"Love is All You Need"

Chapter 1

        All I see is black and white. This is all I have seen all my life. The only two colors that I have ever known. Of course I can try to imagine what any other color looks like from what others try to tell me, but I guess my imagination is only limited to black and white everything. My mother tells me how she saw black and white until she was sixteen. That's when she met my dad. Now everything she sees is in color. The colors that I wish I could so desperately see. But this is just how it is. Not just for me, but for everyone. We are programmed to only see black and white until we meet our soulmate. Once we meet our soulmate your whole world brightens, at least that's what I've been told. I can only believe it when I see it. I have met many boys and been on many dates and here I am, still all in black and white.

        My mother called me down into the kitchen. I strolled down the black and white hallway and past the black and white family portraits that lined it. I reached the kitchen and saw my mom slaving over a pot of what I assumed was spaghetti. I sat down at the table with a loud sigh.

        "What's the matter sweetheart? You have never seemed so down in the dumps."

        Of course I had to laugh. Who was she trying to kid? I was always down in the dumps. All I have ever wanted in my entire life was to see what almost everyone else see's. Even my friends. I have only one friend that also only see's in only black and white. The rest see in color. I so desperately wished that I could be them.

        "All I want to do is be able to understand the colors that everyone seems to know but me. I want to be able to gush over the beautiful color of the sunset that everyone else does, I want to be able to have a favorite color like everyone else, what is wrong with me? Why haven't I met my soulmate yet?"

        "You're overthinking this to much. And for the time being, you don't have to be like everyone else, you just need to be yourself. Your time will come."

        I thought that was cheesy, but I smiled and thanked her anyway. I told her that I was going out and I would be back later. I got in my car and put the keys in the ignition and heard the low hum of my engine before backing out of my driveway. I had nowhere to go really. I was just gonna drive until I felt there was a good enough stopping place.

        I finally pulled into a gravel parking lot. Beyond it was a field. Thats it just a field and some woods. It has been my favorite place to go since I was introduced to it by my late grandfather. He used to bring me here to pick "flowers" for my mom, which were really just dandelions, but it was peaceful here and it is where I come when I want to be alone or let my mind wander. No one else was here. Ever.

        I decided to "Pick flowers" for my mom, just like the old times. So there I was in my little white sundress and my sandals picking weeds in the middle of a vacant field for my mother who would just tell me to get rid of them because who really wants weeds in their house, but still I was doing it.

        I knew that I had picked more than enough "flowers" for my mothers liking. One was probably more than enough for her. But I just sat there wondering about everything that I didn't understand. Like what color is a dandelion anyway? I have been told that they are the color yellow, but to me that means nothing. They can try to explain it, but I have nothing to compare it to. So here I am staring at these weeds that could be the prettiest colored weeds I had ever seen, but I wouldn't know.

        I just sat there in annoyance. How could something as simple as a color make me so infuriated. But I guess no one would understand if they weren't me. I picked up a dandelion and just stared at it, trying to picture what a dandelion looks like not in black and white. I was so deep in thought that I nearly missed a car pulling into the gravel parking lot, the stones crunching under the weight of the car tires. I didn't want to be disturbed nor did I want to have to share my field. Up until this day, no one ever came here while I was here. I slowly grabbed my "Flowers" and slid behind the tree that I was sitting leaning against. I peeked around the trunk of the tree. I saw a young man get out of the car. He looked to be my age, maybe a little older. I scoffed. Just my luck. I deffinitly wasn't interested in coming out from my hiding spot now.

        I saw him open the back door of his car and a dog giddily jumped out, running in circles as if he was chasing his tail, but I knew that he was just excited. I was mad. Did he think this was a dog park? because it wasn't. I didn't need more people finding out about, what I thought, was my secret place.

        I just sat there, behind my tree trunk that I'm not even really sure hid me that well. I was sure he would eventually find me and think I was a psycho or something, but I wasn't about to get up and just walk out and appear out of no where. He would probably start to think that he was the insane one and not me. And if he didn't find me first, his dog deffinitly would. I thought about getting up and moving, but to me, it was my place first so why should I have to leave? But I just continued to sit there, contemplating whether I should or should not move and I was right. When I peered around the tree I saw a dog walking towards me, his owner not very far behind him. Great.

        I tried to be as quiet as possible and hold my breath for as long as I could, but the dog found me. I have always had a thing for dogs, and cats and really just any animal. They should probably just call me the animal whisperer because animals have a way of finding me. The dog was cute. Smaller than I had thought but big enough to knock me over when he jumped up on me as I was trying to stand up. His owner caught up to where we were and looked kind of shocked when he saw me. I wondered if I had food caught in my teeth or dirt in my hair from the way he was looking at me.

"Uhhh... Hi" The boy stood there still looking stunned, but at least he talked. I on the other hand just sat there like an idiot, not even knowing what to say. It wasn't like I was shy around people. Not even new people that I just met, but for some reason here I am at a loss for words.

        I just nodded and looked at the ground where the dog was laying at my feet. I knelt down to pet him, or her.

"That means he likes you, if he lays down and lets you pet him without running away. I'm Luke and that's Brody."

        I smiled Luke was a cute name and Brody was an adorable dog. I looked back up at Luke. He had hair that was kinda shaggy, but the cute kind of shaggy, the color of which I did not know. I didn't know his eye color either since I am only seeing in black and white, but boy do I wish I could. He was deffinitly kinda cute. Wait. What was I doing? I am mad at him. Mad at him for invading my one place to go to be alone. But then again, I am in no position to be pushing guys away.

"Grace," I said holding out my hand to shake his. He took my hand in his opposite hand and shook it. He had a firm hand shake that surprised even me.

"Grace huh? That's a pretty name. Kinda makes you sound like royalty or maybe it just sounds romantic." He smiled and I noticed his dimples on both cheeks that made me swoon. I change my mind. I'm most deffinitly not mad at him anymore. He was cute, well maybe more than cute, but just five minutes ago I wanted to scream at him for coming to my private spot. Yet here I am willing to forgive him just because he looks good. Who was I kidding? He could probably see in color and had a soul mate that he would spend the rest of his life with and I was just a loser girl who would be alone forever. But that was life and life goes on.

"Yeah well I can assure you that I'm not royalty and not in the least bit romantic it would appear." I continued to just kneel there, petting Brody. I was more than surprised when he sat down beside me. God, he was so cute. "Uhm, this may sound weird, but what color is Brody?"

"I couldn't tell ya. My parents tell me he is a yellow lab, whatever that means. I'm guessing you're one to? You can't see colors yet either because, just like the rest of us, you have pretty much given up on finding your soulmate?"

"You guessed it." I was pleasantly surprised. How could a guy like him be like me?