The Lost Artifact Of Spode

26

The following day, Bead made her appearance again. As she showed up, Mel couldn't help but wonder if this was going to become a new habit. Was she even allowed to do this?

"Hi, Bead," he greets with a smile, waving at her.

"Hi," she says back. She placed herself in the same place she was in yesterday, peering just over Mel's desk to see him.

"How are you?" He asks.

"Good." She didn't return his question. Her attention seemed to be focused somewhere else. Somewhere on Mel. He smiled at the little girl. It was meant to be a polite smile, but with the silence starting to pick at him, and Bead refusing to tear his eyes off him, his smiled appeared stranged instead.

He couldn't keep his eyes on Bead anymore, but he couldn't keep his attention off of her either. He desperately wanted to say something, whether to break the silence or her attention, but he didn't know what he could speak. How can he makes sure she understands him?

"Em..." she eventually hums out.

"Yes?" He quickly asks.

She slowly points up to Mel. He tilts his head, unsure what she's trying to say.

"What...?" She then points to her own eye. The one that Mel still wears his eye patch over.

"Ah." He subconsciously touches under his eye. "The eyepatch?"

She nods. "The eyepatch," she repeats.

Mel sheepishly looks away. "Ah... I don't like it?" He didn't know how to answer her question. Even if she could understand his words, he knew his reasoning was silly.

"Don't like?" She asks. "Why don't like?"

He nervously pauses as he searches for his answer. Something that wouldn't confuse her nor embarras him. "It's not mine?" He settles on.

Bead stairs up at Mel, confusion in her eyes. He looks around on his desk for something to help translate this for her, when his eyes land on his flathead.

He picks up the tool. "This, mine," he tells her, being sure to translate his sentence with his hands as well. He hands her the flathead, which she hesitently takes. "This, yours." When her attention fell back onto Mel, he points to his eye that hides behind the eye patch. "This? Not mine."

The confusion behind her eyes twists to the rest of her face, but now for an entirely different reason. "Not yours?" She asks.

Mel glances away and nods his head. He couldn't think of how he could explain it to her. It took too many complicated words.

She also glances away, struggling to find her own words to say. Eventually, she asks Mel, "Why?"

The only answer Mel could think of would be to just show her, but did he want to do that? Even showing someone else his eye would force him to accept the fact he doesn't have his anymore. To finally figure out if he really does have a Proximian's eye, too. How different would his vision be? Would it change at all?

But as his eyes met Bead's curiosity-filled ones, he realised he couldn't keep hiding behind the eyepatch forever. The longest he could probably last would be until he gets back home and Qiana forces him to take it off.

Besides, it is irritating having to wear it all the time just so he can live in denial.

Mel takes in a breath and hesitently lifts the patch to show Bead. At first, she flinches at his actions and sheilds her face, likely expecting a gross, gorey sight instead. He couldn't help but lightly chuckle at her.

"I have an eye, Bead. See?"

She curiously peaks through her hands to see what waited behind his eyepatch, and for the first time Mel finally opens his new eye to the world. Awe filled Bead as she slowly brought her hands down.

"Oh," she quietly hummed.

Mel did, in fact, have a Proximian eye waiting under that eyepatch. And just like Bead, his own eyes were filled with awe, too. The little girl who stood infront of him, she's now a brighter blue than before. At first, he wondered if it was just because his left eye was so used to the darkness. But, wouldn't that make her appear darker instead of lighter?

But no, it's not that. Bead is a different shade of blue in his left eye than in his right.

Mel's eyes trailed down to his work station and the tools he littered just to look productive. His attention is then caught by his orange, torx screwdriver. It's much more... vibrant now. Warmer. The difference in the colours between his eyes hurt his head.

He looks around the room next, but the rest of the colours here weren't any different. Then again, a grey, metal room wouldn't be able to change much in colour.

He glances back at Bead, who's still two different blues in each of Mel's eyes. She stares up at Mel, concerned about his sudden, strange behavior.

"You OK?" She quietly asks.

Mel didn't hear her, too focused on the differences in his new vision. Mel tears the eyepatch from his head for a better view, then leans over his work station to try and catch something new around the corner. However, his hair fell in his face instead, shocking him.

He's never seen this colour before.

He quickly brushes the colour out of his eyes, only to realize it's attached to his head.

Something this bright and bold, that's his hair?! He couldn't believe it.

Mel quickly turns from his station to rush to the bathroom. However, as he made it a step away, he suddenly remembers Bead. "Oh! Eh..."

He looks back at her. While he saw her hiding behind his table, her concern didn't reach him. He far too focused on his hair.

"I need to go," he says, pointing behind him. "Sorry. Bye! I'll see you." He breifly waves goodbye to Bead before he sprints to the bathroom.

From his station, Bead slowly waves goodbye to Mel, confused but mostly concerned for her friend.

As Mel reaches the bathroom, another Proximian was just making his way out. However, Mel doesn't slow his pace any. He slips through the Proximian, almost shoving him out of the way, as he busts into the restroom. He quickly steps up to the mirror to see his reflection.

"What-?" He couldn't help but speak. Nothing about his colours are what he was used to. His hair is, in fact, a completly different colour in his left eye. One he's never seen before. Even his skin seemed to be made from this new colour, but much more darker and less saturated than his hair; yet its still brighter and has more colour than how he's always seen it.

Is this... "Red?" He finishes outloud.

Did the Proximian eye cure his colourblindness?

Mel couldn't tear his eyes away from his reflection, in complete awe of how different he looks. Especially his hair. It's unnatural looking with how bold of a red it is. No wonder people would always ask if he dyed his hair.

He ran his fingers through his hair, as if the movement would take away from the colour. But it still remained a bold red.

If he looks this different, what does that mean for his family?

Mel finally looks away from the mirror and turns his attention to his EyePhi. He already has his photo gallery open, for it was the only app he use for anymore. He starts scrolling through his pictures, studying his family.

To his surprise, his wife looks no different whatsoever. She's as beautiful as ever. A warm smile crept to his face. He's glad he always got to see her in her true beauty. His colourblindness couldn't even rob that from her.

His kids, however, they had a few differences in them. Nia has Mel's red skin, although her hair didn't change in hue. While Kal-ed, the opposite was true. His skin stayed the same, but his hair, while dark in colour, had a red shine to it. Or at least, it did before he started dying it crazy colours.

Mel paved his back against the wall and slid down to the floor of the public bathroom. He kept scrolling through his photos, studying all of the different and new colours his new eye reveled.