What if our world was monochrome and we saw in only black and white, no other colours?
I had asked a friend this question in high school and he had jokingly hinted that there might be something a little off about me. Did he mean I'm not normal?
I was indifferent to bright colours but black and white stood out glaringly for me. I used to think it would be peaceful if everyone saw things like I did. No bright red traffic lights, no screaming yellow taxis, no ugly green walls.
Everything would look neat and simple, in two distinct colours of black and white, with shades of grey in between, a blend of the two.
Then I met Adrianna.
The first thing I noticed was her smile…and her dress. It was white but not the ordinary white I was used to. It seemed to glow against the grey pavement.
She stared at me and smiled. “Are you okay?”
That jolted me back to the present. “Yeah,” I quickly looked away. “Your dress is bright.”
She laughed and I couldn't take my eyes off her lovely face. “It's white.”
That was when she told me her name and we became friends. Or at least, I thought we did. Adrianna had strange habits that I struggled with at the beginning. She would stop to smell flowers and comment on their ‘colours’ but they all looked grey to me.
She would spend ridiculous amounts of money on paintings I couldn't understand whenever we visited art galleries that displayed monochrome pieces.
When she dragged me to go shopping with her, I was reluctant. Not that I didn't want to spend time with her but because I didn't want us to have another argument on the matter of colours.
Then she held up two blouses. “Which one do you think suits me better?”
“Erm, both. They are both grey and look the same,” I replied. We stared at each other in silence and my heart sank. I knew I had put my foot in my mouth.
“You're hopeless,” she said with a sigh.
I laughed but her answer stayed with me all day. The next day, I tried to reach Adrianna but she had simply disappeared. There was no goodbye or a message. Nothing.
Her apartment was empty and her phone was switched off. Her neighbour relayed she had moved out the night we went shopping.
A week later, a strange number sent me a text. You were right. Everything looks the same and that's why I had to leave. Come find me when you are ready to see more than black and white.
I looked around my room at the black curtains, the white walls, the grey chairs and floor. The grey world outside my window that once was peaceful brought doubt.
I missed Adrianna.
I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "I'm not normal”.
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