Sunbathing

Jonathan plodded downstairs and strolled into the living room, where Martha was watching TV. He plopped down beside her and threw his arm over her shoulder.

"Where's Clark?" he asked casually.

"Sunbathing."

Clark stood in the backyard with his face upturned to the blazing white orb in the sky. He couldn't look directly at it for long, though he could do so much longer than a human could. His skin buzzed as the warm rays beat down on him. He didn't understand the process, but he knew that it was a source of energy for him.

When he was little, he was certain that he was the result of lab experiments, and he became devoted to the study of science in the hopes that he would find an explanation for his abilities. He spent some time researching photosynthesis, but only ended up confused. Apparently, it only applied to plants. Then, he thought he was part reptile because they needed to sunbathe, but then he found out that it was only because they were cold-blooded. When Jonathan finally revealed the truth about his origins, he accepted that the answers would never lie in Earth science. Hell, maybe they didn't even exist on the planet he came from. Maybe they sent him away because he was a freak there, too. He never uttered this idea to his parents because he knew they'd emphatically reject it, but what did they know?

Even though the sunlight reminded him of how different he was, he couldn't help but gravitate towards it. He figured it was a natural drive, like how people got hungry and sought out food. Clark sought out the sun, and when the day was bright, he couldn't resist it. As he looked directly at it again, he wondered if his home planet had a sun as beautiful as this one.