Everything changed when one day, rain started pouring in green instead of blue. As scary as it was, it was also fascinating to the human eye. This was the first time that anyone had come across something like this. Some people were afraid, while others enjoyed the emerald gaze swaying through the air. Kids were jumping around in puddles which were now green, instead of blue.
Then came the sky. Overnight, the familiar blue softened into a muted lavender. Clouds, once fluffy and white, swirled in shades of peach and teal. Grass grew longer now, longer than it was ever seen to be grown. The sun gleamed a buttery pink, and oceans shimmered in maroon with gold streaks in between waves. Butterflies and birds stopped by, as if it wasn’t already colorful enough.
Scientists scrambled for explanations. They collected the piercing rain in buckets, pulled the grass out and even tried capturing the glamorous butterflies that flew around but still, they couldn’t come up with anything. Was this a joke? Perhaps a mutation in human eyes? Panic spread, but so did wonder. Some found the world more beautiful than before, while others complained.
After some time, people stopped questioning and started adapting to these changes. They got used to waking up to a glowing lavender sky full of red stars. Farmers, got familiar with blue apples and green daisies. Though the shifting of these colors continued, people started liking this new world. A world where the leaves on trees rippled between scarlet and silver in the same afternoon. It was as if the entire world had become an ever-changing canvas. Yet no one was complaining.
Suddenly, the shifting of the colors stopped. It wasn’t only that though, it was as if the entire world stopped spinning. Everything and everyone went silent. A pin drop could be heard from the other side of the earth. The loudness of the silence, echoing through the lakes and mountains only seemed to get louder. When in a moment, a new sound was heard.
Giggling.
A child’s laughter, light and sweet, was heard somewhere beyond the colors. The world trembled as if it were only paper that could be easily crumbled. A massive hand, stubby fingers smeared with crayon, reached down and pressed against the sky. The teal of the clouds met the lavender of the sky and the now smeared colors combined into a royal blue.
As the giggles stopped, cheering sounds erupted into the room. A little girl sat on the floor, crayons scattered around her. The world she created on her own laid in front of her. A magical planet with different colors splashed all around it. This was exactly the world she dreamed to live in. It was her masterpiece. She cheered herself on as she grabbed the paper and lifted it into the air. “Look, Mommy! I made a new world!” Her mother smiled, ruffling her hair. “It’s beautiful, just like you.”
And just like that, the world of shifting colors was folded in half and attached to the fridge, with a couple of tiny magnets.