My own twist on short stories

color blind

Left on Oak ridge. Right on Williams. I follow the steps like muscle memory. I walk this route daily, to and from Leon High School. Autumn winds blow through my sweatshirt as I pull up my hood to keep warm. Crisp fall leaves dance around me to their own tune that only mother nature must know. Right on Charles cross and another right on 20th. I skip over the cracks in the sidewalk and shiver at the cold winds nipping at my fingers and nose. Although I shiver, I also smile. You see, I have a small fascination with the earth and with life in general. The way seasons change and leaves fall has always intrigued me. I think it started when I found out I was color blind. Hey, dont judge me on not knowing. "Hi theres something wrong with my eyes" isn't exactly a conversation starter. As a six year old, learning about colors to me was like learning about dinosaurs; cool and fun but not relatable. Little to my knowledge, I was the only one who couldn't see them. They say the grass is always greener on the other side. I guess it's true because as soon as I realized I was different, I became obsessed with colors, nature, and the beauty of the world I can't see. A car horn in the distance snaps me out of my thoughts and I take a sharp left on Edison. I glance at the local shops as I pass by. Although most are closed this early, I wave at the woman opening the bakery and smile at the bank teller parking her car. I start running over my schedule for the day to check for any homework I may have forgotten when something catches my eye. When I turn my head I see a girl sitting at the bus stop reading a book. She's... angelic. Her hair falls in perfect curls just below her shoulders. I cant see her face because it's buried in her book, but that doesn't stop me from staring. I continue watching her, effortlessly captivated, when I stumble over my feet and into a trash bin. The can crashes to the ground as she looks up, notices me and giggles. I feel the heat rise up to my cheeks out of embarrassment. But at that moment I didn't care because I could see her eyes. They were welcoming, warm, and...blue. A piercing icy blue. That's when I noticed her dark chestnut brown hair and her beautiful olive skin. I wasn't sure if I was naming the colors correctly, I was guessing based on research. I only had ever seen shades of grey so I just sat there trying to comprehend what I was seeing. Or how I was seeing it. She started to walk over, most likely because I hadn't stood up off the ground. I scrambled through my brain for something to say but I didn't need to because she broke the silence.

"Hi... my names Charlotte. Are you okay?"

I was quiet for a few seconds, which I'm sure to her felt like minutes. Finally I made an attempt to say something. But the only words I could think to say were
"I can see you."