his favourite colour . }} pt. 2

Click for part 2. i didn’t want to give any spoilers… :)

“I’ll miss you a lot you know. You weren’t very talkative. You only drew pictures. All the crayons are used up because you use them too much. Especially the purple ones. Purple is my favourite colour. I bet it’s yours too then.  At least now we’ll have purple crayons. Come back and visit me okay?” The last part was a plea. They both knew it. She knew she wasn’t going anywhere. She’d be cooped up in this orphanage for as long as they could keep her. No one wanted a sick child. Jay could only nod. He tried to find words to say anything to her. All he could do was nod. It was all he ever did at that place. He regretted every minute of it.

“It’s been a long time.” Jay took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. His buddy sat down beside him and gave him a hug. “The day’s almost over. You did good today. You didn’t go crazy or anything. Just nodded and smiled, right? That’s good.” Jay knew his buddy was just trying to make conversation. He was trying to avoid an awkward silence. It wasn’t helping though. Jay gave a scoff and threw the fistful of grass he had in the air. “Yeah. Nod and smile. That’s all I ever fucking do in this place isn’t it?!” Jay got up and stormed off. He made his way to the side of the yellow building. The place he used to hide out and wait so he could see a glimpse of her before she headed to the girls’ quarters. She would always look out for him and try and send secret messages to him as she headed inside. He always waited for her no matter what.

“Jay! What are you doing out here?! It is way past your bedtime and you should have been inside hours ago! What are you doing? Your parents are coming tomorrow! You have to rest up to look nice for them!” She gave a stern glare and looked back to see what he was staring at. “Darling, that is no way to tell a girl you like her. Boys who stare and wait outside girls’ houses are not known as nice boys. Now go back inside.” She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him in the direction of his quarters. “But, she hasn’t come past yet. She always does. And I always wait for her.” “Who, dear? Who do you always wait for?” She gave an anxious smile as if she already knew his answer.

“Hey! Jay! C’mon now. The kids are getting ready for bed, it’s time to say bye!” Jay gave a look to the darkening sky and wiped his nose. He wiped his eyes on his shirt and slapped his face a couple of times. His eyes would still be swollen from crying and his face would be red. He could just say it was because of allergies. They would all nod in sympathy all the while knowing he was crying his heart out.

They had brought him to a room, a very white room. All of the furniture was white as well as the walls, the light fixtures, and the curtains. It was like being in an insane asylum or a hospital. Both were dismal places to think about. Jay slowly followed the lady who had caught him outside to the bedside of a little girl. He stared at her trying to find the glimpse of the sparkling light she used to be. He couldn’t find that ray of sunshine. She was pale as a ghost but her eyes were dark. There were dark circles under them and the shadows cast by the moon made her seem dead. She was staring out the window when he approached her. She slowly turned her head to look at Jay and tried to give a smile. Jay felt scared looking into her eyes. It was like death itself was staring back at him. Her fragile hands reached for his and when she found them, her touch was icy. Jay almost ran out. He almost wanted to nod and apologize for disturbing this girl he didn’t know from her sleep. This was not the girl he was in love with. Whatever love at the age of 8 felt like. This was not the girl. Not the girl who always demanded he draw her pictures or threw balls at his head while claiming it to be his fault the ball hit him. This was not the girl who bragged that her first kiss would be him. This was not her.

Jay gave a sigh as the car doors slammed shut. His buddy was in the driver’s seat staring at him. Jay pretended not to notice and leaned against the window. “You okay, man? You told me you had some rough times here but… what kind? I’ve never seen you like this,” his friend seemed genuinely concerned and it didn’t seem like he was going to start driving until he got some answers. Jay gave another sigh and slumped further down in his seat.

“You never really talked,” she said simply as she stared out the window again. Jay nodded again and she gave a small laugh. “See, there it is again.” Jay hung his head in shame and shuffled his feet. She was still holding his hand. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to say sometimes.” It was her turn to nod and smile. “Well, you should learn. People might think you’re mute or deaf or something! At least you can always draw them pictures.” She gave a wider smile and Jay caught a glimpse of the spunky girl he had known all this time. “Yeah, my pictures. I have more I can show you. When you feel better I can draw you some more!” The adults around him gave an uncomfortable look at one another and Jay could see some of the ladies swallow back tears. “Or…I could show you them now…” She just gave a smile and looked back at the moon. “I don’t think there’s time for that. But, draw a purple flower for me tomorrow when it’s craft time. You can use your favourite colour this time,” she looked at him and gave a smile, “I always made you use purple.” Her voice became softer now and soon her breath became shallower. “We should take him back to his room.” Jay heard one of the ladies say this but it didn’t fully register in his brain what it meant. She continued holding his hand, but he could feel her grip loosening. Jay looked at her and noticed why she didn’t look the same. It wasn’t just her face. There was no more mud or messy hair. Everything looked neat and tidy. She was clean with no trace of mud at all. “You…never…did…tell…me…your,” she breathed here and looked up at Jay.”Your…fav-favourite…colour…” they both tried to swallow, but nothing went down.

“Jay… tell me what’s going on. You’re kinda creeping me out. I’ve never seen you this quiet… and I’ve never seen you cry. What’s up? I’m not moving until you tell me. I’ll even cry with you.” Jay looked at his friend and gave a sad smile. “You wanna know what my favourite colour is?” His buddy shot him a confused look and hesitated before saying, “Uh, sure buddy. What is it?” Jay licked his lips and gave a glance at the yellow building across the street and simply answered, “She was.”