The Long Journey of Emily B. Harthwan

Lost Colors

I raced home. I was so excited, and I knew Charlie would be too. He's so sweet. I have no idea what I ever did to deserve him. I thought Max was a nice guy too. Maybe a little overbearing, but cool all the same. For once in my life, things were going my way. Until I got home.

When I got home, I ran inside to tell my parents. But all I saw was my mom, crying. "Mom, what's wrong?" I asked. She just pointed to a new poster on the fridge. It was a poster from the army. My dad used to be in the army, but he retired about a year ago. It said that he had to be deployed for three months. I felt my eyes fill with more tears, tears I thought I couldn't posses anymore. But they were there, blurring my vision. I couldn't take it anymore. I ran from the house. I needed to see Charlie.

When I got to his house however, the same fate awaited me. His mother told me he was outside, and that he wasn't feeling well. I went out back, and saw him sitting under his willow tree. He was crying too. The branches of the tree seemed to be reaching out for him. I walked over to see him. Once he saw me, he got up and ran into my arms. "Charlie," I whispered. "What's wrong?" He broke apart from me. I knew he wasn't happy, but he managed to smile anyways. "Never mind me," he said. "What about you?" We sat down underneath his tree. "I was having a good day," I began. "I just went to a record studio and recorded a song. It was amazing." I sighed and looked up at the sky. "But now, everything is falling down. My dad just got deployed to Iraq for three months." He didn't say anything. He just sat there, squeezing my hand. "I'm sorry." He said. "Don't be," I replied. I've had enough pity to last a lifetime. "You?" I asked. I felt the tension around us. He sighed and looked up to the sky, like his answer was written in the clouds. "The doctors said I'll never see color." This confused me. "But they said you would!" I exclaimed. But he still didn't look at me. He just kept talking. "They ran some tests, and figured out that the blurs were just a fluke, and that's all
they'll ever see. I'm stuck with these lost colors in my mind. I'm stuck with black and white, and no way to see your face, ever."