Color
Help- Such a dull word that is practically preached every day, in this frighteningly cold, grey society. I do not belong here in this large, empty world of shambles and cruelty. I consistently go about my day taking medicine, hearing the constant promises to 'restore' my mental health, and going through this aeviternal cycle that never ends in this caliginous place. I am unwell here, with their lack of care and compassion. My once nice figure has now emaciated, and any kind of lunacy my 'loved ones' have tried to fix, has definitely been getting worse as time progresses. This place... it makes me unwell.
Yet, there is a sense of security. This entire world is a wretched prison, holding all of its inhabitants captive, yet, this place is almost... comforting. It is a place where everyone realises the reality around them. Where realizations slap the ignorant ones immediatly. Everyone becomes aware that they are in a prison. Not to mention, it is secure and set in place. Nothing is unexpected. Though, once the ignorant get away from the cool, thick metal bars, the small, uniform 'rooms', and the screaming and crying of lost, empty souls evades their ears, they are blinded once more by the lies they constantly tell themselves. The sun shining, the fresh air, and the birds chirping around them make them assume the best. The sun is an unrelenting, sweltering ball of gas that's blinding brightness is seen as beauty. Helpless birds shout and cry out in fear, pain, and misery. 'Fresh' air is polluted and taken for granted. While my sanity has diminished in this hellhole, It had definitely made me think. Now I realize the blissful life of ignorance I used to live, and how similar my situation was to nearly all of humanity.
Society has chained me. Both figuratively and literally. I have been battered, my head has been disembodied, for I feel as if that's the only thing I have now. My decrepit body pushes on the heavy door for the umpteenth time. A whine pushes out of my throat, though I know nobody will hearken. It was useless, but I pushed and pushed.
Then there was color.
I blinked and looked around me. Color. Real color. There was no way. I was absolutely flabbergasted, my mind immediately screeched to a halt. I felt the ground. Oh yes, I actually felt the pure ground. I looked up to be nearly blinded by the sun. Now that is true beauty. As I observed my surrounding, I noticed my shackles were gone. The four unimaginative walls that surrounded me for every second I breathed was gone. The stench of sadness and anger was no longer choking me. For the first time in life, I felt free. I was actually free!
I stood on rocky legs as I held my head high and let out the loudest howling laughter that I could manage from my throat.
"I'm free!" I proclaimed for all to hear, which I assumed was nobody. But I didn't care. I was the happiest man on earth, and it felt great, delicious even.
That's when she came.
She was a yellow furred and pink haired equine of some sort. Her large, teal eyes glimmered in the sunlight, and she seemed to radiate even more color than the nature surrounding me. What was peculiar about this equine was that it had wings. A pegasus, perhaps? Also, a trio of butterflies were on her flank, as if it were a part of her. It didn't matter much. I wasn't very surprised from it. What had been mind blowing to me was all of the color. Nothing else could surprise me more than that.
"Oh my!"
I had been enjoying a steaming, soothing cup of jasmine tea when I heard what seemed to be some creature bellowing in pain from outside of my cottage. As someone who wanted to help out anything that breathed, even if it was terrifying, I immediately was infused with consternation. My animals had also been startled, some starting to run amok or look around in confusion. The sound had indeed been quite disgruntling, but there was no need to get worked up. Yet.
I went around to calm them the best I could- Quickly, for I wanted to go help the screeching creature- and grabbed a few things that I had deemed necessary to bring. They were basic medical supplies, such as bandages and antiseptic wipes. Once I had them and had my little Angel watch over the cottage, I rushed outside towards the nearby forest where I would often find lost, hurt animals. I only hoped that it was in that area, so I could reach him as quickly as possible.
I let out a sigh of relief when I saw what looked like some animal on it's hind legs in the distance. My face fell, however, when I got closer. The poor animal looked half starved to death, and its overall physical appearance was messy. Another oddity was that it seemed to be... dull. As if the color had faded from its body, and left whatever this was. I hadn't ever seen such an animal before. It seemed to be bipedal, and it grew facial hair. It's face was twisted in what seemed to be pain as it let out another scream into the air for all to hear. I walked closer and carefully observed it more. Cuts were on its legs and arms. They appeared to be old though. It looked like it went through a lot in its life.
"U-um, excuse me..." I said, trying to be quiet so that I didn't startle it. The creature turned towards me and stared, as if it were studying my features. After a while of staring at one another, I carefully approached it. Thankfully, he didn't seem like he would be scurrying away any time soon. "Are you lost?" I asked. It just kept staring. "Would... would you like to come with me? And maybe... have a bath?" Surprisingly, there was no indication that he actually understood my words.
Usually, an animal would listen and understand me. I posessed this special gift to communicate to animals, even if I didn't understand more exotic or rare ones. They at least knew the basics of what I said. However, this particular creature seemed to not even have basic undestanding of a word I said. I thought to myself for a moment, then had an idea. I used my hooves to make a 'come here' motion. It tilted its head, and most likely just guessed what I meant, coming closer to me. I gave it a warm smile and lead it to my cottage.
When we arrived, I headed for the washroom, where it followed. It was the room specifically for my critters who were small enough to be bathed indoors. I ran warm water into a large tub, then motioned for it to get in. Once again, it didn't seem to have clear understanding, likely using it's own knowledge to piece things together and act, but it got into the tub and let me clean it.
I was surprised that the creature immediately let me take it home. Usually, it would take some coaxing or actual communication to do such a thing, but this thing seemed to just go along with it. As I was washing the creature, I learned that it was a male, and he seemed more malnourished than what I first thought. As I touched him, I felt his bones. He seemed very, very frail and tender, as even when I was very careful, he still flinched and grunted in pain a few times. I felt sorry for the poor dear.
I help him out and dried him off, letting the dirty water drain out of the tub. Figuring that he must be very, very hungry, and lead him to the kitchen. The creature silently followed, simply opting to obey me. "How about we get you something to eat." I said even though he likely wouldn't understand anything I said. I was met with him letting out something that sounded like a strangled gasp as his eyes widened. It was like... he knew those words.
This equine had me follow her to her cottage and give me a bath. It felt nice besides the few times she scrubbed a bit too hard. Every once in a while, she'd let out these unintelligible sounds from her mouth, so I tried to read her body language the best I could. This place, I wasn't afraid of anything in it. It felt so warm and inviting, nothing like the last place I'd been. It was like heaven.
When she took me to a place that seemed like a kitchen. She turned to me, and I expected her to say something I didn't understand, but...
"How about we get you something to eat?"
I gasped and flinched at that. It sounded just like...
"How about we get you something to eat?" Said the doctor clad in a white uniform. Everything was a boring white here. I bet is was to confuse me. The one thing that had color on her was her thick, black glasses and her thin, tightly closed lips covered in lipstick. She looked at me as if I were a lower being, the scum of society. I felt like some kind of animal, and figured that I must look like one in her eyes too. I shook my head in protest. "I said... how about we get you something to eat? You've been shaking your head for days now. You're going to starve." I shook my head again. I didn't trust their food. If it was even food in the first place. "It is essential for your recovery. You must." I shook my head once more. She sighed and put a hand to her head. A small smile tugged at my lips. One day, she'd let out another sigh. One day, she'll give up. One day, I will get out of here. The next thing I knew, several pairs of hands grabbed me and held me in place. They began feeding me against my will, despite all of my struggling. Eventually, after I had choked down their poison, the doctor opened her mouth once more. "Looks like you'll be here longer..." then began writing notes on her sheets of paper.
"Poison. POISON!" I yelled and ran away. Unfortunately, I was weak and slow, so within only a few seconds, I was held by soft, furry legs.
Once again, her voice was speaking to me in a foreign tongue. But it was soft and caring, not cold and harsh. It compelled me to trust her. She must've deduced that I was now calm and collected, as she walked away into the kitchen. Not too long later, she came back with what looked to be a small, simple seconds. It seemed as if she were about to say something, but paused as I devoured her salad within seconds. I meant to hold back, as I was still a bit suspicious of the food, but my hunger was too strong. She looked down at me with what could only be described as empathy.
The creature let out a cry then bolted away. It was sad to see it scurrying away with so much fear, yet hardly being able to run. It was so slow, I made it to him within seconds of walking and gave him a hug. "It's okay, it's all okay. I won't hurt you. You'll be fine with me." I said softly, holding him and gently rubbing my hoof across his smooth skin. He eventually relaxed and I let go, taking a small moment to look at him, before walking back in the kitchen to make him a small salad. I didn't put too much, knowing that if I fed him too much, his body wouldn't react very well.
When I gave him the salad, I had no time to say anything comforting as he immediately devoured the salad within a few gulps. It was saddening how he ate it like it would disappear at any second. When he was done, I put away the dish and went back to him. He seemed to be looking at everything as if it were the most interesting things he'd seen in his life. With a sad sigh, I simply watched him as I went back to my now cold tea. Those wounds... that malnutrition... the fear... all of it pointed to one awful thing:
Abuse.
I only hoped that I could bring him back to health. Physically and mentally.
Author's Note
A few words...
I have no idea what an amazing adventure I'm running into, but I do know one thing... I'm going for a ride. A wild one at that. I may know little about what I am doing, but that is the point of venturing out into the vast, creative world of writing. I can only hope that my work pleases others, and if not that, at least myself. Now, with that being said and done with...
Onto the next chapter!
Edit: Oh, not starting out on the positive side. All constructive criticism is appreciated to help the story. Thanks!
