Sunshine Yellow

Chapter 1

~The first chapter of my first book on Wattpad! *throws confetti* Now I know it'll be confusing to start off, but bear with me. You'll understand as we get farther in. So thanks for picking this book to read, and I really hope you enjoy it.~Hayley^^~

I look down at my little sister with a smile as her hand flies across the page. It's nothing new-she's been drawing since she could hold a crayon. Yet I never get tired of watching the way the tip of her tongue sticks out between her lips in concentration, how her faces scrunches up when she makes an imprecise stroke.

"It looks great, Alice," I say. She doesn't acknowledge the compliment at all, never looking up from her work. I'm not insulted, having grown used to it by now.

When Alice finally stops scribbling, I examine what she's drawn. It's a picture of two girls holding hands, one noticeably taller than the other. The former has long, black hair and blue eyes, a sort of unnatural shade that can only be created with crayons. The shorter girl has wavy hair in the same dark shade and green eyes that possess the same type of unearthly vividness. Alice has also added smiles to their faces, ones so wide that their lips cross over the black boundary lines of their heads.

"This may be your best one yet," I tell her, and take her hand in mine like we do in her drawing.

Alice giggles and squirms out of my grip to grab a green crayon. The title 'meadow' is written on the side. "But it's not done yet," she says.

I smooth down the cowlick on the back of her head. "Well, when it is, it will be your best one yet."

She nods confidently and runs the tip of the green crayon over the paper, humming a tune of her own creation as she colors the section of the picture beneath our feet. She switches crayons to fill the rest of the background with a soft shade of blue. It's only now that I realize what she's doing.

I immediately snatch the blue crayon from her grasp and cram it back in the box. I attempt to take the paper, too, but Alice protects it from my quick fingers by clutching it close to her chest.

"Alice, honey," I coo, trying desperately not to sound stern-that will just scare her into clutching it tighter. "Give me the picture."

She shakes her head violently, brown waves flying out in all directions. "It's not finished!"

"We've been through this before, Alice. You can't draw things like this."

"I just wanted to make it prettier. White is boring."

I make a sudden, desperate lunge for the paper, but the younger girl manages to dodge me with ease. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I say, "Then color it red or purple or something else."

"B-But that's not right!" she says, jumping to her feet and stomping a foot. "Grammy said it's blue. And it says so on the crayon, see? 'Sky blue'! Not red! Not purple! Blue!"

I wince-sky. An old word, one that shouldn't be spoken aloud.

"You're right," I say. "You're right. But if anyone sees you drawing blue . . . ceilings and green floors, Mother and you and I will be in trouble. Do you want that?"

She shakes her head again, her eyes widening a bit.

"Then we need to get rid of this," I say softly, and slowly wrap my fingers around the edge of the paper.

Letting out a little shriek, Alice holds it tighter against her chest. "No! It's my best one yet, you said so! I'll put it under my bed, and no one will never ever ever find it. Promise."

My face falls. I can't stand that look in her eyes, the pure terror in them as she imagines parting with her precious work of art.

"Sorry, kiddo, but I don't think that's going to work." I smooth down her hair again. "I'll help you draw a new one, though. How does that sound?"