The Receiver

Colors

"I saw it in the sled, let me try one more thing, look over there to the bookcase. Do you see the very top row of books, the ones behind the table on the top shelf?"

I stared at them intensely and they changed. But the change was fleeting, it slipped away in the next instant.

The giver said "I'm right then, you're beginning to see the color red"

the color red? Looking confused, the giver sighed "Back in the time of the memories, everything had a shape and size, the way things still do, but they also had a quality called color. There was loads of colors and one of them was called red. That's the one you're starting to see. Your friend Amelia has a light brown, which is another color"

"And the faces of people?" I asked

The giver shocked his head "No flesh isn't red but it has red tones in it. There was a time actually- you'll see this in memories later when flesh was many different colors. That was before the sameness. We've never completely mastered sameness. I suppose the genetic scientists are still hard at work trying to work the kinks out"

As I nodded along he continue talking

"When you receive the memories, you have the capacity to see beyond. You'll gain wisdom then along with colors and loads more"

"Why can't everyone see colors? Why did they disappear? Needing answers

"Our people made that choice, the choice to go the sameness. Before my time, before the previous and so on. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with differences. We gained control of many thing's. But we had to let go of others. You come very quickly to that conclusion, it took me many years. Lie back down now we have much more to do"