The Color that Walked into My Life

by Ria Manchada

Oh gosh, my alarm was at it again. It was another day, the same routine, the same route, the same people, the same food, the same day. I peeked out the windows in the hope to see something new but there was nothing. The same brown buildings were standing there just beneath the cloudy weather, the trees were dancing in the wind and the people were dragging themselves to work while coffee shops were still selling the same coffee to everyone. Nothing new, nothing colorful, I think at this point I forgot what color really means to me. I got dressed in the same outfit, the brown pants with the brown shirt and a grey coat over it. I grabbed my black bag, put my black boots on and locked my apartment. I stepped out onto the street only to see everyone else wearing the same thing, I headed to the only coffee shop in town and took the only flavor they sold. As I walked to work, all I could think about was is there anyone who’s a bit different. Oh well, what could I ever do? As I entered the office, I took my seat and started the same work as yesterday. I took a look at everyone else in the office with their sulked faces and their fingers constantly smashing the keyboard. Finally, it was lunch, a break from the same, boring work which I do everyday. I took my essentials and put my coat on, just to see everyone else in sync with me. I left the office and stood there waiting in the elevator full of my clones. Just as I stepped out for lunch, I saw something I had never ever witnessed before. It was there smiling, standing and grabbing attention from everyone. It was a different person, a colourful one actually. They were wearing a green shirt tucked into blue jeans and a yellow hat with their green eyes piercing through everyone’s heart and their brown hair swaying in the wind. I wanted to approach them, I wanted to talk but my heart was racing. I never talked to anyone for a while except my stubborn boss. I still forced myself to do it, I wanted change in the town which was cut off from the rest of the world. As I made my way and talked to them, I found out he was a journalist. They came here to explore whether this town is really as dull as it seems. It was something new for me, something for me to look up to every morning. The week went the same, but next weekend once I got up again and peeked out my window. I saw it, it looked like a dreamland, a fairyland or whatever they call it. It was colour, it was something I had never seen before, a colourful town. The buildings were being painted bright yellow and green along with patches of blue, people were wearing new coloured clothing and showing it off to their friends. The coffee shop had a long line outside of it but after some squinting I saw it, new drinks with new flavours. I pinched myself to check whether this was a dream, turns out it was not! I grabbed my wallet, keys and put my shoes on. I rushed outside to buy new sets of clothes and try new foods and meet new people. I started off with buying clothes in new colours, although it was a bit overwhelming at first. I brushed it off to try something new. I tried new foods and drinks and fell in love with them. On my way back home, I bumped into the same journalist from that day. I asked him, how did all of this happen in just one night. He told me that yes it was surely awkward for him to stand out from the crowd but it was also what attracted people to him, people wondered and pondered on the thought of a little change. Life was now complete, it was something that I never expected. The posts that I used to see on my instagram of people from the other side of the world living their best lives, came into reality. It made me live for every moment. I looked to the left, I saw people making new friends, I looked to the right, I saw flowers blooming, I looked straight and I saw buildings being painted, I looked behind me only to see people shopping and I looked up to see the bright sun shining on me. The town that was once considered the most dull place on the planet, now became one of the brightest places in the world just because of one person who stepped in on a random Monday noon. That one person didn’t just introduce colours to our lives, he made everyone’s lives better, he made people look up to everyday. Although I tried new things today, I still had a whole checklist of things to try. As I went to the next day of work, I finally got a brand new task. A new thing to learn, although I failed miserably, at least I learned something new. Learning is what I’m looking forward to now. Everyday was now something new.