Live in Color

two - blue

"Tonight we'll go to the lake," she tells me. "You can see the water and the sunset. It's so beautiful, so many colors. The sky turns pink, orange, red..." As she lists off the colors, she turns the pages of the book and points at each color. I can just imagine how beautiful they look blending together.

I stay silent, bringing my legs to my chest, ignoring how the hardwood floor of my room. I nod my head absentmindedly. "Ma, what about...?"

My mother sighs, obviously upset that her attempts to distract me didn't work. "We'll figure it out. It'll be alright."

I shake my head. "He's a rebel, he was in the neighbourhood-"

"So? You were quick to assume, Natalie. You don't know for sure he's a rebel."

"He was in the neighbourhood though," I insist.

"So were you, but you're not a rebel."

I just shake my head once more. "One look at him and it's obvious. He didn't have any tattoos but..." My eyes flicker to the book and I flip to the browns, my eyes scanning the boxes. I let my finger lay upon the box labelled coffee brown. "His hair was this color. His eyes were..." I flip through the pages some more. "This color."

My mother smiles softly. "Amber. Those must've been pretty."

"I didn't really get a chance to look at them," I mutter bitterly. I drop my face in my hands. "Mom, what's going to happen? I can't just live without a soulmate, I don't want to live alone. Is my chest going to hurt forever? It's not like I can go and find him and talk to him, I don't even know his name!"

Before I can continue my rant, my mother gathers me in a hug and shushes me. "Natalie, if you keep stressing yourself over this it's just going to get worse. Faith is going to take care of this, just like it always does. You're going to be fine."

We stay silently on the ground for a little more until I finally nod. "Okay..." I blink away any threat of tears. "Okay. I can do this."

My mother smiles. "I know you can."

I offer her a weak smile back, trying for both of our sakes. "Can we watch the sunset now?"

My mother nods and looks at her watch. "Why don't I go fix us up something to eat and then we'll head out to the lake. It'll be beautiful, trust me."

After eating a sandwich (I was shocked to see lettuce was a really bright green) my mom drives me out to the lake in our (dark blue) car. We sit on the rocks by the lake, waiting for the sun to slowly begin its descent down the sky. My eyes stay trained on the water. It's a beautiful blue. I decide that I really like blue, all shades of them. It's just a really calming color.

The sunset is beautiful. I'm left speechless. It's like someone took a brush to the sky and painted a beautiful blend of different colors. Some even reflect onto the water below, tinting the dark blue color of the lake to a pink, or yellow, or orange. My mother points to the colors and makes sure I learn the names of each one. It's not that hard, though; I feel like everything today that's happening today is something I'll never forget.

I was hoping that the night sky would be extraordinary, but instead it's pretty much black, just like before. I watch the colors around me slowly get darker- the grass, trees, trunks, rocks- but luckily, they don't fade. They're all still there, the shades of blue, green, yellow, or even greys. They're all still there.

"I just want to sleep," I tell my mother when I get home. Noticing my father's car parked outside the house through the window, I gulp. "Can you tell him...?"

"I'll tell him everything, don't worry. You just get some sleep. We'll have your birthday celebration dinner tomorrow instead, hm? You can invite Jamie too!"

I nod, just exhausted. I can't bring myself to act excited. The pressure is still there in my chest. I've heard the tales- I know that rejection can physically hurt and it can even drive people insane. I don't want to go insane, no way.

After a shower, I find myself laying in bed and staring at the ceiling. I just can't get the looks in his eyes out of my head. They had widened, first in shock, then in terror. I wince when I realize there was even some disgust in there too. There's no way he's not a rebel, no one normal could have looked so horrified with the idea of a soulmate.

I gulp and turn onto my side. I need to stop thinking about it. I may not have my soulmate- maybe ever- but at least I can see color now. That's a blessing I have to just learn to shut up and appreciate.

I can't help but notice how up until the very last second before I fall asleep, the pressure never leaves my chest.

Hey guys! Sorry for the short-ish chapter but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless :) If you DID enjoy, be sure to COMMENT AND VOTE! Thank you all for getting this story at #388 in romance in just four days! That's INSANE! I love you all so so much! You are all amazing c:

Love you all! :) xoxo