The Town of Colours

Chapter One- New Town, New Clothes, New Boy

Everyone was bustling around me. I didn’t know where I was. As I twisted from side to side to see if I recognised anyone, a blur of colours would flash past me. This market was all colours, everywhere. Stalls of scarves, jewellery, skirts, and shirts. Everything. Dream catchers, ribbons, the lot.

I didn’t know where my family was. I couldn’t understand anything. All I did was collapse to my knees, in the middle of a makeshift stall.

“Are you okay hun? Didn’t hurt yourself did you?”

I looked to see who was talking to me, it was a lady in about her late 30’s early 40’s who seemed to own the stall, and she looked at me expectantly to answer her.

“Uhh, sorry, yes yes I’m fine.”

I started getting up, and realised my clothes were all torn up and dirty. The stall owner saw it to, and clicked her tongue.

“Well well, look at those clothes, you aren’t fit to be seen anywhere. Where are you parents love?”

“I-I’m sorry ma’am, I don’t have anything else to wear, a-and I haven’t seen my mum anywhere.”

I broke down into tears; I couldn’t hold them back anymore.

“Now now child, don’t cry, we will get you a change of clothes and a cloth to wash your face, and we can try and figure out where your mama is.”

She pushed me into a little change room that was just a corner of the stall with a curtain around it. I heard some rustling and the stall owner saying that she will with someone in a moment, as some very bright clothes were pushed into the change room.

“These should be about the right size, you get changed then we can talk.”

There was a floor length mirror squeezed into the corner and I look at myself in the reflection. I was nothing special, average height, 165cm, chocolate brown hair, with a blue streak through the centre of my side fringe. I was a D cup which I guess was pretty good, considering how skinny I was. I was on the verge of being anorexic, and anything tight you could see my ribs poke through, so having D cup boobs made me look a little disproportional. I realised how bad I truly did look, I had dirt all over me, smudge on my face and neck with some scrapes on my legs and arms here and there. I smelt gross as well. Like coal and rotting plants and something faint but I couldn’t tell what is was.

I stripped off my t-shirt and leggings, that were now completely ruined, and pulled out of the neat fold what the lady had given me.

“Are you done yet hun?”

Crap, I pulled on the dress and leggings without really looking and pushed aside the curtain.

“Sorry”

It was all I could say, I didn’t want to think of anything else so I just focused on my surroundings.

“It’s alright dear, you can call me Lara, and I am the owner of this little stall, married to my husband Derek for 25 years and have two little goblins of sons who look about your age.”

 “I-I’m Layna, I have a sister who’s younger than me by 5 years and a mother Avril. And I don’t know where I am or where they are, and I’m very grateful for your kindness ma’am.”

“Oh don’t worry dear, and call me Lara it lets me believe I’m younger than I am. We will find you mum and sister, but for now you can stay at my house for a little while, and I shall ask everyone if they’ve seen a young girl and a lady named Avril around.”

“Thank you so much, but how shall I go to your house, I would get lost in an instant in this place, I have never seen anything quite like it.”

“Haha yes it is hard to navigate for a first timer, and it is certainly a place to be admired. They don’t call it the Town of Colours for nothing. Oh and don’t worry dear one of my boys should be here soon to drop something off for me, so he will take you back.”

“Yo mum, I brought you the special order. You know you really shouldn’t forget this stuff, it is kind of important.”

“Ah speak of the little devil. Layna this is my oldest son Jace, be careful of him, he’s a bit of a player.” Lara said and winked at me. I blushed and looked away as the boy called Jace actually saw me.

“Mum who’s this? And don’t go telling the world that or I’ll never get another date again, I’ll just get slapped all the time.”

“Oh why girls fall for you will always be beyond me. And this is Layna, she’s lost and needs some help, which is why you are going to be a gentlemen and walk her back to the house and see if you can clean up her scrapes and what not and feed her because she looks like she’s never seen an entire meal her whole life.”

My eyes widened and I just stared at her about the last comment.

“I’m sorry but you truly do look like that, go with Jace and he’ll fix you up and be a complete gentleman about it with no complaining.” The last bit was aimed at Jace.

He hung his head in defeat and slowly straightened out his hand to me. I took it hesitantly, it was warm and a little rough, but felt comforting. I looked up at him and tried a faint smile, with my eyes downcast.

“Shall we go, I’m sure Alyx is going to freak out when he’s see’s you, so let’s get this over with, or maybe he won’t because you’re with me and I continuously bring girls home. Hmm we shall see.”

Jace was pretty much just talking to himself so I just gave small acknowledgements as we went along, I just liked looking at all the different stalls. It truly was a Town of Colours.