She’s Red. And I’m Green.
Even a dunce could see the difference between us. She’s as daring as blazing fire and her vermillion hair paints the sunset like lava. While I’m as timid as a mouse and even my emerald eyes do not get noticed. She’s among the tribe of warriors, keeping the village safe from the Colourless. While I’m among the tribe of gardeners, keeping the village from starvation.
There was no way we were meant for each other. There was no way we would even cross paths and so, from behind the grape vines, I admire her bravery and her beauty, silently.
“How long will you be sniffing the vines, Vi?” Shamrock snapped me out of my mind.
“By the roots, Shamrock! You startled me.” Resisting the urge to admire the Red lady warrior any longer or to even look her way, I picked the grapes hastily, forgetting to check on their ripeness.
“Vi, you do realize you’re picking the green ones too, right?” Shamrock chuckled, his handsome smile stretched across his cheeks. If only mine was just as charming, but I could only return an embarrassed faint smile. Bumping my elbow, he said, “Tell me, who’s caught your attention lately?”
“Even if I’d tell you, you would only discourage me,” I said, realising that my reed-woven basket was almost full with grapes as it got heavier. “It’s because the differences between me and her are like, between moss and a rose.”
“Trust me, you are comparable to a rose,” he stole a grape berry from my basket. Noticing my confused look, he immediately continued, “I mean, in a masculine way, of course. You’re a masculine flower.”
“Whatever do you mean by that, exactly?”
“I mean,” and he stole another berry, “you don’t look too bad. And you have a caring attitude which everybody in this village admires. So, you’re a rose. Only, you’re a man.”
“Are you sure about that? Because people don’t seem to want to talk to me.” Knitting my eyebrows, I wondered if he just wanted to make me feel better about myself.
“Yea, I’m sure. Very sure, in fact. It’s just that people don’t know how to approach you because you’re always quiet and like to keep things to yourself.” Before he attempted another berry theft, I managed to slap his hand away. He chuckled. “Unlike you, I talk too much and annoy people like a weed.”
“Oh, I’m glad you’ve realised that.” Both of us laughed before bringing our baskets to the Yellow Shade, where the tribe of cooks resides. Every stone chimney in the Shade was smoking, every window was opened, freeing the scrumptious whiff to tempt the nostrils. Anyone could tell that dinner was almost ready.
Next to the Yellow Shade was the Orange Shade, home of the tribe of smiths. The Orange mostly forge weapons and craft armour for the Red, but they also forge various tools for the other tribes, such as spades and hoes for the Green and kitchen utensils for the Yellow. And beyond that was the Red Shade, her home. Although, she was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t where I saw her earlier, not on the bench next to her humble brick house, sharpening her blade. And not at the--
Shamrock whistled, “Vi, where are you going? We’re already at the Yellow chef’s house.”
“Oh,” I immediately turned around and scurried back, keeping my head down from embarrassment. “Sorry, I thought it was a bit further ahead.” Carefully, I placed my grape basket among several others next to the back doorstep, before Shamrock waved to the chef and the chef replied with a grateful nod from his kitchen. Then, we started making our way back to the Green Shade, my steps heavier the further I was from the Red Shade.
“She must’ve really captivated you if you can’t even remember where the chef’s house is,” Shamrock said. I smiled faintly, not knowing how to reply. He continued, “You’re making me more curious so you really have to tell me who is this lady?” I shook my head, “Not a chance, Shamrock.”
“Was she in the Yellow Shade with us, nearby?” He asked again but I merely shrugged, “Like I said, there is no chance I am going to tell you, so don’t bother trying to find out.”
At that time, a lady bumped my shoulder from behind. It surprised me so delightfully when I turned my head around only to find her. Vermillion hair and enchanting brown eyes. Although, she was taller than I’d imagined and she seemed...frustrated. “Excuse me,” she said before trudging past the Green Shade.
“Huh, I wonder what that Red lady is doing here in our Shade?” Shamrock questioned but my mind was too occupied with wanting to ask her if she was alright, to tell her that she’ll be fine.
“Wait a minute. Vi, don’t tell me that’s the lady that you’ve been having a crush on,“ Shamrock said, his eyebrows knitted. I could tell that he was hoping it wasn’t true. Maybe I’d stared at her for too long for him to notice. I heavily sighed and gave him a hesitant nod. Backing away from me as I’d expected, he said, “You know that’s not right. We leave other tribes alone unless our job is related to them. You and her? It will never happen, Vi. You should forget about it. Forget about her.”
“I’m sorry but I can’t do that,” I said, almost a whisper. He glared at me for a bit longer than I would’ve liked, then left into his wooden house. Letting out another sigh, I treaded towards the flower fields where the Red lady warrior was heading.
Under the dimming sky, she sat in the field of asters, admiring the flowers before her. I made certain my steps were as silent as a cat’s as not to startle her from behind. Out of the blue, she stood up and turned around, drawing her blade and pointed it at me. Without a second thought, I held my hands up, signalling her that I was harmless. Okay, maybe I wasn’t silent enough.
“Oh, it’s you,” she sheathed her blade, sitting back down. “I’m sorry for bumping into you earlier. Had too much on my mind.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it,” I replied. “Uhm... Are you okay?” By the roots, that came out slightly awkward.
“No, I’m not. Thank you for asking.”
Slowly, I sat down next to her, putting a bit of distance between us. “So, uhm… Do you want to talk?”
“Honestly, I‘m not sure if you can understand but since you offered,” she shifted to face me. “I really need to get this out.”
“Sure, I’m all ears.”
“It’s the Colourless,” she paused, doubting if she should say the things she said next, “There’s been more of them recently, and from our scout reports, they’re going to surround the village tonight.”
“But they’re not supposed to be active at night, aren’t they?”
“Exactly, it’s a behavioural pattern we haven’t seen before. So, I asked the commander to prepare the village for an attack, an invasion. But he wouldn’t listen and claimed the scout reports to be false.”
“Oh, that’s kind of messed up.”
“It’s a bloody mess.”
Distress flickered in her eyes and both of us fell silent. It must burden her awfully to realise that even with her strength, she didn’t have the power to make certain that the village was completely safe without disobeying her superior. On top of that, it was extremely concerning why the Colourless would display a change of behavioural pattern so suddenly. “In any case,” I said, standing up and breaking the despondent silence, “we should go to the Campfire for dinner. Can’t fight the Colourless without an empty stomach now, can we?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” she said, now on her feet. “But I’m also going to bring my sword and keep it close.” I smiled and gave her an understanding nod, before we strode back past the Green Shade. “I’m Scarlet, by the way. What’s your name?”
“I’m Vi,” I replied. After a moment’s hesitation, I decided to tell her my full name, “It’s Viridian, actually. But it has too many syllables. So, Vi.”
“Ahh, a pleasant name for a fine man. It suits you.”
I was struggling not to blush as I felt my cheeks warmed.
“You have beautiful eyes too. True emerald.”
“You’re the first one to notice, then.”
“I’m honoured,” she said. I could’ve sworn by the roots her smile was more brilliant than the afternoon sun. It didn’t embody her flawless fighting prowess or the Red’s typical untamed quality. It was simply a pure, innocent smile.
By the time we got to the Campfire at the center of the village, the long oak tables were already filled. The Purple king was giving his regular boring dinner speech--mind you, he wasn’t being paid attention--when the two of us entered the scene and almost immediately, the noise dissolved, replaced by whispering gasps.
The Purple king demanded, “What blasphemy is this?! Not only are you late for dinner, but you two also shouldn’t be together.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Shamrock turning his head away from the sight of me. I might seem weak to other people, but I believed in my emotions and even Shamrock didn’t have the right to change anything about that. Even he didn’t have the right to choose who I can talk to. Let alone all these other people who barely knew me.
A bulky man walked up to Scarlet and whispered, though quite loudly, “Scarlet! What do you think you’re doing with this...bean?” I saw him stealing glances at me, judging me for the person I was.
“Commander, you didn’t want to listen to me. So I found someone who did. Now, excuse us,” she said nonchalantly and pulled my hand to sit with her at the Red’s table. Everyone, including the Purple king, was terribly speechless. And in all honesty, even I was speechless by her rebellious act. Fortunately, the Purple king decided to let it slide for now as not to ruin the supposedly luscious dinner, however promising that he’ll definitely come up with an idea after, on how to deal with us breaking the norms of the society. Once the Blue priest finished reciting the prayers, we gobbled down. Although, I had to admit, dinner was quieter than usual.
The Red’s table was nearly filled with only meat. It explained their bulky, muscular frames. Meat and a good amount of physical training. It was a completely new experience to me because the Green’s table was usually mostly filled with vegetable dishes. Not that I’d personally mind. The aroma was irresistible. Hence, trying to ignore the glares of all the other Reds nearby like what Scarlet was doing, I scooped up several pieces of meat from the beef stew in front of me and enjoyed their succulent texture. It was heavenly. Meanwhile, Scarlet had a whole piece of steak on her plate and from what I could tell, it was similarly splendid.
Halfway through dinner, we heard a deafening shriek. Scarlet and I looked at each other. In a low whisper, she said, “The Colourless.” My guts dropped. The shriek crept closer and soon, the entire village was surrounded by a number of shrieks as the Colourless continued to march. The Red commander glanced at Scarlet and she returned an I-told-you-so look, an eyebrow raised. Bewilderment overwhelmed the Campfire, including the Purple king who demanded, “Commander, what’s going on here?”
“It’s the Colourless, sire,” he stood up from his seat and replied. “For an unknown reason, they are moving at night, sire.”
“Then, what are you still doing here? Go and do something about them!”
Everyone else cowered in their seats while Scarlet and the Red prepared themselves for an imminent invasion. The food felt cold and no one wanted to touch their dinners anymore. Refusing to sit alone at the Red’s table, I walked over to the Green table where Shamrock was, keeping my head down. Once I was close enough, he said, “Why don’t you join the Red? Fight the Colourless?”
“Come on, Shamrock. Please don’t be like this. It’s embarrassing.” True enough, because every Green at the table seemed disappointed in me, as if I’d done something absolutely wrong.
“You’re embarrassing me,” he replied. “Don’t you see that even the Purple king disapproves of...whatever it is you think you’re doing with that Red lady?”
“I do, but it just seems unreasonable to me to find such a thing unacceptable. Maybe things ought to change around here.” I can’t believe I’d just said that.
“I can’t believe you’ve just said that,” he surprisingly repeated the words in my head.
Before I had the chance to respond to him, we heard a Red’s horrified scream for help. Turning towards the direction of his scream, I saw a void. A beast of the void, without a definite form. A beast without the presence of light in its very existing being.
The Colourless.
It was marching right into the village, its comrades in tow, and the Red could not hold them for much longer. Vermillion hair flowing in the chilly air, Scarlet ran over to the Campfire and without a moment’s waste, she said, “We have to flee. We have to leave the village!”
“We cannot!” The Purple king yelled. “Do what you must, but we cannot leave the village.”
“Sire, there are too many of them. Our Red warriors are being trampled in their stampede. We have to leave. Now!”
“I refuse,” the Purple king had already decided and everyone knew it was final. The other tribes were not trained to fight, so we only knew to cower in fear, hoping for a rescue. But staying here, doing nothing would not change anything. So, I spoke, “Let’s help the Red. Let’s fight the Colourless.”
“Vi, are you out of your mind?!” Shamrock exclaimed. Scarlet looked just as baffled.
“I may be, but I know it’s needed. If we aren’t leaving the village, then we might as well protect it,” I said to the crowd. There was no response from any of them so I went ahead and grabbed the nearest pitchfork, and trudged towards the Colourless.
“Viridian!” Scarlet called out. I halted and faced her before she said, “They’ll suck you up if you’re not careful, so I’ll watch your back.” Surely after, one by one, the people stood up, each grabbing a weapon they were accustomed to the most. Spatulas and hammers among all other things. As I strode on, they followed. Shamrock was right behind me, his gardening hoe was held tightly.
We came face-to-face with the alpha Colourless.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t frightened by the immense size of the blank void. It felt like I was being sucked in by just looking at it. Until, it spoke, “Please...accept...us.” It was a desperate whisper, nearly unintelligible.
“Did it just speak?” The Purple king asked from among the crowd. “When did it learn to speak?” Scarlet was just as confused as everyone else.
“We...evolve,” it replied. “Accept...us. Accept...change.” Leaning down, its formless hands reached for mine. Immediately, I felt an unworldly energy surging through it as it began to manifest itself into a physical shape.
“What’s happening?” Shamrock asked. None of us knew the answer, but we wanted to.
The alpha Colourless metamorphosed from a being absent of light, that we’d initially thought was our enemy, into a woman. Her hair was partial lime and partial vermillion, and when she opened her eyes, they were a mystical mix of emerald and ruby. “I am...Alexandria. I am both Green...and Red,” she said quietly. “Please…,” she gestured for the others to hold the hands of the smaller Colourless. And they did, hesitatingly, but they did regardless.
Shamrock helped to manifest a man of Green and Yellow. The Purple king, a boy of Purple and Blue. Scarlet, was another woman but of Red, Green and Orange. It was satisfyingly extraordinary. The Colourless were actually one of us but weren’t accepted for decades. Once they’d learnt to speak, they had to plead with us.
And not to worry, the Red warriors were completely fine. A stampede could not possibly break them, but it was certainly too much for them to handle. On top of that, due to the presence of the mixed Colours, everyone could now sit and eat wherever they wanted at the Campfire. The distribution of tasks had also become flexible to accommodate the comfort of the mixed Colours. For example, Alexandria was now in the royal court of Purple, neither being a gardener or a warrior. She was accepted for her flawless leadership.
A few days after, Scarlet decided to assist me and Shamrock with strawberry-picking. She absolutely loved the new experience, which also caused her to steal some of the fresh strawberries. She and Shamrock were almost like siblings, but they were my close companions and I loved them dearly. Although, I had yet to charm her into being my lover. Perhaps, one day I shall propose to her.
She’s Red. And I’m Green.
Even a dunce could see the difference between us. What a dunce would fail to see is the similarities that we share. What a dunce would not do is to accept the inevitable change in this dynamic colourful world.
Proofread by Ilyana Elisa & Illya-Wardina
Published by Muhammad Hadwan & Aisyah Hanim
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