Color Story

            White is a very annoying color, and it always has been. Even before I arrived here, I hated it. Take snow for example. It is just too damn bright; blindingly so. Winter in general just screams static noise. Staring at blank walls and florescent lights all day and every day kills me from the inside out. So does the disgusting glow of these scrubs they make me wear. All so bright…it’s sickening.

            My psychiatrist reminds me of an old greyhound. His hair (or what is left of it) shines with a dull gleam under the fluorescents. He is withered, with a monotone voice, and he has wrinkles on his cheeks that sag to the concrete floor. His daily dress is monochrome – from his collared shirt to his worn down loafers – he looks like he stepped out of a nursing home for the rich. When he speaks, his drone words slip into one ear and spill out the other. This asshole is supposed to help me “work through” my emotions. Might help if he had some himself.

            Red is a pungent color; angry. Yet splattered over the blank walls like little rose petals, it is comforting. Little lady bugs dance on my scrubs. The wang of sirens accompanied by a flashing ruby glow breaks the deafening silence. Soon there are multiple stings. Tubes run this way and that – little swirly slides of cherry Kool-Aid. My chapped lips curl into a tight smile. Suddenly winter becomes more bearable.

            Black is poison – like the widow spider that bit my dreary older sister when I was young. My memories are hazy, if not blocked out. Maybe the spider bit me too? I feel his thorn-like legs pricking my arms. I feel his venom run through me, darkening the brightness around me. The winter is fading. There is a presence of something heavy, like an anvil on my chest, my body. My eyes become hooded with sleep as the anger starts to fall away from me.

            What’s white, red and black all over?

            A grey failure.  

Authors Note: I struggled with the prompt and rules for this story. While it developed into something I did not expect I hope I haven't offended anyone.