| Where Colors Go to Die by AJ Brown |
I awoke to the sounds of violets screaming. Lavender
soon followed, a piercing wail like no woman or child
could ever release. I blinked once, twice, three times
as the mournful cries of Lilac waned and then winked
out.
Darkness filled the room and chills swept along my
spine, brushing the last remnants of sleep away. I
stood from the bed. The cold floor sent icy fingers up
my legs to mingle with fearful goose bumps. Shivers
danced along my body and I rubbed my bare arms in
hopes of warming up.
More screams came from beyond the bedroom door. I
took a deep breath and reached for the door knob.
Periwinkle hollered, a painful sound if ever there were
one. The hairs on my neck stood and I opened the
door, letting the darkness of the room spill out into the
hallway.
Colors slid away from the looming shadow. Wisteria let
out a strangled moan before going silent. I stood,
confused at what played out before me. Colors faded
from vibrant hues to soft pastels to nothing at all, their
screams loud within my ears, almost as if they were
death cries.
The hall took on odd hues of greens and blues as Coral
screeched and Carmine finally vanished. My skin lost
some its flesh tones and a scratch on my hand turned
brown.
More cries echoed through the house and I followed the
hall, its reds fading as the all the pinks ran from it.
Rose and Magenta and Carnation let out their final
gasps before vanishing. I rounded the corner and into
the next room. The bright shades that had dominated
the Red Room dulled as I watched. Burgundy and
Maroon gave way to Persian and Vermillion. Those
faded as well. The Amaranth colored couch washed
out, leaving only a sickly color of Seashell in its wake.
The reds bled away, taking many of the browns with it;
Chocolate, Mahogany, Sepia and Sienna flushed from
the wood grains of trim and floor and door. The light
hair on my arms, and the rest of the Tan from my skin
faded to a sick gray.
All the while, the colors squealed and yelped before
vanishing from the palette of my house of colors.
The Orange Room near the front of the house came
next. I ran as Tangerine fought against whatever
pulled at it. If I could have grabbed its hand and held
on, I would have but she was gone before I could reach
her. Gamboge and Persimmon followed her into death,
their screeches piercing my ears. I dropped to the
floor, head in my hands and tears forming in my eyes.
Carrot cried but Amber called out the only audible word
I heard: HELP.
I stood, my hands trembling and knees weak. My
house of colors faded with each room and I knew I had
to reach the last room before the colors were
completely gone . . . before I faded from existence.
I ran through the Green Room, my hands over my ears
so I wouldn't hear Harlequin and Hunter and Celadon
crying before disappearing into nothing. The Blue
Room followed and I knew Sky drifted away and Sea
ran downstream, their agony taken with them. The
Gray Room came next. Though it sat untouched I
continued past it into the Yellow Room.
As the colors of my home, my very life, faded from
existence so, too, did I. My skin turned white, then
transparent, the organs and tissues and blood of my
body visible for only seconds before each piece began
to lose their own vibrancy. I heard Azure, Carolina,
Electric and Cyan scream as I braced myself, hands
clinched into fists, my own body in the doorway to the
Yellow Room. Silver and Taupe and Rose Quartz, I
could see them all; their lives evaporating into nothing,
their screams become abruptly ending whispers.
"No," I yelled.
I saw it, then. It's dark body engulfing my beautiful
colors, my babies of blues and yellows and greens and
reds and purples. Its body swirled with the many hues,
tints and shades and I could hear them all; their
pleading and crying; their pain. It was the shade of
night and it absorbed them with little effort. I watched
as it leapt from window to vase to light bulb. It hopped
from each glass surface, pulling the colors of my world
with it.
Black pushed by me, searching for a surface to attach
itself to. Its touch burned and I cried out in pain,
unable to do little more than let it by. My iridescent
home with its many colors that brightened the world
crumbled around me. The floors and ceiling sagged,
the walls split, the furniture melted away, their
textures no longer having the colors to hold them
together.
Canary glanced at me, her beautiful eyes flitting away
like a butterfly, her mouth opened in a scream, her
voice cut off by Black.
Translucent tears trickled down my clear face. Black
leapt onto a window, perched itself on the seal. It
laughed as it sucked in Mustard and School Bus,
absorbing their very existence.
I reached for Black, my fingers touching its skin. Hot
pain raced into my arm and I pulled my hand away. I
tried to think but the cacophony of screams and the
collapsing house of colors made it near impossible. One
of Black's eyes twinkled and it dawned on me. Black is
a color value that has no hue because of its ability to
absorb almost all the light from visible wavelengths.
"Take away the light and dark is all encompassing. Add
light and it takes longer to absorb. Reflect light . . ."
My eyes lit up and I glanced back at Black. Maize now
sat in its maw, hands clawing at its lips trying to
escape. I ran back through the house, beams from the
ceiling collapsing, the sound of electricity popping. I
reached the center of our home. Hanging from a
fixture was the Prism of Life—the heart of all colors. I
snatched it from its chain and ran back the way I had
come. The beautiful rooms were washed in Off Whites
and I could hear their cackles as I fled back to the
Yellow Room.
The Prism glowed. In the window sat Black, its mouth
still open and Chartreuse sliding down its throat. It bit
down and Chartreuse's hand snapped off and fell to the
floor. A flick of a dark tongue and the hand was gone.
Lemon held to the wall as long as he could, his
bittersweet face filled with terror. His legs pulled free
and Black reached a clawed hand out for him. As Black
opened its hideous mouth again, I slung the Prism
toward the window, toward the gaping black hole that
had gobbled down my children. It struck the center of
the glass with a loud crack. A soft tinkle followed and
Black's face faltered.
Black's angered eyes turned to me and he let go of
Lemon. It reached for me. I tried to run but my head
snapped back. Instead of fighting Black I turned
toward it. The glass shimmered and I could see the
spider web-like fingers running up and down its length.
Black still sat there with no other surface to attach itself
to. It growled at me. I growled back and lunged for it.
I, the mother of all colors, dove head first into the
window, toward my angry son. I felt the many shards
tear into my transparent skin. Black yelled out as it
collapsed with the window. Its body shattered,
thousands of tiny pieces landing somewhere in the void
it had created. Within the darkness I saw the Prism. It
glittered with the colors of my house held firmly within
its triangle. I crawled across a nonexistent ground and
picked it up. The window frame sat open but it was
closing fast. With little energy remaining in my body, I
tossed the Prism back through the sealing glass.
A light as brilliant as the first Golden rays of the
morning sun lit up my home. The colors—my colors—
flooded the house. I stood and stumbled to the
window, looking in from outside the glass as Magenta
and Cyan and Maize and Corn and Fuscha and Bole
splashed against walls, landed on the floor, spattered
onto furniture, their features whole again, their faces
full of awe and shock. They danced, hugged and cried—
no longer from fear but overwhelming joy. The walls,
floor and ceiling no longer sagged and crumbled but
repaired themselves, their textures and colors
rebuilding and melding together making them solid.
I laughed as tears came to my eyes. The laughter was
short lived as I tried to push my way through the
window. Lifting did no good. I tapped on it; struck it
with my palms and then my fists. My beautiful colors
turned to the window. We stared at each other, their
eyes locked on mine. They, too, tried to open the
window, to break it and free me.
Indigo picked up the Prism and looked to me. She
pointed to the glass and motioned for me to move. I
looked behind me. Black stood close by, his body a
pointy mass of broken glass and shattered colors. I
could hear its hissing and its laughter. I turned back to
Indigo and shook my head before she could throw the
heart of all colors through the window. She gave me a
confused look. Her eyes widened as Black crept up
beside me, put its arms around my shoulders; bared its
teeth.
"No," I said, hoping she would listen, hoping she would
put the Prism back in its spot in the center of the house
of colors, hoping she would not throw it through the
window and release Black back into the light.
I placed a hand on the glass and then pulled it away.
My finger prints were like splotches of rainbow, a way
for them to remember. I turned away and followed
Black into the void where colors go to die.
soon followed, a piercing wail like no woman or child
could ever release. I blinked once, twice, three times
as the mournful cries of Lilac waned and then winked
out.
Darkness filled the room and chills swept along my
spine, brushing the last remnants of sleep away. I
stood from the bed. The cold floor sent icy fingers up
my legs to mingle with fearful goose bumps. Shivers
danced along my body and I rubbed my bare arms in
hopes of warming up.
More screams came from beyond the bedroom door. I
took a deep breath and reached for the door knob.
Periwinkle hollered, a painful sound if ever there were
one. The hairs on my neck stood and I opened the
door, letting the darkness of the room spill out into the
hallway.
Colors slid away from the looming shadow. Wisteria let
out a strangled moan before going silent. I stood,
confused at what played out before me. Colors faded
from vibrant hues to soft pastels to nothing at all, their
screams loud within my ears, almost as if they were
death cries.
The hall took on odd hues of greens and blues as Coral
screeched and Carmine finally vanished. My skin lost
some its flesh tones and a scratch on my hand turned
brown.
More cries echoed through the house and I followed the
hall, its reds fading as the all the pinks ran from it.
Rose and Magenta and Carnation let out their final
gasps before vanishing. I rounded the corner and into
the next room. The bright shades that had dominated
the Red Room dulled as I watched. Burgundy and
Maroon gave way to Persian and Vermillion. Those
faded as well. The Amaranth colored couch washed
out, leaving only a sickly color of Seashell in its wake.
The reds bled away, taking many of the browns with it;
Chocolate, Mahogany, Sepia and Sienna flushed from
the wood grains of trim and floor and door. The light
hair on my arms, and the rest of the Tan from my skin
faded to a sick gray.
All the while, the colors squealed and yelped before
vanishing from the palette of my house of colors.
The Orange Room near the front of the house came
next. I ran as Tangerine fought against whatever
pulled at it. If I could have grabbed its hand and held
on, I would have but she was gone before I could reach
her. Gamboge and Persimmon followed her into death,
their screeches piercing my ears. I dropped to the
floor, head in my hands and tears forming in my eyes.
Carrot cried but Amber called out the only audible word
I heard: HELP.
I stood, my hands trembling and knees weak. My
house of colors faded with each room and I knew I had
to reach the last room before the colors were
completely gone . . . before I faded from existence.
I ran through the Green Room, my hands over my ears
so I wouldn't hear Harlequin and Hunter and Celadon
crying before disappearing into nothing. The Blue
Room followed and I knew Sky drifted away and Sea
ran downstream, their agony taken with them. The
Gray Room came next. Though it sat untouched I
continued past it into the Yellow Room.
As the colors of my home, my very life, faded from
existence so, too, did I. My skin turned white, then
transparent, the organs and tissues and blood of my
body visible for only seconds before each piece began
to lose their own vibrancy. I heard Azure, Carolina,
Electric and Cyan scream as I braced myself, hands
clinched into fists, my own body in the doorway to the
Yellow Room. Silver and Taupe and Rose Quartz, I
could see them all; their lives evaporating into nothing,
their screams become abruptly ending whispers.
"No," I yelled.
I saw it, then. It's dark body engulfing my beautiful
colors, my babies of blues and yellows and greens and
reds and purples. Its body swirled with the many hues,
tints and shades and I could hear them all; their
pleading and crying; their pain. It was the shade of
night and it absorbed them with little effort. I watched
as it leapt from window to vase to light bulb. It hopped
from each glass surface, pulling the colors of my world
with it.
Black pushed by me, searching for a surface to attach
itself to. Its touch burned and I cried out in pain,
unable to do little more than let it by. My iridescent
home with its many colors that brightened the world
crumbled around me. The floors and ceiling sagged,
the walls split, the furniture melted away, their
textures no longer having the colors to hold them
together.
Canary glanced at me, her beautiful eyes flitting away
like a butterfly, her mouth opened in a scream, her
voice cut off by Black.
Translucent tears trickled down my clear face. Black
leapt onto a window, perched itself on the seal. It
laughed as it sucked in Mustard and School Bus,
absorbing their very existence.
I reached for Black, my fingers touching its skin. Hot
pain raced into my arm and I pulled my hand away. I
tried to think but the cacophony of screams and the
collapsing house of colors made it near impossible. One
of Black's eyes twinkled and it dawned on me. Black is
a color value that has no hue because of its ability to
absorb almost all the light from visible wavelengths.
"Take away the light and dark is all encompassing. Add
light and it takes longer to absorb. Reflect light . . ."
My eyes lit up and I glanced back at Black. Maize now
sat in its maw, hands clawing at its lips trying to
escape. I ran back through the house, beams from the
ceiling collapsing, the sound of electricity popping. I
reached the center of our home. Hanging from a
fixture was the Prism of Life—the heart of all colors. I
snatched it from its chain and ran back the way I had
come. The beautiful rooms were washed in Off Whites
and I could hear their cackles as I fled back to the
Yellow Room.
The Prism glowed. In the window sat Black, its mouth
still open and Chartreuse sliding down its throat. It bit
down and Chartreuse's hand snapped off and fell to the
floor. A flick of a dark tongue and the hand was gone.
Lemon held to the wall as long as he could, his
bittersweet face filled with terror. His legs pulled free
and Black reached a clawed hand out for him. As Black
opened its hideous mouth again, I slung the Prism
toward the window, toward the gaping black hole that
had gobbled down my children. It struck the center of
the glass with a loud crack. A soft tinkle followed and
Black's face faltered.
Black's angered eyes turned to me and he let go of
Lemon. It reached for me. I tried to run but my head
snapped back. Instead of fighting Black I turned
toward it. The glass shimmered and I could see the
spider web-like fingers running up and down its length.
Black still sat there with no other surface to attach itself
to. It growled at me. I growled back and lunged for it.
I, the mother of all colors, dove head first into the
window, toward my angry son. I felt the many shards
tear into my transparent skin. Black yelled out as it
collapsed with the window. Its body shattered,
thousands of tiny pieces landing somewhere in the void
it had created. Within the darkness I saw the Prism. It
glittered with the colors of my house held firmly within
its triangle. I crawled across a nonexistent ground and
picked it up. The window frame sat open but it was
closing fast. With little energy remaining in my body, I
tossed the Prism back through the sealing glass.
A light as brilliant as the first Golden rays of the
morning sun lit up my home. The colors—my colors—
flooded the house. I stood and stumbled to the
window, looking in from outside the glass as Magenta
and Cyan and Maize and Corn and Fuscha and Bole
splashed against walls, landed on the floor, spattered
onto furniture, their features whole again, their faces
full of awe and shock. They danced, hugged and cried—
no longer from fear but overwhelming joy. The walls,
floor and ceiling no longer sagged and crumbled but
repaired themselves, their textures and colors
rebuilding and melding together making them solid.
I laughed as tears came to my eyes. The laughter was
short lived as I tried to push my way through the
window. Lifting did no good. I tapped on it; struck it
with my palms and then my fists. My beautiful colors
turned to the window. We stared at each other, their
eyes locked on mine. They, too, tried to open the
window, to break it and free me.
Indigo picked up the Prism and looked to me. She
pointed to the glass and motioned for me to move. I
looked behind me. Black stood close by, his body a
pointy mass of broken glass and shattered colors. I
could hear its hissing and its laughter. I turned back to
Indigo and shook my head before she could throw the
heart of all colors through the window. She gave me a
confused look. Her eyes widened as Black crept up
beside me, put its arms around my shoulders; bared its
teeth.
"No," I said, hoping she would listen, hoping she would
put the Prism back in its spot in the center of the house
of colors, hoping she would not throw it through the
window and release Black back into the light.
I placed a hand on the glass and then pulled it away.
My finger prints were like splotches of rainbow, a way
for them to remember. I turned away and followed
Black into the void where colors go to die.
