fate as a freak. I began to mope around for a couple days until a call came from the hospital, telling me of the good news. It was the greatest news ever - they had found a cure. I counted the minutes until sundown and we left for the hospital. The head scientist was there to deliver the fantastic news and I quickly embraced him and told him of my thanks again and again. He smiled to me and handed me a bottle of light greens pills and said that this would save me from the sun. Of course, it wasn't for certain that the pills would work, but I had to take in another medicine once a week, to my bloodstream. I was used to needles and I had no problem.

Two months went by of looked great, they told me. I was so excited that I couldn't wait to go to the park and the beach and go to school.a real school. They said I had to take it slow and first, but if I continued with the routine I was on I would be able to spend day after day at the beach without a problem. I was so excited and my mother and sister were happy for me. After sixteen years of isolation I was finally granted the one thing that I wanted most.

Freedom.

I was finally able to step out of the into the light.