Gray

Every morning he opens his eyes and the only color he sees is gray. It is a little disturbing since what he knows is that the world consists of many colors, should consist of many colors in order to somehow differentiate things from the other by appearance.

But he could only see gray.
And he isn't allowed to complain.

He stares at the gray sheets around him and stares at the cute cartoon designs adorning his bed sheets. He wonders whether his mom and dad are being sarcastic or just trying to make him feel better. Perhaps the latter. Although he appreciates the poor attempt, it isn't making him feel any better. At all.

But he isn't allowed to complain.

He casts his damn sheets aside and proceeds to walk to his bathroom. He stands in front of his mirror, looks at his own gray face and cringes at the sight of it. He isn't ugly, he knows that. But his gray lips don't look attractive to him either. He knows lips are supposed to be colored red, and the fact that his aren't makes it a little more unbearable.

Although he isn't allowed to complain.

He strips his pajamas, and frowns at the obvious poor attempt to console him: the mickey mouse design. He takes a bath and brush his teeth, thankful that teeth are not supposed to be colored, or else he would simply die of depression. He walks out of his bathroom and rummages through his pile of clothes in the wardrobe, trying to find the most plain outfit that he could find, and alas finds one. Thank the heavens his mom had the heart to buy him something with no design.

He climbs down the staircase, all along following the heavenly scent of breakfast coming from the dining room. He sees his mother humming softly to herself while preparing the table. She looks up and smiles at him as he sits on one of the chairs around the dining table. He stares at the tablecloth and wonders what color it is. There are no designs so he can't actually figure out what color it is.

"The tablecloth's blue today, honey."

He looks up at the smiling face of his mom, and says nothing. Sometimes, he loathes his mom for being so perceptive when it comes to his thoughts.

"Where's dad?" He says, as he starts his breakfast. His mom just continues to smile at him.

"He just left for work."

He just nods and continues eating his breakfast in silence.

"You want to come with me to the shopping center? We'll buy some christmas decorations."

He stares at her, thinks about it for a while, then nods.

After breakfast, he follows his mom towards the garage where their gray sedan is located. It is really a silver one, but he can't tell it. He is glad that silver seems to be so close to gray, according to his mom, and he secretly praises his dad for buying it. Although he is contented with the car's color, he can't help wishing that he could differentiate silver from gray.

But he isn't allowed to complain.

They both climb inside the car, and his mom starts driving. She is so busy talking excitedly about her plans for Christmas that she fails to notice a girl crossing the road. He notices and shouts at his mom to stop, making his mom step on the brake fortunately fast enough to cause the car to halt completely, leaving the girl unharmed. They both get out of the car and his mom asks the girl whether she was okay. He walks toward the girl and asks in an irritated voice whether she was taught not to cross the road recklessly. The girl just smiles at him and says,

"I'm sorry for being reckless. It's just that I can't see your car coming."

He opens his mouth to retort but closes it again, when he sees the blank expression in her eyes. Her eyes aren't looking at him, but beyond him. He feels something akin to shame, and without another word, he walks toward the car, climbs inside and waits for his mother. He watches as the girl slowly continues crossing the road, while blankly staring into space.

His mom returns and starts the car again, muttering how pitiful the girl is, and the like. He just listens and says nothing.

"By the way honey, I bought you a new pair of pajamas. It's colored blue and has cartoon designs on it. I'm sure you'll love it!"

He looks up and stares at the smiling face of his mother. He remembers the girl slowly crossing the street. He let out a small smile and nodded at his mother.

He isn't allowed to complain.
But strangely, he doesn't feel like doing it at all.