Not everyone can absorb the light of the sun in its fullness. The colors it sends to the earth are only seen on a limited spectrum for most. Some animals explore the depths of many wavelengths while we wallow in our short span of light. Sammy, on the other hand, is worse off than most of us. The light of the sun is too much for Sammy, unless it is dimmed through its reflection off of the moon, or even better, as dark as the new moon. Even then, it is only in black and white that Sammy sees, true color blindness.
https://www.pexels.com/photo/crescent-moon-149988/
Sammy's parents were really concerned when she was a child. She would weep and wail all the day long unless they could get her to sleep. At night, she was wide awake, noticing everything that would happen. Even before she could speak, the peculiarity of her preference of night over day was apparent. After many doctor's visits, Sammy's parents were told to keep her awake at night and asleep during the day. As a child, this made life pretty miserable. Her dad Jack took a graveyard shift so that he could find peaceful sleep while Sammy slept and Sammy's mom Bethany decided to change her schedule, too. It was rather odd, but eventually, Sammy's parents got used to their new lives as "night owls."
https://unsplash.com/photos/9OqkIhgYzO0
Bethany found Sammy couldn't see any colors before she was school aged. When the rest of the children would easily point out a red crayon or a blue raspberry sucker, Sammy would see tints and shades of whites, grays, and blacks. Shortly thereafter, Sammy was old enough to enter school, and new discovery was made. When the moon was at its fullest, Sammy was able to see clearly and without pain. When the moon was at its darkest, she could also see the best and was extremely reliable as a guide when the lights were out. Jack and Bethany discovered this when the electricity went out one night and they found Sammy contentedly drawing when the lights came back on. You'd think artificial light would hurt Sammy's eyes, but they didn't, fortunately for her parents. When they saw that her drawing was as perfect as it was when the lights were on, they had an Aha! moment. They turned off the lights a few times to test out their theory and found that Sammy was unique one more way than previously thought.
Sammy didn't go to school like the rest of the kids in the community, but she had lots of friends. She'd always go out to play when the streetlights came on and the other kids would say, "Can't I stay out just a little longer? Sammy's parents let her play!" She was the envy of all the kids in the neighborhood and would often get opportunities for sleepovers. This was Sammy's favorite! Most children try to stay up all night and Sammy could always beat them at this game. As long as Sammy had a friend over, she didn't have to do any schoolwork. Otherwise, her mom had a full regiment of homeschooling materials. Those were the days!
Life moved on for Sammy. Days turned to months and months turned to years. Sammy was an adult before she got her driver's license. It was a unique situation! She went to the DMV on the day of the solar eclipse and purposely picked her time to begin just as the sun was starting to be blocked. By the time her driver's test was over, the sun was starting to peek out and she was able to be guided away from the DMV by her parents with a blindfold on. The person at the DMV was kinda surprised, thought it was odd, and turned in the paperwork, nonetheless. From then on, Sammy found great excitement in driving at night with her lights off. It would freak her boyfriends out, but it was exciting for her as they would go nuts! HAHA!
https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-coupe-parked-on-concrete-road-near-body-of-water-706103/
Anyway, there was a day that a group of people got stuck in a cave. They had gone out to explore, having fun with their group with snacks and flashlights. Unfortunately, they hadn't paid attention to where they were going. When the call came for volunteers, this was the perfect job for Sammy. Jack and Bethany called her up and took her to the cave. While everyone else had to rely on their flashlights, Sammy was an expert in the dark. She was at her best! Using search and rescue techniques, she pulled a rope through the cave in various directions, seeking the lost people. Unfortunately for them, they had run out of food and their batteries were all dead. Fortunately for them, Sammy could see everything! She could see footprints in the darkest areas. It was a matter of minutes before Sammy found the group. She tied each of the group with a rope so they all would be chained together. As she took them out of the cave, a ripping roar of a cheer erupted.
https://unsplash.com/photos/rAqzj79GUmA
Sammy found her calling in life. She became known as the best cave explorer and ended up saving hundreds of folks just like this group. She also found remains of cave dwellers from millennia ago, helping scientists discover missing links and the equivalent of a Rosetta Stone for understanding lost languages throughout the world. She didn't think she was that extraordinary. In her mind, she just saw as if by the light of the moon.
https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-people-in-assorted-color-of-clothes-during-night-time-316778/
You can blame @samsmith1971 for me writing this...he called me out here: @theinkwell/the-ink-well-prompt-49-see-this-post-for-prompt-and-rules#@samsmith1971/re-theinkwell-2022118t135539753z
The Prompt for this fictional writing was "By the Light of the Moon" Feel free to write your prompt and tag me so I can see what you came up with...