Cecilia walked through the streets, her flaming red locks tucked into a small gray cap. She longed to pull the suffocating headwear off and let her hair flow freely, but she'd tried that before. Cecilia's stomach twisted as she remembered the day she'd first tried to explain her color to the world. The laughter from the other schoolkids still haunted her to this very day.
"Cecilia!" a woman's voice rang out. Cecilia turned to Mistress Tippins and plastered on a big, fake smile.
"Good day, Mistress Tippins!" she called back, trying to keep the hatred out of her voice. Mistress Tippins was always fussing over Cecilia, telling her to straighten her hood and to brush her teeth. Cecilia knew the Mistress Tippins was just trying to be nice, but she couldn't help but feel a rush of anger every time she saw the cranky old woman.
"Cecillia, come over here," Mistress Tippins ordered. Cecilia winced and she spit out the first lie she could think of.
"My mother needs me at home," she told Mistress Tippins. Mistress Tippins' eyes narrowed at Cecilia, but she waved her off.
"Tell her to bring me some bread next time," Mistress Tippins snapped as Cecilia hurried past her, picking up her dress so as not to dirty the hem as she ran.
Luckily, Cecilia only had to zip past a few confused faces before she reached the somewhat hidden alleyway between Building 141 and Building 142. She skidded to a stop and, after checking to make sure that no one was watching, turned the corner into the alleyway.
Now alleyways were quite common, but they were hardly ever used, especially with the recent rumors of "monsters" or gangs hiding in them. The alleyway Cecilia lived in, however, was perfectly clean and empty. Oh and, of course, home.
Cecilia made her way down the dark alley and towards a clump of blankets in the back corner. For the first time that day, her face broke into a smile. She ran over and pulled back the blankets, the dots of color beneath it brightening her face like nothing else would.
Inside the blanket were the most treasured things Cecilia owned. There was a strange variety of items--a tube of lipstick, a jar of cherries...Cecilia's smile drooped a little as she remembered, once again, the day she'd been kicked out.
"Mommy!" Cecilia cried as she raced across the playroom, licking cherries off her lips. "Mommy! What are you doing?"
Cecilia's mother was standing at the table, doing something with a brown box. Cecilia blinked at her mother, who didn't reply for a second.
"I...love you," her mother said finally. Cecilia laughed joyously.
"Mommy, I love you too!"
"I know, darling. I love you, but...but you're broken. I cannot keep you."
LIttle Cecilia was confused. Why not? How was she broken? She glanced at her red hair in the mirror before looking back at her mother, her smile slowly vanishing as her mother lowered herself to sit down by Cecilia.
"Keep me?" she wondered in confusion. "You cannot keep me?"
Her mother took a deep breath and stood up.
"I'm sorry," she said, then led Cecilia over to the front door and pushed her out, leaving the box outside before firmly shutting the door closed. Cecilia picked up the box—which seemed to be a suitcase—and walked a few steps before toppling over it. Whimpering, she stood back up and began toddling down the front steps, the box dragging along behind her.
Cecilia sighed, then pushed the memory away and moved her pile of things aside, sitting down on the blanket before pulling off her hood. The alleyway might've been damp, dark, and overall horrible, but at least she could be alone with her colors.
Cecilia's colors were the only thing that brightened up her world, both literally and metaphorically. Growing up homeless, no one had ever wanted to play with her. Even as a five-year-old, she'd had to have quick reflexes and an ability to make up good lies since she'd always lived by herself. Of course, everyone knew she'd been kicked out—what they didn't know, though, was that her mother was the one who had kicked her out, not her landlord.
Cecilia hummed lightly as she pulled out her homework and a red pencil. The one nice thing about being the only one able to see colors? She could do her homework in red ink.
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