Hidden Colors

The clock strikes twelve, the world never shifts. The sky both ahead and above me remain grey. Not one eye or gaze shifted toward me, for there were none. I was alone, shivering in the snow. I stand in the center of the plaza. The buildings around me rise up like ice spears. The snow came down, leaving a thin coat on the pavement. The snow may be red. Truly, I could never know, for I could not see colors. The earth, in her purest form. She is alone, as am I. A lost girl in a lost world. I could trek the thinnest paths, the steepest mountains, yet no door nor plain on planet earth would open. I would forever be confined to the colorless outdoors. I could sit by a fire, seeking warmth, but only feeling cold. I could not see colors, nor could I feel them. Colors were hidden from me, pried from my hands. I once felt as if I held every shade in my vision, until it was taken. The only obtainable thing I could ever wish for is to feel and see colors. For just one day, all my senses to be overwhelmed by every color. I wish to see the colors and diversity of the people; the people who perhaps don't reciprocate such. The people whose presence I still find myself haunted by. The people who are lost in the depths of space, with only a distorted memory left to be remembered by. I could not remember the color of the local grocer, nor the color of my own book bag. My mind began to seem like a library with far too many books, which I never thought possible. Each passing day sunk my heart a bit more every time. Of course, I could hardly tell the days apart. Every once in awhile, the grey sky turned slightly darker. The remaining times, it stayed the same, rusty grey. I could faintly remember the vast array of colors at the county fair. The one at which I had taken my niece to every chance I could. The little girl, whose face brightened when she would see the pink cotton candy, or the flashing colors on the ferris wheel. If she were here, I could only imagine disappointment spreading amongst her face. The little girl who when asked her favorite color could not simply choose; so instead, responded with ‘all of them’. Over recent days, I could understand. I could understand why she loved every color that life had to offer. Even the colors I once claimed to hate, are colors I would give up anything for. What I would give to see the ocean in color, her majestic blue waves. I sat down on the cold pavement; not eager to head home, for there was nothing for me to go home to. The thin flakes of snow grazed my cheek, causing an overwhelming cold sensation amongst my cheeks. I wondered when I would fade away, like everyone else. It was inevitable that I would soon perish. Afterall, living in this colorless world is a greater hell than any other outcome. For awhile, I neglected the idea that it was a new year. I failed to accept the fact that for yet another year, I would see no blossoming trees in spring, and certainly no colorful carnivals. The pavement was freezing, coldness seeping through my clothing. My eyes were droopy, desperate to finally shut, ending the misery. I let my body sink into the layer of snow, slowly freezing. I jumped when distant disturbances in the quiet plaza slowly morphed into close footsteps. I opened my eyes to an extended hand. 

“If I am not mistaken, it appears that you lie on a sheet of freezing snow.” I gently take the hand, and am pulled up by a rather tall man. He displays a turtleneck and a long, fur coat. He bears a slight english accent, along with ridiculous tinted glasses.

“Thank you,” I hesitate. “Who are you?” 

“Caspian. God of thunder and all things wondrous.” I stare at him in amazement. He turns and looks down on me. “I am only joking. My name is truly Caspian, but I am merely an ordinary man. Care for a walk?”

“I wouldn't mind that. How are you here, Caspian?”

“Well,” He skips over a puddle. “I could ask the same to you, could I not?”

“Right. How about the glasses? I am sure they would need no tint if they were solely for vision.” He chuckles.

“These? The eyewear is only to prevent myself from seeing this dreadful world. It was much more enjoyable when the sky was blue and the grass was green.”

I softly grabbed his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks.

“You do not see it either, the colors?”

“Well, of course not. They are hidden beyond the depths of mother earth. The colors were stolen from us, as were the people.”

“Then why are we here, Caspian? What is so special about us? As you said, you are merely an ordinary man, and I am no more than a university student.”

“Maybe that is the point.” He continues to walk forward, myself trailing behind. “Perhaps we, the most ordinary humans, were chosen to trek amongst this dull world for a reason.”

“I don't think I could think of a good enough reason as to why I am still on this morally grey earth. Does it not sadden you that everyone around us is gone? You and I speaking here, this is the first social interaction I've had in ages, Caspian.” We circle around the plaza once more.

“No,” He says. “I do not think that it saddens me. It is just yet another trial in life. You can choose to base your life around the concept of loss colors, or you can make your own colors. Make the sky purple, the ocean green!” He stops and picks a flower growing out of the pavement.     “Make this, dying flower, thrive with color.”

“That is not how it works, Caspian.”

“Is it not?” He turns to me, still walking. "You consistently complain about the grayness and absence of colors in the world, but you have yet to try and fix it. Nothing in life comes easy, hence why you must work for it."

"Afterall," He says, removing his horrid eyewear. "You may be the difference between a lifeless world, and a thriving one." At last, he revealed his alluring, green eyes.