A Scale of Sapphire

Here I was again. An endless dark expanse, a gorgeous starry sky stretching out above me. It’d be the perfect place to relax if I didn’t already know what was coming. It started slowly, the gentle shift in color on the horizon as the sun began to rise, a few stars blinking out of sight as the light obscured them. The beautiful night was fading away, the moon fading from view.

I could see it now, peeking over the horizon, washing away all but the most stubborn and bright stars. I could feel my skin growing colder as it continued its ascent, some instinctive part of me was already preparing to weather the oppressive heat. I stood there, frozen, waiting for the damn thing to turn.

This was always the worst part, the anticipation, the dread, the subtle hope at the back of my mind that maybe this time, it wouldn’t turn at all.

But then it did…

The sun itself halted its climb, and changed direction, appearing to grow as it began its approach. I sat down and closed my eyes, I already knew what I’d see if I kept them open. I’d see the sun, growing bigger and bigger as it got closer and closer until it encompassed everything. It would fill my vision and no matter where I looked, it would be there, pressing down on me. And then I’d be blinded by its light, and no matter where I ran there would be nothing I could do to escape it. At this point, it’d be better to just let it take me.

It already hurt to breathe, the air was already scalding the back of my throat. Even with my eyes closed, everything was too bright. My skin, cooled by the comforting night, was already beginning to burn. It seemed like the sun was more eager than usual, it normally takes longer for this to happen. Maybe that means it’ll be over faster as well, that’d be nice. I’ve been here so often, I hardly even noticed the pain anymore, it’s familiar in a way. I leaned back and waited for the fire to finish me off.

But then the light turned silver. Some of it did, at least. This was new. I opened my eyes to find a soft silver glow tinged with the deep blue of the night sky glittering on my skin, and my skin itself seemed to take on a subtly blue hue all of its own. Cool air entered my lungs again and the sun fell back. For a brief moment, I felt some kind of hope blossoming once again.

Then the sun rushed in and swallowed me whole.

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