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Rena’s world was once full of color. Her mother was a rainbow that shined even on the gloomiest of days but that faded away in an instant. All Rena felt was gray, lost in an abyss, with no direction. She felt so alone. No one cared for her like her mother did. She was drifting into the darkness and she was only 6 years old. It had been one year since the passing of her mother.
She was left in the so-called care of a woman who despised her existence. She was only there because the woman was bound by the laws of fate to take her in.
Today was the anniversary of her mother's death and she was alone in her room. Crying by herself. No one was there to comfort her, to tell her it was OK to cry, that her mother was in a better place, she was no longer hurting. No. Rena was left alone, the only thoughts were of how she missed her mother. Those and the horrible things her grandmother had said once they were alone after the funeral.
“You. You ruined EVERYTHING. She had so much potential. She had a future set out for her. A full scholarship to university. Everything was ruined when she met that man. She got pregnant with you and that's when it all ended. Her cancer inflamed because of the pregnancy and when you were born it got worse! You're the reason she died. You shouldn't be here. I despise you. I'm only taking you in because the government is forcing my hand. If you want to stay, you better not fail me like she did.”
What did she do to deserve those words? What did her mother do to deserve to die? Why did she have to be alone? Was there anyone who could save her from the darkness?
Rena was locked in her room the entire day. She just curled herself in her bed and let her thoughts drift. She had her mothers performances playing in the background. Listening to them gave her some comfort but she still couldn't see the colors anymore. Everything was just dull and numb.
In the late evening, she heard the front door slam. She waited, trying to will herself to see what the commotion was about, but she didn't want to be in the way. After a few minutes she pulled herself from bed and peeked out the door. Seeing the house was pitch black she could only assume her grandmother had gone out.
Stepping into the kitchen she noticed it was spotless, minus a cup and a bottom of brown liquid. Next to the cup was a note.
“I will be gone for the next two weeks. The house better be spotless when I return.”
That was it. She'd be alone for 2 weeks. Even more alone than before. A 6 year old left to fend for herself, because life was simply unfair.
Months went by like that. Rena would be left alone for weeks at a time while her grandmother was off doing who knows what. Rena luckily had school to keep her busy during the day but in the evening she was left alone. She was known as the weird, sad, lonely girl at school so she was avoided by everyone. She had no friends to play with or keep her company.
Days, weeks, months went by. It was now summer. Rena dreaded the summertime because she would be even more alone. She didn't have school to keep her busy and even though she had no friends, just being at school made her feel less alone. Her grandmother had decided she would be gone the entire summer, off on a trip overseas. She didn't leave Rena without instructions, however.
A stack of books were left for her to read. She was to read them and then write 5 pages per book of what she learned. They were not fiction or fun books. She was going to be the smartest kid in her class, graduate with honors, get a full ride to some university. All so she didn't turn out to be a failure like her mother. Music was forbidden. It was the seed of destruction for her mother so she was forbidden to fall victim to it as well. It hurt because Rena wanted nothing more than to play the piano. To feel that warm connection to the music her mother held so dear.
A few weeks into summer, Rena was sitting in the windowsill reading one of her education books when she noticed a moving truck across the street. A new family must be moving in. She thought as she watched the movers unload box after box. She silently hoped they'd have kids her age that she could play with. Except she probably wouldn't be allowed to anyway. It'd be a distraction.
A black SUV pulled up and a elderly couple stepped out, crushing Rena’s hopes of possible friends. She sighed as she hopped down and turned to her room, missing the car that pulled up behind the SUV and the boy that jumped out.
Summer dragged on and came to an end. School was starting up again and Rena was relieved even though she was likely to be ignored. At least there would be people around. She was starting 3rd grade but was already reading, writing, and overall well into the 5th grade level of things. This made it harder to make friends because everyone saw her as a stuck up, quiet, lonely nerd.
Her grandmother was back and soon became friends with the elderly couple next door. Of course making herself out to be a saint who saved this poor girl from the system and being so sad that her daughter had not let her visit before her passing, Rena couldn't help but feel even more alone. Pitted by these strangers who didn't know the whole story. Oh how she longed for someone to be there for her, to show her some sort of kindness. To bring some sort of color back into her world.
The months went by as usual and before she realized it, it was the anniversary of her mother's death. Today would be 2 years and she was alone again. Her gray world had grown even darker and she didn't know how she would survive.
Since music was forbidden, Rena had found that she could escape the silence with the sounds of nature. They lived by a lake and even though she was told not to go down there by herself, she began to anyway. She was always alone so when would she get the chance?
She had found a spot one day that felt right somehow. She didn't understand but when she came across it, it pulled her in. So today, instead of locking herself in her room she took a walk to her spot by the lake.
She was listening to the waves crash on the shore as if they would turn into melodies to sooth her soul. But they didn't, not today. They were just as quiet as she was, reminding her that she was alone. Wanting to have something fill the silence she began to throw rocks into the water. Soon the silence was broken, but not from her rocks.
“Hey you!” She heard a boy’s voice call from behind her, but she didn’t bother turning around.
“HEY!” she heard him shout again, this time she turned halfway around to glance at the boy. She had tears in her eyes.
The boy felt a little bad seeing her cry so he went and sat down next to her. “Sorry I yelled. Why are you crying?”
Rena didn’t answer and just went back to throwing Rocks in the water.
“What’s your name?” he asked, trying to break the silence. She didn't answer him.
“Not much of a talker are you huh?”
Rena still stayed quiet so the boy just sat there, watching her throw rocks into the water. After a few he joined in with her. Throwing them farther than she was. Soon it turned into a competition of who could throw them the farthest. No words were spoken but a smile started to form on her face.
“R-Rena” she finally whispered, answering at least one of his questions.
The boy turned and smiled at her and replied with his own name “Clark”
The two sat in a comfortable silence with the occasional plop of a rock. Rena wasn't sure why this boy had decided to talk to her but she felt a little warmth in her heart when he told her his name. She looked at him when he did and the first thing she noticed were his eyes. Rena didn't realize it then, but her dark gray world was beginning to fade. Fade into color. Starting with an emerald green. The color of his eyes.
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