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William Jones
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William Jones
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The first thing Ember was aware of was the smell of summer, of freshly cut grass and sweet fragrant flowers. It smelled of the times where she would lay under the apple tree and gaze up at the gray sky, trying to imagine what other people saw. Plenty of folk have told her time and time again that the sky is blue during the day but how was she supposed to visualize that if she didn't even know blue itself looked like? Sure, if given a choice between blue and some color like yellow, she would be able to tell the difference because blue is a darken shade of gray than yellow was. She couldn't recall how many hours she spent with her mom as a child, objects in front of her while her mother told her what colors they were though to Ember they were all shades of gray, white, and black. They made a game of it, her mom picking two objects and Ember having to try and guess which color they were.

The colors on the opposite ends of the spectrum like black or red were easy to distinguish from yellow or white but once it moved into different shades of a color Ember was as good as lost. People took it for granted, the color of the sky. She couldn't remember how many times she viewed how people were too entranced by the devices in front of them to even appreciate the colors around them. She sometimes wondered how lost they would be if they suddenly saw what she has seen her entire life, her world of gray. Plenty of people have asked her how she functions every day, if she misses not being able to see colors other than gray, white, and black. But how can she miss something she has never had? Sure, she sometimes wandered what the dark gray of an apple would look like in red but for the most part she has accepted the fact that she will never see how green the grass is or the sky as the sun is setting. It simply is and there is no reason for wallowing in self-pity.

As she lay there, Ember became aware of other things like the feel of something gently tickling against her arms and legs. Her brows furrowed as her eyes blinked open, the gray world slowly coming into focus. The sky stretched above, a medium gray. As her senses came trickling back to her, she could feel the soft breeze against her sky and hear the gentle rustling of leaves. Her frowned deepened. Why was she outside? Where...Where was she? She slowly sat up and took catalog of herself. She didn't feel sore or bruised anywhere. Nothing was broken and aside from being hungry and thirsty she felt fine. But...something didn't feel right. Why couldn't she remember how she got here? Or what she ate for breakfast? She looked down at herself and felt panic sweep over her. She didn't remember putting this outfit on!

Before the panic could completely consume her, Ember forced herself to take deep breaths. My name is Ember, I was born to a British mother and an American father. We live in a small apartment. I have a baby brother. I am sixteen years old, home-schooled. I am looking to become a professional ballerina. I can remember long-term things, just not the past 24 hours. Everything will be fine, just breathe. She felt her chest loosen up and her heart-rate slow down. She continued taking deep breaths and scanned her surroundings. She was laying on the grass under an apple tree. As she stared up at the crisp looking apples, she deduced they were red judging from the dark gray they were. Granny Smith or yellow apples would be a lighter gray. She could see four paths branching away in different directions. Oh dear. Was this a maze? She wasn't very good with mazes. She was hopeless when it came to directions and navigating. She could also see a well aside from the paths and the tree. The beautiful colors were lost on her but she didn't let herself mourn. She had been like this her entire life and had accepted it as apart of herself. Her mother said it let her see a different aspect of the world.

The petite and 4'11" girl climbed to her feet, brushing off any grass or dirt that might be clinging to her attire. "H-Hello?" She called out in a raspy voice, wondering when the last time she had drank anything was. Was she alone or were there more people here?

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William Jones
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William Jones
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