A Diary Filled with Color

It's such a great and happy world we live in these days. Why, I can't remember the last time I saw an unhappy face or a crying Neopet. Everyone is always smiling… always content and upbeat; it's a wonderful life!

      Who could feel the least bit sad or disheartened when their world is filled with such vibrant colors, such colors that seem to reach out and fill you with life. Anywhere you look your eyes are never far from being filled with exciting landscapes, or colorful flowers that dance in the wind, that seems to carry their petals into the air, as if creating a dancing rainbow for your enjoyment.

      I can't remember the last time I felt unhappy.

4th day of Hiding,

      I tended to my garden with my neighbor Albert, a red Bruce, who comes over from time to time to help me plant new flowers. Albert brought over his own special batch of Song Flowers and Pebeanjays, which I was delighted to find blended nicely with the vividly purple Starflowers and Rainbow Mornings.

      We chatted about our days and how everything in life was so perfectly wonderful, and continued to plant and tend to the garden. Finally around noon we finished, and after retrieving some juice from my Neohome, we sat on the lawn and admired our work.

      "Beautiful work." Albert smiled while sipping from his glass I poured for him. "It's so lovely to see the finished product."

      "Very true," I agreed, mentally comparing my garden with those who lived around me. "Make sure to send me a letter when you're starting yours."

      He said he would and we continued to chat about our lives, but I felt strange when he mentioned how my garden would most likely improve my health.

      "And how does that work?" I asked.

      "Well," he began, setting down his empty glass, "every day when you get up, you'll see your wonderful garden in your perfect lawn, and it'll remind you how well your life is going!"

      "Oh of course," I nodded, but then felt my mind wander as I spoke aloud, "but what if I didn't have a garden?"

      "Well then we'd plant one, like we did today," Albert answered with a curious smile.

      "What I mean to say is, what if there were no flowers?" I heard myself ask the weird question, that felt funny to even think about.

      "Well that's impossible!" Albert announced, trying to console me. "Why, flowers are the easiest way to remind us of the color in our lives. I can't think of anything that does a better job of that."

      "What if there was something without color in it…" I began, but was cut off as Albert stood up to leave.

      "Impossible," Albert sputtered, "there's nothing in Neopia without color."

5th day of Hiding,

      I was really bothered by my recent thoughts, and pondered over why I would ask such things. Who could even dream of such a thing, that'd be so lifeless to look at, that it would cause the onlooker to become filled with sadness? Why that'd be horrible to wish upon the world… but still.

      What would the world be like with something, uncolorful in it? I can't even begin to imagine it. My world is filled with beautiful flowers, and rich sunrises, that even trying to picture them without color is like… like… trying to picture a Lenny without wings!

      It's impossible!

7th day of Hiding,

      I went to the park with my best friend Faiza today. I never knew what to expect from my favorite Ixi, as she sometimes changed her color weekly. Today she happened to be colored Disco, which went perfectly with my own green fur.

      "You look lovely today," I complimented her on her new choice.

      "Looking good yourself," she replied with a laugh, "as I hear all the other Yurbles are jealous of your green fur."

      We made our way to the center of the park, which had on display many large colorful statues of famous Neopets of the past and present. We sat on a bench near one such statue that portrayed a ten foot tall Fyora, giving off a purple aura.

      "I had the weirdest thought the other day," I whispered to Faiza as she sat down, "while I was planting with Albert, my neighbor."

      "Oh, about what?"

      "Have you ever seen something without color?" I asked with a serious look on my face.

      "Like the night sky?" She asked.

      "No, no, even the night sky has a beautiful glossy look to it, that you feel you could even reach out and grab a piece of it. I mean something in the day time where it creates a gloomy feeling inside of you, that… that, I don't even know how to put it into words," I replied, having trouble with my train of thought, but becoming increasingly uneasy.

      "What's the matter with you, Jeff?" She looked me in the eye and posed the question. "Why would you even think about such a thing when life is perfect as is? There's no point going about worrying and thinking of things that don't exist! There must be a reason such a color doesn't exist, because if it did, I don't know how society would react to such a thing."

      "But what if life isn't supposed to be this happy, this perfect! Don't you get tired of it sometimes?" I inquired, grabbing her shoulder.

      "Tired of this! Jeff, look around you," she motioned to the Neopets playing in the park, "and tell me why I would become tired of seeing happiness that's so powerful you can feel it just by looking at someone. Get some sleep, Jeff; I'm worried about you."

9th day of Hiding,

      I realized Faiza was right, and I spent the next day or so inside, catching up on sleep and relaxing with my garden.

      I tried Albert's advice and every morning as I awoke, I would look out my window and watch the sunbeams fall on my little flowers, which, if they still carried dew from the night before, would glisten like rare gems on my lawn.

      Albert came over to see me and I assured him I was doing fine and thanked him for his advice. I told him he was right and I was crazy to think that something could exist without color, as it just wouldn't fit in our world.

      "Good thing we planted that garden when we did," he joked.

      We had a good laugh over that.

10th day of Hiding,

      Faiza and I went to the Pizzaroo for lunch and she was happy to see that I was over my recent state of mind.

      "Sleep did you good, I see," she noted as we took our seats.

      "Thanks to your advice," I thanked her and we ordered a Bubbling Blueberry Pizza to split.

      We chatted about upcoming events and I asked if she'd like to go to the Art Gallery in the Deep Catacombs, as I knew she wanted to see the new Altador exhibit.

      "I'd love to!" she exclaimed. "I haven't been there in a year so, it'll be nice to see what they've added."

      "Same, and it's always nice to be reminded why we need color in our lives," I added, trying to show I really was healthy.

      Sadly it didn't last.

      As the pizza arrived at our table, I noted how bright the blueberries were, as they seemed to give off a visible sapphire glow.

      "What's wrong with the pizza?" I asked in amazement, nearly backing out of my seat from surprise. I wasn't sure if it was alive or simply not fit to eat.

      "I don't see what you're talking about," Faiza answered with notable concern in her voice.

      "Look! The pizza, it's glowing, the color is so bright!" I held myself back from shouting, but I didn't stop pointing.

      "Jeff… sit down! You're making a scene!" Faiza replied taking my hand and pulling me back down, not glancing at those who happened to be looking our way.

      We left shortly afterwards. I didn't eat any of the pizza.

12th day of Hiding,

      Faiza wasn't sure if I was feeling up to visiting the Gallery, but I assured her it was a passing phase.

      We entered the Gallery and right away, I knew something was wrong. Every room seemed to beam with some unseen force, sending out a rainbow that filled the entrance hall.

      "What's going on here?" I asked Faiza, hoping it was some new addition to the building.

      "What do you mean, Jeff?" she questioned, glancing around the empty room.

      "You… you don't see it? The lights? The colors…!" I stepped back to the door as I realized I was the only one who noticed something was out of place.

      "Jeff, what's gotten into you? You're not yourself anymore. Ever since that day in the park, you've changed… your life has changed…"

      "I've got to go," I told her, my voice shaking.

      For the first time since I could remember I felt sadness.

13th day of Hiding,

      The color is alive! It has to be… Everywhere I look it seems to come towards me. The glass… the sky… even my garden… I had to tear that up. I couldn't have them looking at me like that in the mornings, ruining my day with their blinding colors….

      Albert wasn't very pleased.

15th day of Hiding,

      Faiza came to see me today. She said she was worried about me and how I've been acting. I told her that I'd be all right in a few days, as I just needed to sleep. I could sense she knew I was lying, but her eyes never gave any hint of this. They just looked at me, wondering where the Jeff she once knew had gone.

      After she left I tried to get some sleep, but I quickly found it was no use. Every time I'd lie down to get some rest, I'd notice something in the room that seemed to stand out.

      At first it was my books on my bookshelf. Whatever color they happened to be seemed to fill the room, drowning out what was real, until everything seemed to fade together into some unknown color I've never seen before. A mix of all colors, that wasn't quite black, but looked like nothing I've ever seen before.

      It made me sad to look, and I wanted it to stop. I tossed the books into my closest and shut the door, but this new color seemed to leak out like ooze, and travel over the floor of the room, changing everything it touched…

      I find myself watching this… this thing. I can't even find the words to describe what it looks like. I find myself comparing it to a shadow, a living shadow, that seems to drink off object's color, and with their color, it drinks their life, and it grows larger…

      I need to get some sleep soon… I'm losing my mind…

17th day of Hiding,

      It's so bright… I can't sleep anymore… I've given up.

      Whenever the new color leaves, the other colors take over and fill the room with an unbelievable brightness. It's impossible what they're doing and I haven't slept in days because of this. I sit on my bed, watching them, and I know they're watching me back…

      I try and cover the windows but the light and color always finds its way in. I've sealed the curtains closed and stuffed pillows around all the cracks… but it's no use. I try to sleep but the color burrows its way into my eyes and keeps me from sleeping…

      I wish it would stop…

      I wish the color would go away…

30th day of Hiding,

      I woke up today and realized my last entries were written either in my sleep or from a crazed fit I sometimes go into… I feel, reading what I wrote then, I was trying to give myself a false sense of hope…

      Color? Ha.

      Some say the world once had color… once was filled with bright shades of "red" or "blue" or whatever else they call them these days. I personally have never seen anything they speak of… and it's hard to imagine what they must have looked like.

      How can you picture something bright and beautiful when all you've known and grown up with in your life is shades of grey. "Yellow," as I think I called it, now that must be a great color. I can almost picture that great big orb in the sky as something other then a miserable white spot that casts its glow over the land.

      I wonder what it must be like to sit in a park and watch others have fun. Young Neopets acting carefree with their friends and to roll around in a patch of bright green grass. To climb the rich brown trunk of a tree and sit on its branches… and to take in the lively sight of color that greets them…

      I can almost see those flowers in my garden… leaning over them… tending to them…taking one of the Pebeanjays in my hand and smelling such a sweet and tasteful aroma that could only compliment a wonderful flower… with such wonderful, vibrant colors…

      I wonder what a rainbow looks like…

The End