Colourless

Rose Crawford woke once more as the screams of her alarm bellowed into her ears. It was the morning of April 16th and today of all days was essential for her career. She slipped out of bed to begin her day with the ever familiar attitude of a dull, dreary disposition, accompanied by the internal longing that lingered inside the pit of her stomach, day after day. She opened the door and left her house, entering the streets of a black and white world. A colourless society it was, one with no life, no spark, no excitement, and literally no pigment other than the shadows of grey in her opposing extremes. A world with no colour. This was Rose's life.

People knew of what colour was, albeit as a far-off concept, such as Plato's dreams of perfect ideals. Stories and fairytales, grasped desperately at linguistic interpretations for the mind to entertain a world that screamed excitement and emotion through a perception of colour. But despite their creative endeavours, the brash truth endured. The truth was that somehow, colour was gone. Or perhaps it had never been there at all.

"Rose, now for your presentation please." Echoed those words of reality, beckoning Rose's mind out of dreams and jealous thoughts, lusting for a Utopia, and back into the present reality where her boss called upon her.

"Ah, yes of course." Scrambled Rose up to the lectern, as she fumbled with her PowerPoint input. "Hello, fellow board members of Harrison Design. My name is Rose Crawford, and on behalf of the 'Transparent Lifestyle' magazine, my boss Linda has given me this opportunity to pose an idea for a collaboration between your fashion products and our access to readers through our monthly issues. We would like to suggest that your new line of designer glasses be our front cover issue for this season. We can make it all go viral. Social media, hard copy issues, podcast reviews, celebrity endorsement, a series of photoshoots to really capture the beauty and seduction of the product and so much more. Honestly, we can leave every viewer desperate to get their hands on such a product. And not just one, but a need for every new design. Profits will be endless. We want people thirsting after these products. You'll be at the top of the market. Currently, your company has the best selling products in the industry, which is surprising given your, may I put this bluntly? Your insanely small production line. But alas, people seem to love it anyway, and it is 'in' right now, so obviously we at 'Transparent Lifestyle' want to snatch you guys up before another competitor does, and do what we can to really milk the most out of this mutually beneficial business deal. Because, in a world without colour, any heightened value we can give to people's perception is honestly an untapped market. Although there's not much actually worth seeing in this world, why not roll with the opportunity for sales by using people's naive gratitude for small things, right? So, we have all day to talk specifics, but why don't you guys just start by jumping on board hey?"

After Rose's confident, and seemingly arrogant pitch, an uneasy silence rested upon the room. Until Harrison himself chimed in with, "Listen Rose, I think it is pretty clear we have quite uh, different business and product philosophies, and so I think it is best if we end this now. Our business has always cherished the little things. That's why we are prioritizing glasses right now. To help people 'see the little things'. That's more of the business pitch we were hoping for. Selling people a good quality product, so they are set for life. Quality that lasts, and doesn't demand more. So thank you for your time, but, my colleagues and I will have to look elsewhere for our advertising needs. Good day."

And just like that, Rose was in her bed once again. Staring in frustration at her blank ceiling, re-playing the events of today in her head over and over again. The pitch, her perfect pitch. The rejection. Linda screaming at her. Rose trying to defend her obvious right in the situation and how thick-headed Harrison was for rejecting such and black and white mutually beneficial deal. Then Rose walking home with her desk possessions in a black cardboard box as she came home... unemployed.

"Just when you thought this world was a horrible dreary mess. It proves you wrong. It is a horrible, dreary mess, filled with horrible dreary people who have no imagination or want for what is quite obviously the only thing humanity can do in this world, and that is the need to want more!"

Just as her screaming and internal fuming were reaching a 'climax', an apparent fairy tale, or perhaps horror induced, moment began.

A knock on her door.

"What now?"

A knock again. Louder and faster.

"Hello? Who is it?" Stated Rose, curious and yet undeniably frightened over this unexpected visit.

Silence.

"Hmm. Must be a pamphlet or something."

Suddenly all the lights went out. Rose screamed, and then caught herself, realizing her folly. "It's just the electricity. Nothing out of the ordinary. I'll just go to the switch box, nothing to worry about."

Rose went to her backyard and began to look for the box, finding it and successfully turning the fuse back on.

"Ha. Nothing to worry about." Said Rose, relieved at the fix, as she turned to walk back inside safely, but was met by a stranger standing right in her face. She screamed. Yet, what was more shocking than this unforeseen presence was in fact the undeniable reality that this human right in Rose's face, was bursting, beaming, exuding none other than. 'COLOUR!" Rose fainted.

Waking slowly Rose began to mutter, "Ha I dreamt of colour!." Until she opened her eyes to see this same wonderful figure standing over her. She screamed again. "Why Hello to you too." Snapped the colourful individual. "You're definitely not the most cheerful and hospitable case I've had the 'pleasure' of attending to."

"Ahhh, um, I , sorry, it's just, I've, I've never seen...colour. It's, its incredible" Cried rose as she reached out to touch the man. "Woah, woah, woah, just because I'm a vision from Utopia doesn't mean you can just put your hands all over me. "

"Sorry. But, why are you here? Please tell me everything! I've waited my whole life for something like this. I want to know it all!"

The man paused. Fidgeting with his hands for a little while. His stomach rumbling, his hands patting it down as if to conceal it altogether. Then with a jolt as if returning to a scripted persona, he looked straight at Rose with a beaming smile and an eerily cheerful demeanor.

"Why am I here you ask? Ha, well for you of course. Consider me your, fairy godmother, your tooth fairy, your genie in a bottle, except... less wishes. I am Pleonexia, but you can call me Pleo for short. It's much catchier in your language. Basically, the gods of Utopia have heard your philosphical cries for a better world, yada yada yada, let me get to the point. I am here to offer you your heart's desire. To see colour. Tada!!!" Sang the man with an uneasy sarcastic tone.

"Wait, sorry, just back up a bit... gods of what?"

"Oh, people these days, stuck on the material, unable to understand the supernatural. You're missing the point honey. I can literally give you something you've only dreamt of."

"Seriously? You mean, I can actually see... colour. Oh my goodness. Wow. Ok I'm ready, give it to me!"

"Uh uh uh. Oh, did you think it was a gift? Oops, I should have mentioned this a little earlier. It has a cost."

"Oh, a cost? That’s ok, I can work with this. A business deal. Name your price?"

"Oh Rose, your currency has no meaning for me and my Utopian standards hahaha. No, I need something of a... different nature."

"Oh. Ok what is it?"

"Oh, don't worry, it's nothing too difficult to part with. People let go of it all the time. In fact, you'd be surprised as to how quickly modern man lets go of such a thing. Submitting to all sorts of different entities in the world."

"Oh, ok if its nothing too important, and others seem to function without it I don't mind. What is it?"

"Oh its easy. It's Eleutheria."

"Sorry what? Ele-u huh?

"Eleutheria."

"What is that? Sounds like a strange part of one's anatomy. Like your appendix? You have it but can live without it? In that case, take it!"

"Sure, something like that. Ha."

"Well I mean, how does this work, do I click my heels? Spin in circles. Wait that's silly. I can sign a contract if that works better and then you can give me the product?

Pleo stared at Rose, perplexed, yet subtly amused. "Of course. That's exactly how this can work." Said Pleo, a smirk on his face. With that, a contract materialised, and Rose signed in a heartbeat.

"Ok, so where's my product?" Said Rose, looking eager to embrace her dream.

"Oh here it is, I have it all ready for you." Uttered Pleo with a rather mysterious chuckle, as he unveiled a pair of bright beaming green glasses.

"Here you go. Here our your glasses. All you have to do is put them on, and you'll see light- bright, bright lights- visions of your dreams, those dreams of colour. Your eyes will be enlightened to finally notice what's been there all along. Light. And we all know light equals... colour! Colour, colour- your heart's final content." And with that creepy outro, Pleo was gone, and Rose was left standing holding these brightly shining green glasses. Flashing as if a go, green traffic light.

“Ok that was weird. Anyway, this is it. This is when I’ll finally be able to see the world as I long for it. Here goes nothing.”

With that, Rose put on her glasses, ready for everything the world could offer and..! ...green. There was green. And green again. Green to her left, her right and up above. Green lights shone everywhere as her eyes scoured her house, her yard, and the moon up above only to see green, green, and an even bigger green light in the sky.

"Wait. Hang on. Wait. What. Where are the other colours? Where's the blue, the yellow, the red and orange? What. This can't be right. This can't be everything there is. I want more, I need more. I want ALL the colours!” But there was nothing but green. A green light, evolving into a distortion of reality, consuming all of Rose’s perception. Engrossing her very being, as if she was falling quickly into an almighty green light, blinding her from everything she once knew. Rose let out a blood-curdling scream.

Until she woke up. There was her world once again. Never had the simplicity of the black and white looked so beautiful. Never had Rose missed her perception, the ability to see the shapes and shadows of the small things until now. She patted her face. No glasses were there, as she let out a frightful revelation of, “Oh damn. Greed is expensive.”