Love Is Black And White

26. The Goodbye

While one of my hands was holding my head, the other was writing on the papers. Some words had lost their meaning after the story changed. I couldn't read meaningless words. So I wrote new ones.

"Leon?" A voice called my name, coming closer to the counter. Prof. Bristol was looking at me with concern, "I only have a few minutes." He said and pointed to his watch.

"I know I'm late," I spoke to him while writing more words on the papers, "I'm sorry."

In silence, Prof. Bristol watched me for a moment. "Are you okay?" He asked.

I stopped the pen and took a deep breath before looking at him. "It doesn't have a happy ending," I answered.

Prof. Bristol frowned. "Did you finish the book?" 

Dropping the pen on the paper, I nodded, "I think I did."

"You think?" He asked, eyebrows raised. "Well, did you write 'The End' on the last page?"

I shook my head.

"So it's not finished yet," Prof. Bristol said with conviction, "Leon, do you still want to do this?" He asked, looking at me intently.

I bit my lip and nodded, "I must," I answered.

Beside the stage, with the papers in hand, I expected my name to be announced. The sound was muffled in my mind, so I couldn't hear what the woman was saying on the microphone. With lights partially off, I could see Jade's empty chair.

When I heard a sound similar to my name and some applause, I walked towards the microphone. The spotlight on me overshadowed the rest of the place. I couldn't see the faces anymore. But I could still see the chair, which was no longer empty.

Jade was there, in black and white. She was watching me with a serene smile and attentive eyes. This was a goodbye. In colors, Jade left my reality. In black and white, she would leave my thoughts.

Without further ado, I took a deep breath, it was time to say goodbye to black and white.

"One day, two children went out to ride their bikes for one last time." Head down, I started talking. "Of course, they didn't know that was the last time. If they did, they would have enjoyed it more. They would have stayed a little longer," I looked into Jade's dark eyes. "But they didn't know," I paused. "We don't know anything about time, it just comes and goes, changing everything in our life. Just like the seasons... In the spring, we're babies being born. In the summer, we're children riding their bikes. In the fall, we're teenagers looking at the sky. In the winter, we're adults trying to survive."

Head down, I took a deep breath. "We're constantly waiting for the right time, but the truth is... It may never come," I bit my lip and shook my head. "We shouldn't wait for the right time, we should make any time the right one."

"My name is Leon Bloom, I'm a storyteller."

The day I met Jade was the part where I started telling the story. The scene was replayed in my mind as I read, but its colors were slowly removed, like the Jade who was watching me. It was all black and white. As if everything belonged to my imagination.

The golden dress turned white. The strawberries were gray like the rose she gave me. Memory after memory, the colors left me. My mind was not saying goodbye only to Jade, but also to all memories with her.

"This story is about a long wait for the right time, and several times that could be the right one."

I finished, and the lights went on. Still with my head down, I heard the applause and smiled shyly. I looked first at Will, Anna and Dave, familiar faces would give me the encouragement to face others. They were smiling intensely at me.

My eyes glanced at the rest of the people there, until they fixed on just one. My mind fell silent. I lost my breath. Standing near the entrance to the cafe, I saw Jade. On the verge of insanity, my mind couldn't clearly distinguish whether she had colors or not.

Motionless, we stared at each other for a meaningful moment, she seemed to be as dazzled as I was. With apprehensive steps, Jade walked towards me. Close to my body, she looked deep into my eyes.

In a sudden movement, she brought her face close to mine and kissed me vigorously. The touch of her lips was the certainty I needed. It was all real.

She brought me to reality and made me stay. All the touches, the kisses, the looks, they were beyond imagination.

In the glory of feelings, I felt all the colors slowly coming back to me.

It was a proper goodbye to the black and white.

Thereafter, my life became a harmony of colors. And the right time was all the time. To match my soul, I started painting the wall, on which I exposed my story. A few steps from me, Jade was sitting on the floor with her knees bent. Her eyes were fixed on the papers, reading the same story drawn on the wall.

When I was coloring some parts with red paint, Jade stood up and stopped in front of the wall.

With her head tilted, she looked at the drawings and sighed.

"What?" I asked her.

With sparkle in her eyes, Jade smiled. "Just memories."

I smiled with her and took a few steps back, to get a better view. Beside me, Jade was also staring at the wall. There were so many colors. Each created the perfect contrast to the other.

"It's incredible," Jade spoke, almost whispering.

Admiring each of the small drawings, I smiled. "What's your favorite?"

"All of them," Jade replied. In silence, she continued looking at the wall for a few moments, "I love you so much."

Smiling, I turned to her and pulled on her waist, bringing her close to me, "I love you, always have, always will."

She smiled, with one hand behind my neck and the other running through my hair. "There's something missing, don't you think?"

I frowned, "I don't think anything is missing."

Jade tilted her head. "What about the ending?" She asked and smiled.

I gently touched the soft skin on her face and looked deeply into the darkest eyes, "I'm living it right now."

I brought her face to mine and kissed her, promising myself I would never let her go.

After the kiss, I looked at her face. "You know? Colors look good on you." I commented.

When Jade started to smile, I brushed the red paint over her face. Startled, she closed her eyes quickly and opened her mouth. Then, she glared at me while I laughed. "You didn't!" She said, shaking her head.

To get revenge on me, Jade took the brush and blue paint.

"Jade, don't do..." There was already blue paint on my face before I finished speaking.

Jade laughed and dodged my brush. "Stop it!" She shouted, moving her brush towards me.

We colored each other until we became two living paintings of Fauvism.

As much as the other colors found their way back into my life, I will always have a huge appreciation for black and white. From the splendor of the night sky to the magnificence of Jade's eyes.

Some of the best things are black and white.

The End