Yellow

one

Josh

I watched as the dark grey drink poured into my mug, sloshing at the sides before settling and letting off its hot steam. I thanked the waitress as she walked off and took a look around the small diner that wasn't very crowded at this time of night.
"What's with her?" I asked the lady across the bar, motioning towards a gloomy looking customer that watched the rain pour down onto the grey pavement.
"Rumor has it that her soulmate started seeing colors for someone else and he took all her color with him. It's a shame, she'll probably never find another soulmate again. Nobody wants to deal with secondhand love." The older lady sighed.
"Maybe, but she could use a friend." I stated and made my way over to the lonely booth. I tapped her lightly on the shoulder, making her jump out of her trance and give me a wide eyed glance.
"Can I help you?" She asked weakly.
"Um, no actually," I answered awkwardly. "I just thought you looked like you needed some company."
She gazed at me blankly for a moment before nodding towards the seat across from her. "So who payed you to come over here."
"The guy in the back alley." I joked back. "I'm supposed to stall you till their kidnapping van gets here."
She smiled and let out a laugh through her nose. "Nice."
"I'm Josh."
"Aster."
"Nice name," I complimented, "Isn't that a type of flower?"
She nodded, "And it's greek for star."
"Interesting." She just nodded and looked back out the window. "Do you like the rain?" I asked trying to pick up conversation.
"I used to."
"Used to?"
She nodded, "My soulmate and I met in the rain."
"Then wouldn't that be a good thing?"
"You haven't heard the rumors about me?" She asked quite surprised.
"I tend not to listen to rumors." I avoided.
"He saw color for someone else, and now everything is grey for me again."
"Grey doesn't have to be bad." I tried consoling her.
"Have you ever seen color?" She asked bluntly. I shook my head no. "Then you wouldn't understand."
"Then help me understand."
"I can't just make you understand, you have to see it for yourself." She answered sounding a bit annoyed.
"Well, explain it how you remember it." I kept pestering her.
She bit down on her lip in thought. "It's confusing, but it's beautiful. Everything feels so much more lively and inviting and full of emotion and when you loose it you can't help but want to be selfish and indulge in those colors again. It hurts to be faced by grey every morning when you used to have so much more."
I nodded, not quite understanding but at least I had some grasp on the concept of color now. "What was your favorite color?"
"What do you want me to explain that to you too?" She replied in a snarky tone, but I just nodded intrigued in her thoughts. "Yellow."
"It sounds like a nice color." I replied.
She nodded, "It's very underrated. Many people would choose something more outstanding like a red, but I think yellow is so beautiful. It can be vibrant and blinding or it can be warm and comforting. It gave me a feeling of safety and belonging, and I've always favored it over any other color. I miss it the most."
"You'll see yellow again." I reassured and gave her hand a quick squeeze.
She smiled at the action, "I hope so." We sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before she spoke again. "This is dumb."
"What is?"
"That we have to just wait for some otherworldly being choose our destiny for us. People are just randomly paired and ripped from us and it's dumb. Why can't we fall in love slowly and choose for ourselves who we see color with. Actually, why can't we see color all the time! Why do we have to fall in love just to enjoy something that everyone should be allowed to have. It's dumb, it's horrible, and I hate that I'm so dependent and attached to it. It's like an addict quitting their choice of drug cold turkey and it sucks!" She vented.
"I can't lie and say that I understand everything you're saying right now, but from what I've grasped from what you've told me, I completely agree. But it looks like these matters are out of our hands." I frowned.
"Yeah," she sighed, "it is." She finished off her coffee and looked up, "Thanks for listening to me, I haven't really had anyone to vent to. Everyone kinda thinks I'm some abomination of some sort."
"It's what friends are for." I shrugged.
"Friends?" She questioned with a small smile on her face.
"Yeah," I replied nervously, "friends."
She pulled a pen out of her pocket, "Give me your hand." I did as I was told as she scribbled a series of numbers on my skin. "Text me some time you wanna hang out, friend." And with that she was gone and I was left in a wave of confusion.