Broken Child | ✓

Chapter Four

It was starting to get dark and Cecilia had still not reached anywhere or anything. Hours of walking across not-red color had only brought her to more not-red color. Her feet were covered in blisters and her legs were ready to collapse and Cecilia herself was considering turning back. It wasn't until twenty or so minutes later that Cecilia finally stumbled upon something new.

Using the last of her strength to push herself up over the hill, Cecilia craned her neck and blinked to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. But it was true. The colorful city in front of her could not have been a mirage—it was simply too real. And too strange.

Cecilia walked closer, slipping and sliding down the hill beneath her as she struggled to keep her footing. She wanted to run forward and dash into the city, but she had to get a better look first. Cecilia blinked when she found herself standing at the edge of the city.

Cecilia hadn't noticed anything new before, but now she realized—the colors of this city were all different, yet the same in a way—they were all not-quite-red. How did it happen? Cecilia wondered. How were things colored, but not red? Wasn't red the only color? And why, for once, could she see everything around her in color?

Cecilia glanced back to where she game from, expecting to see fully colored trees and rocks, but only saw the same thing she'd walked past--grays and blacks with some colors mixed in. And yet, the city in front of her was coated in bright, shiny colors.

All thoughts of safety vanished from Cecilia's mind as her curiosity took over. She had to know what was happening. And why. With only one last glance backwards—back towards where she came from—Cecilia bit her lip and hurried forward.

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Color. That was the only word to describe what surrounded Cecilia. Color...and people. People greeting her. People talking to her. People in color. Was this where all the broken children lived? Was this the reason no broken people were found? Because they all were prisoned here? Or had they all escaped to here?

"Cecilia!"

Surprised by the sound of her name, Cecilia whipped around and nearly tripped over a crack in the ground. She steadied herself and looked up to see an old woman with fiery red hair just like hers.

The woman rushed towards Cecilia, her arms outstretched, her surprisingly red lips turned up in a huge smile. She looked like a mirror version of Cecilia, only older. Her skin was wrinkled and her hair was a little more dull, but it would be a lie to say she didn't look like Cecilia.

Cecilia's expression turned from confusion to fear as the woman wrapped Cecilia up in a tight hug. Cecilia quickly pulled away.

"Who are you?" she asked, panicked.

"My apologies, Cecilia, I didn't mean to scare you," the woman said, her hands dropping back to her sides.

"How do you know my name?" Cecilia questioned. Her heart was pounding but she forced herself to stay calm, though on the inside, she was scolding herself for being so dumb.

"Cecilia, I am your grandaunt," the woman told her, still cheery. "You, my friend, are my long-lost grandniece."

Cecilia's eyes widened as she took in the new information.

"You mean...you're broken too?"

"Broken? Hardly!" Cecilia's grandaunt snorted. "The officials simply wanted to keep color out of people's lives. But see here—" Cecilia's grandaunt motioned to the color all around them. "—color is a natural thing here."

"It is?" Cecilia asked. Despite years of blocking out emotions, blocking out words, and blocking out pretty much everything around her, Cecilia's excitement began to bubble over now, and her calm demeanor started to disappear. "Really?"

"Yes, really, Cecilia." An amused expression on her face, Cecilia's grandaunt put her arm around Cecilia's shoulders and began to guide her down the street. "Come with me. I will explain."