A Brazen Mind

“Good morning, Retalers!” A voice boomed through the Mart as Brass worried about melting; either from the heat or from the eyes on him. His armor didn’t help, and he wished he could take out his helmet.

“We would like to introduce a new member to the Mart. As we all know, Hugh has been having a rough couple of days. Last night, he had a conversation with a friend, the result of which is standing next to me.” The Black pointed at Brass with his loud-speaker as he tried hard to maintain his upright posture.

“This is Brass, and he will be responsible for storing and vending memories of Hugh’s courage. He doesn’t have any memory pouches yet and is brought here on a test run. He will share a stall with the Retaler that has the closest relationship with courage, and depending on his contribution to Hugh’s goals may be promoted to a Retaler himself.”

The Black paused and looked around him, obviously enjoying the murmur that greeted his announcement. Brass checked the colorful circle he was in; blue, red, rainbow, Pink, and a hump on the ground, his new home. He wondered if he had the same face and the Retalers and the Blacks. They seemed to be different versions of each other, different versions of Hugh. The red Hugh started bumping his fists on his counter.

“Ah, the misery of existence!” A strained voice came from a lump of blue blanket the blue stall. A Hugh in colorful overalls started clapping in a happy tune.

“Brass will stay with Pink, Retaler of embarrassment!” Every eye turned to the Pink stall. Brass was startled when a teenage Hugh got up from behind his counter and straightened his long baggy cloak. Was his face boiling from the weather? What could courage possibly share with embarrassment?

“Now, now, the placement is temporary. We’ll see how things go.” Black seemed to know the silent unrest he’d caused.

“Well, you must have questions about today’s early start. So we decided to give Hugh a headstart and have the Stalls prepared earlier than usual. Polish your pouches, Hugh needs them sharp! And Brass, Pink can show you around. I hope?”

Pink nodded.

* * *

“We’re a tight circle here. Red, in front of us, stores anger in his stall and in himself. He loves these heatwaves, it means Hugh is angry” Pink stared at Red who kept loudly wondering why a Retaler of pride wasn’t brought instead of Brass. He banged his head on his rubber counter and Brass caught him wrinkling his broken nose at Pink once.

“Next to him is Blue. He is responsible for sadness and regret.” Blue was still wrapped in his large blanket and sipped from his large mug.

“What’s under his blanket?”

“We just know that he should be always wrapped in it with his cup of tea. And, before you ask, he’s too sad to get out of his chair to eat the food around him, which makes them go bad, and so he gets sadder.”

“What’s under that blanket?” Brass asked, pointing at the big hump of land in front of Blue.

“That’s the Chalks’ lair. They are Panic and Fear. Fear has been deep in there for, I don’t know how long, and he never gets out. And for good reason” Pink said, subtly pointing at Red.

“He thinks Fear is a coward. That’s what he thinks of everyone, come to think of it.”

“And you call them Chalks because?”

“We named him after the only thing we saw of him, his chalky gloves. First, it was only Fear and the only way we knew he existed was when he shrieked every few minutes. Then Panic joined him, and we know that he exists when he drops down every day, reminding Fear of his shrieking routine.”

Brass was growing fond of Pink.

“The colorful one with the garden outside is Motley. He stores happiness, and because Hugh’s happiness doesn't have a specific color he has a bit of everything. Usually, he’s more colorful than this, but Hugh hasn’t made many happy memories lately so he’s kinda broke. When we stock up at nights Motley gets the first delivery, everything that makes Hugh happy.”

“He doesn’t have my color on him” Brass started checking out the pink pouches.

“That’s because you’re new. You haven’t made Hugh happy yet. Speaking of, I think you should start trying to think about that if you wanna stay.”

“It doesn’t have much Pink either,” Brass couldn’t help his boldness.

“That’s because Hugh doesn’t like being embarrassed, shocker right?” Pink blushed.

“Are you hiding something under your cloak?” Brass pointed at Pink’s big cloak and smiled when Pink stared at him, trying to see if he was being condescending or curious.

“Did you do that?” Pink’s widened eyes turned to the pouches Brass was touching. They had taken a metallic shade, a new shine.

“Yea, but I didn’t mean to.” Brass put the pouch bag back quickly.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!” Pink was pacing up and down his little stall, cracking his knuckles.

Brass didn’t want to lose his only friend at the Mart, “I do think Pink is a nice color”

Pink kept marching.

“Nicer than brass, actually.” Brass was getting worried.

After what felt like hours to Brass, Pink finally stopped.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you showed up right on the day of the interview,” Pink said with a raspy whisper.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what Hugh needs the most today?”

“Happiness?”

“No, he needs you. He needs courage.”

Brass didn’t know what to say. He did want to make Hugh happy, not only because it was his duty but also because he enjoyed being around Pink.

“What, but, now, what can I do to give it to him? He doesn’t have a lot of courageous memories.”

“He doesn’t have to. Look! He used to think of the time he misspelled ‘kangaroo’ as embarrassing, but when we send it like this he will think of it as courageous thanks to your touch. Anything can be courageous, every single memory!” Pink was grinning at the brass-pink pouch.

“It might be too late to plan with the Blacks, and I can’t go around touching every memory at every shop now, can I? And for good reason,” Brass tilted his head to Red.

“There is a way, and we should try, right? If this works, you can get your own stall and I can have this rag off, it’s getting real hot around.” Pink pinched at his cloak.

“I thought it was a part of you. Don’t you like it?”

“I never did, but I didn’t have the courage to take it off either. But now I do. I think you’ve touched me too”.

Something melt in Brass’s eyes.

* * *

That day’s lists were twice as long as what Pink was used to, but two heads really were better than one. Pink skimmed through the cues in a hurry and pointed at the pouches Brass had to pack in the delivery sacks. As the last sack was packed and picked, Pink whistled Motley’s favorite tune. Motley, who hadn’t supplied anything that day and was in need of a good cheer picked it up.

Pink ran to the middle of the Mart, as gracelessly as he could. He fell headfirst and burped out the wrong end when his legs got tied in his cloak. Everyone stared at him in silence, but Motley laughed. He took out his flute and played a lively tune. The blacks stopped loading the sacks and gathered around Pink.

Brass waited for the signal in the stall, and when Pink dropped his cloak he ran to the station where the sacks were piled to be loaded. He opened the sacks and touched as many pouches as he could while Pink danced clumsily and showed off his tight pink tutu, baggy jeans and torn lace-up shoes. Even Red fell to the ground laughing at the performance and after a while, Motley himself couldn’t keep his flute steady.

The fun ended when the train’s whistle blew, bringing the Blacks back to themselves. They had run late, but they couldn’t blame Pink for giving them the heartiest laughter of their lives. They hurried and loaded the sacks without the usual double-check.

Hugh’s mood seemed to perk up throughout the day. Blacks brought more and more cues to Motley and he happily packed sacks and sacks of joyful memories. Seeing this was enough to ease Brass’s nerves about the night to come; he knew it was worth the shot.

* * *

After very long hours, it was finally time for the new stocks to be delivered. As everyone expected, a group of Blacks stood at the center of the Mart. Brass thought he could feel their footsteps throbbing in his ears.

“As you all know, today was an important day for Hugh, and we would like to thank all of you for having put up with the crunch.” The speaker turned around, looking at all the stalls.

“Hugh had his college admission interview today, and his happiness depended on our conduct. It has always been a matter of great importance that we stick to our rules and perform our duties to the best of our abilities. Today, however, there was an exception.”

Several gasps, a muted shriek, and a grunt greeted this announcement, and all eyes fell on the pink stall.

“Hugh has been having trying days, and we have had additions and subtraction to and from our Mart, but the only constant thing that has stayed with us is the spirit of unity to help Hugh achieve what he has set his mind to. Our latest addition has been Brass.”

Brass stood upright, staring at the pile of colorful pouches in front of Motley’s stall.

“The first cargo we sent didn't contain the usual pouches. Their peculiar metallic shine had gone unnoticed because of someone’s masterful distraction.” Pink glanced at his cloak next to the Blacks and held his head high.

“Brass and Pink, you saved Hugh’s interview. You risked your positions to do what you thought was right. This was a big risk, but a necessary one.” Blue sniffed loudly.

“Brass, you have proven your worth. Tonight, a stall will be built next to the station for you to add a touch of courage to all the memories we receive and give.” The speaker looked proudly at the metallic version of himself.

"I should note that this is a one-time exception, and all the Retalers will be expected to reach out to us with their suggestions."

Brass started, “I represent courage, and there is nothing more courageous I can do than to acknowledge my own shortcomings. I am made of brass, as you can see, but I am not brazen. I can add courage to memories, but my own courage came from pink who opened up what he had held back.

“I gladly accept my new appointment, not because I am the most courageous of the Hues, but because Pink has shown me the value of courage, and I want to show Hugh the same set of values. I want Hugh to experience the excitement I had when I took the risk, and I will do my best to push Hugh over his limits and help him achieve what he sets out for.”

Brass hugged Pink as tight as he could without crushing him and never forgot about the first shift of his Retalery with his friend.