Achromatopsia

Red

Desire

The sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the nearly empty house as a four year old Phil ran across the hardwood floor of his new house. Boxes were stacked up in the lounge as his mom and dad brought them in from the moving van outside. Giggles left his mouth as he skid and slid into his new bedroom, peering out the window that looked out to the street. The smile couldn't leave his face. 

"Philly," Kath called out for her son, making Phil squeal and zoom out to the entrance where his mom was standing, holding a small box of his things. "Can you take this to your room? Then we're taking a break for a bit." she said softly, kneeling down to his level, handing the box over to Phil's open arms. His small legs took off as soon as the box hit his arms, running as fast as he could and not heeding his mother's warning to slow down. As he made it to his room, his legs stumbled and the box flew out of his arms. He heard Kath's motherly screech as she came running for him, scooping him off the floor. Tears fell from Phil's clenched eyes as he held tightly onto his mother's shirt. 

"Mommy!" he sobbed, tears effectively soaking through her blouse. She rubbed his back as she carried him out to the lounge, setting him down in the one chair they had brought in. Kath knelt in front of the chair and brushed his hair back out of his face. 

"Calm down, Philly. It's okay." she cooed as he glanced over him for injuries. "Where does it hurt?" Phil pouted slightly as he pointed at his knee, which looked as if it took most of the fall, the only proof being a big red spot where he hit it on the ground. "It's just red. There might be a bruise there later, but other than that, you should be fine." 

"It hurt, mommy." he continued to pout, making grabby hand out at her as he demanded to be held. Kath obeyed and lifted him off the chair, taking his place as she held him in her lap. 

"Do you want me to tell you a story to make you feel better?"

Phil nodded a bit and rested his head on her chest, "Can you tell the color one again?"

Kath couldn't help but smile a bit and nod, "Of course, I can." she cleared her throat and began the story, rubbing shaped on his back. 

"When I was born, I was just like you. In fact, everyone is. They see just what you see. Well, maybe a little different, but still. They don't see color, just gray and black and white. And just like you will one day, I set out to find the person who would change that, my destiny, if you will." 

"It started when I was little, just like you. I was starting primary school, so I was finally getting to meet a bunch of new people. And to every person I met, I would stick out my hand and say, 'Hi, I'm Kathy. Are you my color?' Once I realized that none of those people were, I gave up for a while. It wasn't until I started secondary school and I moved halfway across England that I was starting the search again. By that age, you hear stories of people who can see color, what they look like, how they found their destiny. So, I started research into how I could figure it out faster."

"I read of a tale of a little boy like you. He grew up eager to find his wife and he remembered a story his mommy had told him when he was little. The story goes, that some people, they can't see their soulmate until they kissed them. And so the little boy started kissing every girl he saw. Eventually, he kissed this little girl in his class and the colors bloomed right before his eyes. I thought that that would work for me. So, in Year 9, I started kissing boys. Ever boy I saw. And it didn't work until one day, when I met your dad. When I kissed him, he smiled so big. I had never seen anyone smile that big before. And the only other time was when your brother and you were born."

"And now I see all these pretty colors. You couldn't even imagine how beautiful they look, Philly. I think my favorite is blue because that's the color of your eyes. And I can just stare into your eyes forever baby. I can't wait until you can see the color of your wife's eyes. You deserve that, baby boy." Kath finished her story quietly, knowing that the young boy on her chest had already fallen asleep long before she finished her last word. She cradled Phil in her arms for a few minutes before she was interrupted by a knock on the front door, startling Phil a bit. Kath stood and placed him back in the chair before walking over to get the door, feeling Phil's eyes staring as he hid behind the arm of the seat. 

The door swung open a bit and Kath smiled, making polite but quiet chit-chat that Phil couldn't quite make out before she stepped back and opened the door all the way, making a small remark about that state of the room before a woman holding something in her arms. 

"Philip, come meet our neighbors." his mother said, gesturing for him to come closer. Phil climbed off the chair and slowly walked up, his thumb in his mouth a bit out of nerves. As he drew closer, he saw that the woman was carrying a small baby in her arms, wrapped in a blanket. 

"Phil, that's Daniel. I'm sure you two will grow up and be best friends." 

-

Dan was now about four years old , and those four years were ones that Phil cherished dearly. Just like their mothers predicted, the two of them became best friends. Dan came over whenever his parents were busy and Phil went over whenever his were. Both boys were in school now, and Phil had a habit of retelling Dan stories that he heard when he was younger. His favorite was the tale of colors. Dan loved listening to Phil's stories. He would cuddle into Phil's chest, just like he did with his mom when she told the same story. They even went to Phil's house after school everyday.

Dan clutched onto his backpack straps as he skipped behind Phil on their way home from school, giggling to himself a bit. "Philly, wait up!" he called out as he ran to catch up with him. But Phil wouldn't slow down. In fact, he hadn't even talked to Dan since they found each other in front of the school. A huff left Dan's mouth as he adjusted his gait to a run as he attempted to catch up to his friend. As he finally stood just behind him, he grabbed his arm, tugging on it slightly. 

"Leave me alone," Phil spat to him, yanking his arm back. "I'm not in the mood today, Dan."

"What's wrong?" Dan asked, pouting as he pulled his arm away. "Do you have a boo-boo?" 

Phil laughed a bit and shook his head. "No," he mumbled, a tone in his voice that Dan had never heard before. "I just had a bad day. So, drop it."

The rest of the walk to the house was silent, Dan just walking beside Phil as he stomped home. When they made it to the door, Phil pushed it open and called out for his mom immediately. 

"What's wrong, Philly?" Kath called out from the kitchen, peering her head around the corner. "Oh, hi, Dan."

"Hi, Mrs. Kath." 

Phil wrapped his arms around his mom's waist, burying his face in her sweater, his rambles incoherent for a good few minutes. 

"Honey, I can't hear you." she repeated, pulling Phil back a bit to look down at him. "Okay, tell me that again."

Phil's tears made him hard to understand, but Dan could make out the last part of the sentence. 

"-and now they can see the colors and I just want to see the colors, mommy." 

Dan's face heated up as he sunk back, crossing his arms to hide himself from the situation. He watched the whole discussion between Phil and his mum from the background, knowing very well that he was out of place. Mostly because he knew that Phil would be even more upset to know that he could see those colors himself.