Colors
On a normal world, in a normal neighborhood, there lies a normal house. A house filled with a family, two parents and one young boy named Arland. Every day was the same he would get up and go to school, the same school, with the same teachers and the same boring old lessons. Even Arland’s grades were the same, always low. The teachers and students would always say the same things.
“Attention students! We have a test today! Please take out your pencils and get ready, oh and Arland… Please try to get a different result today?” The laughter was too much. The only thing the young boy could think was that it doesn’t matter because it’s always the same, everyday it’s always the same.
The next day was going just as always, the only thing different was the weather which was raining at the time. The little potholes in the road made for puddles for the kids to play in. On his way home from school Arland stumbled upon a seemingly little pothole filled with water, the thing was he couldn’t see through it because it was so dark. So he looked and looked until suddenly a whirlpool flew up and spun him about violently.
“Help!” Arland screamed, but people just walked right passed him, until he blacked out. A voice crept inside his mind and whispered
“Another world awaits.” It was soothing.
The smell of morning grass and loud cheers in the distance awakens Arland. He lifts his eyes open only to notice two elderly one man and one woman staring at him.
“Ah he awakens!” The elderly man says
“Get the oatmeal! The kid awakened!” The elderly woman said
Arland darts away from the elderly couple. He is startled by his surroundings. The elderly couple look confusingly at him, as they don’t understand his strange behavior. Arland takes in his surroundings some more. Battling with the idea that this is either a dream or a reality, the fire feels warm and the smell of food overcomes the area, Arland’s stomach grumbles.
“Haha! Eat this young boy, it will fill you right up!” The elderly couple said Arland reaches out for the bowl and grabs it. He stabs his spoon into the oatmeal and lifts it up to his face to take a bite. It’s surprisingly good, or Arland is just that hungry. He scoffs down his food and lays his hand on his stomach.
“Are you able to talk or just shy?!” The elderly man said.
“N..no…” Arland muttered.
The old man’s laugh was hearty, with a little rasp to it. He looks at Arland and said “Well boy, that answers one question I guess. What’s your name? Mines Opian.”
“Arland…” he says
“Oh! That’s a good name! What are you doing out here Arland?”
Arland takes a good look at his attire. The old man wears a gray robe and sports a pointy hat. Arland starts laughing.
“What are you laughing at boy?” Opian asks.
“You look funny!” Arland says while laughing.
“Hey! I’ll have you know this is the attire of the Great Mage Opian! That’s right! Me!”
“Mage?” Arland asks while wiping his tears.
“Yes G-R-E-A-T Mage!” Opian responds rapidly.
“Mage? Like spell-casting and stuff? Does that make you smart?” Arland asks
“Smart? Why would you ask that?” Opian questions.
Arland goes into detail about his life at home. He tells Opian about the same world, the same neighborhood and the same school with his same unchanging school results. Opian listens closely, although he doesn’t believe the story, he feels that there is something deep that he could teach the kid. He looks towards Arland and tells him a story.
“When I was young, I was called the ‘worst one’. No matter what I did my spells would back fire.” Opian explains.
“Fireballs would come-back and burn me to a crisp, summoning familiars would prove to be really hard. When the kids were summoning baby dragons I was summoning mere newts.” Opian said.
“Mere newts?” Arland asked while laughing.
“Yea, mere newts, kids were laughing at me like you just did. I felt like I couldn’t reach for my dream. Then one day someone walked up to me and said what I’m about to say to you.”
“What’s that?” Arland asks.
“Never give up. Although things may seem tough, nothing can ever stop you from becoming what you want to become. Just keep on trying and you’ll get there someday.”
“Really? Even me?”Arland asked.
“Yea, you’re only what ten years old? You still got a lot of time to go kid!” Opian proudly says.
The two talked for hours on end. The story that Opian would tell Arland about would amaze him. He would tell him about how he took down a dragon with his bare hands or how you snuck into the king’s castle to steal the princess away! It was amazing to hear. Ten hours flew by in what seemed like a second.
“Alright you two, it’s time to go to bed lets head off now.” The old lady said
“But honey we were getting to the good part!” Opian said sulking.
“It’s okay Opian we can talk more tomorrow!” Arland said happily.
“We sure can.” Opian yawned.
The next morning came like any other. Arland rose out of bed and there was no loud noises, or Opian, just his same old boring gray bed. A yell from downstairs tells him it’s time for school. Arland just waltz’s out and heads to school thinking that it was only a dream.
“Arland try not to fail this time!” is what his classmates said. Although he knew the outcome he tried hard anyways. His score was the same but he would not be discouraged. He would try his hardest, just like Opian said. The times started to change. The sky became less gray and color seeped into Arland’s world. Each day was different. Arland learned that he would have to try something new every day to obtain adventure and excitement.
“Arland… good job.” Is what his classmates finally said. It became the norm for Arland to finally get good scores. Although he studied more often he also would talk to others and become more social, he left his shell. Somedays Arland would try to visit the old couple back in the new world. Looking inside potholes on rainy days and hoping that he would get sucked in. He would often feel something watching over him, he knew what it was. The days of sameness are behind him and his town, now a town of color awaits.
Author Biography
Joseph L. Thompson is a college student working part-time at a liquor store. His goal in life is too pursue that art of game writing and to eventually reach the heights of gaming legends like Kojima. Joseph loves to write about coming of edge stories that go against the grain, his writing can be sarcastic at times leading to a difference of perspective for the reader to enjoy. When not writing about video games he is at home playing them constantly, learning and experiencing new games to broaden his view on writing. You can reach Joseph at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-thompson-72014a131
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