Grey clouds

casting nothing but darkness

over my eyes.

Shadows forming

as a depressing

disguise.

Then your smile appeared

and it was

the most color I'd seen

since all my happiness

disappeared.

Cliché? Perhaps,

but throughout all this time

no other has made me wish

for a recaps.

Your understanding eyes

are burned

into my mind,

but I'm thankful for the beauty

cause before I was truly blind.

I sat upright, I don't know how long I'd been asleep, but I was groggy, I brushed the sleep from my eyes and reached for my cigarettes.

The smoke tasted good.

I'd fallen asleep sometime late evening yesterday and now my watch had stopped, I got up and turned on my radio then gazed out past my window and down the street. It was business as usual in hick town.

I moved to my chair and sat down to finish my smoke, my head was clearing now and I listened as some far away newscaster read out the news, it was 9.30.

I set my watch and took a hot shower, feeling fully awake as soon as the hot water slammed into me.

It felt good. I put on a clean shirt and stepped out into another beautiful grey day.

The Dodge started first click and I smiled as it pulled out into the street, it's V8 throbbing and bubbling away. Nothing beats a Dodge. Traffic was easy today so I took my time and motored into town past the rows of grey houses.

I pulled into my space and headed inside the squat office building, the cooled air was refreshing.

"Good morning Mister Smith".

It was Sally our receptionist and pin up babe, I flashed her a smile and ordered my coffee and papers.

Sal was cute, and efficient.

I brushed past and into my office, the smell of air freshener sending me straight into work mode. I drew the blinds and opened my window slightly as the grey world went about its business, then turned to grab my seat.

Sally stood at my desk with a bundle of paperwork and a pot of coffee, time to start.

'Okay Sal hit me, what we got this morning?'

'Two for interview and your Friday meeting at three, plus some mail".

Her smell was almost intoxicating.

She poured my coffee and left me my papers in a neat stack, then went out. The coffee was sweet and strong and sang its way round my mouth in a symphony of high. I picked up my first paper, business report, I highlighted some text and put it in my meeting folder. The rest was just the usual mix of contractors estimates and junk mail.

I finished my coffee and checked my diary, first interview in twenty minutes, I switched on my desk fan and turned to the window, enough time for one last Marlboro before my first interview. I opened the window wide and leaned out. Damn, life was good today, the coffee was whirring about in my brain and the Marlboro taste just set my mood up a notch. Outside I could see it was business as usual and I knew today was going to be a downhill coast to the weekend. A knock on my door broke the dream.

"Come on in please".

It was Sal. 'First applicant is here Mister Smith shall I show her in?'

I turned and nodded, falling back into my chair as I did so.

"Two coffees please Sal". She smiled and vanished. I shuffled through my papers, sifting through for the job applications, I didn't notice that someone was standing in the doorway until something caught my eye.

And as I looked up it hit me.

Blue. Beautiful deep blue.

Someone said 'Please take a seat', and there she sat before me. For a second, time stood still as I fell into her eyes and lost myself for an eternity into an ocean of Blue.

And before she opened her mouth to speak I had swam a thousand miles and coated my body in that stunning colour.

It was going to be a good interview.

They were coming after me. I screamed as I jumped into that rainbow of colors, the portal to the promised land. Bam! I hit the ground on the other side and instantly fell unconscious.

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was how BRIGHT everything was. Sure, the calm whites of my world were, too, but it was only as far as something without color could go. You see, I live in a world without color, or as humans would say black-and-white. Like an old movie. But that's how everything was, and is. All these colors, more things I'd only read about in books.

I fingered my hair. I'd never known I was blond. I want to get 'dyed', as the books said, the color of that flower. Pink, I think they called it. And oh, the green of the grass. Any world with this much, color, this much life, this much beauty had to be better.

5 years later.

I was now 22. I'd miss the color, but I had missed my family even more these past 5 years. The War was now over and I knew it was time to return home. I said goodbye to everything. Blues, purples, red, yellows, greens, and pinks, to the Orange of the grand tiger, to the tan of the giraffe. I said goodbye to zebra stripes, and polka-dots all over. Then jumped back through the same portal, in which I'd crossed what seems like ages ago. My family was there waiting.

After many tearful hugs with EVERY member of the family, I explained to them the glory that I'd seen.

"Is there any way we can see?" They asked. I showed them pictures from a device called a camera. And I brought back tubes of paint.

That was the day I painted the grass green, the sun yelow, the tiger red, the sea blue. That was the day. I let others see color in a black and white world. Yes, my family could see color in a world once without it. After30 years Project Color was completed. Every leaf, every piece of fur, every beam of light was painted. And last of all, I took this land, Frenoland, and renamed it a place now called Earth. I was pretty darn proud of myself. 'Cause yes! My job was done.

*Authors note: I wrote this when I was really tired, and so it made sense in my mind, but I feel that I may have jumped a small part, or didn't make it very clear. Please give tip/comments, were/if you thought it was shaky, and feel free to ask questions to improve you comprehending.

Every where I go it's black and white, until I saw it.

A beautiful bright pink flower, I graved a pot to put it in, I wasn't going to let someone just come and pick it and let it die! As soon as I touched it the color drained from it, I started crying because I new it would be the only color I would ever see again. I when't home sobbing, I looked in the mirror to see how tired I was from crying then I noticed my eyes were a bright blue green, my lips were pink, and my hair was a bright golden blonde. I shrieked with excitement. After that everthing I touched got color put into it. I vowed to never let any thing be gray again.

I had never seen colors before. Black and white, maybe gray on a good day. No one had seen colors, those were the only three we knew. Until today. It was a marvelous color. A shade so mesmerizingly beautiful, I couldn't look away. It made my mouth open in a wide O, it made me stop and stare. I had never seen anything so... Wonderful in all the world. After I saw that, I kept seeing others. Colors that made me think of spring and summer and fall, even though I had no idea of the colors of that season. I nicknamed each one.

Brown, the color of coffee. The burnt and bitter smell, but yet it had a sense of sweetness to it that you couldn't resist.

Pink, flowers in spring. Blooming and making everything seem alive with its vibrant life, it's sweet aroma, and it's soft texture.

Purple, velvet. Soft and flowing. Royal.

Blue, water. Cool and calm, but certain shades can be harsh.

Green, grass. Plush and soft to the touch.

Each color, I made a name and texture or scent to describe it by. I was the only one to see these colors. I was the only one, who knew how beautiful life could be. How everything could light up, just by one simple little shade. I only hope, one day people will see the beauty in everyday things, such as I now can.