Black Ice and Bright Lights

First of all I want you to know I'm not crazy. They'll tell you I am, but what I'm about to tell you is 100% real. I should've shut up about it. I should've known no one would believe me. Even my own parents thought I had gone mad.

It was a normal day, like any other. I put my favorite black jeans on with a gray sweater. I looked in my small mirror smearing some of my grey skin toned concealer on my dark under eye circles, then swiped some black mascara on.

Snow flakes fell around me as I scraped the ice off my windshield, surprised I didn't get a snow day. I opened my white car I had learned to love over the year I've had it and turned the key. I drove my normal route to school. It normally takes 15 minutes but today it seemed more backed up. I blamed it on the snow and kept driving.

Slowing for the upcoming intersection I moved my foot to the brake. It wasn't working. I could feel the car sliding on the ice. The grey warning light turned to a harsh black and I began to panic. The cars on the left and right of the intersection began to cross the premise and I knew this would end badly. I could hear screaming and it seemed to be coming from me, but I didn't remember opening my mouth. I felt the impact of a car to the right side of my own car. Glass shattered and rained around me as my head slammed into the door. My eyes closed and I welcomed the darkness.

Only it didn't come. Opening my eyes, white light blinded me and I could see shapes above me. They had skinny emancipated bodies of a grey color and larger than normal heads. I knew immediately they weren't human. I blinked and was back in my wrecked car.

I saw a bright color seeping through several cuts on my arms and recognized it as blood. I blinked again and it was gone. Lights flashed in the color of my blood and as well as a foreign one. My eyes began to drift shut again and this time the darkness engulfed me.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. I could hear it before I opened my eyes. The antiseptic smell that invaded my nose. The pounding of my head. All at once the recent event came crashing back into me. I quickly opened my eyes, then had to shut them again. What were these bright colors I was seeing? The dull black and white i had lived with my entire life was replaced with harsh colors that hurt my head.

A nurse walked in. "Oh good you're awake! You gave us a big scare! You have no severe injuries which is unusual for your kind of crash, but you do have a slight concussion." She spoke in a manner that was too cheerful for my liking. "You'll be able to go home soon as well! Your parents have already signed the release forms!"

On the car ride home my mom began to express her concern for me, "Sweetie, while you were sleeping in the hospital you were saying some worrying things."

"Like what?"

"You screamed a lot about the grey men taking you away, it was like the nightmares you used to have as a child."

I became flustered, I had completely forgotten about my childhood night horrors.

"Mom, Dad, I'm about to tell you something very important. I know it's going to sound crazy but-" I took a deep breath preparing myself for this, "I think I was abducted by aliens. And they did some operation on me to give me more than black and white, but actual color."

My dad chuckled to himself. "As much as I love you I think you were just having a bad dream. You did hit your head pretty hard."

I don't know why I just didn't stop there and drop the whole thing. But I kept talking about it, telling anyone who would listen. One day, my mom snapped.

It began with me arguing my point as normal, "Mom you have to believe me! They gave me color, I swear! You only see black and white! I see so much more!"

"Grace, I've had enough! You have gone completely crazy! I don't want to hear you say one more word about this. Do you know what the town is saying?! "Look at that poor crazy girl" "They should have her put in a hospital" This has gone too far. I want you to admit you're lying about everything for attention, do you hear me?" She was hysterical, screaming and crying at the same time.

I was calm about it. Probably too calm.

"You've always told me lying was bad. If I did what you want I would be lying."

"I think that was ultimately the last straw. She and dad had me sent to you, for this evaluation. So what do you think doc? Am I crazy?"