The Fading Colour of Time
,In a realm where time was colour, where every second bloomed in beautiful hues, was the village of Dorcha. The life of every Dorcha inhabitant was measured not in years but the colours they've seen—the birth was black, followed by years spent in tangerine mornings & lilac nights progressing to purples & blues of maturity, and finally fading into a subtler palette of grey & creams—the inevitable colourless void of death.
Among the vibrant and lively folk, lived a young boy Ethan. His age of fifteen winters was reflecting a kaleidoscope of colours — a stark red sunrise of energy, emerald seas of learning, & the sapphire-blue skies of freedom. However, from a very young age, he'd been plagued by a queer anomaly: he saw more. His nights will be streaked with an occasional silver beam, the color seen only by those touching their deathbed. He was an abnormality, a glitch in the meticulously woven tapestry of time, and he despised it.
As Ethan grew older, the silver beams grew more consistent, casting a pale light over all the colours he was meant to see, tainting them. It was one such sulky afternoon, Ethan was sitting under a willow, struggling to see more of the sun-kissed orange leaves and less of the slate grey of coming events when old man Humphrey spotted him. Humphrey was the curator of the Chronicle Library, an archive preserving every resident's colour-diaries. He invited Ethan to the library, curiously enlightened, 'I may have something to help you, lad'.
In the depths of the vast establishment were found stories unspoken. Humphrey guided Ethan to the very end and unearthed a dusty book. The cover gleamed 'The Colour Guardian's Chronicles'. The book explained how many ages ago, the Colour Guardian was assigned as the balancer of colours across time. However, he mysteriously disappeared, clashing the balances and marking the arrival of anomalies like Ethan.
The turn of pages revealed more. The Guardian's powers were enclosed within a 'Time Orb' that only a worthy one could claim, and restore balance. Such a reveal resurfaced hope within Ethan. Seeing more was not a curse, but mayhap a call to responsibility, a chance to fix something he always wished he could.
Thus, began his quest. He travelled across radiant foggy mornings, dewy afternoons, silent evenings and lasted through starlit traverses. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months before he reached the tall mystical peak of Belluaire. The tales described the orb within a cave at the peak's pinnacle. But, the journey left Ethan weathered, his vigour was failing him and the silver light was growing brighter. He understood the subtle suggestion of urgency.
Gathering his last morsels of energy, he climbed, his trembling hands reached out through the freezing winds to touch the warm round relic. The instant he held the orb, a surge of energy washed over him. A jolt of vivid colours exploded, and the world around him turned into a canvas, each entity bursting into colours unseen before.
Ethan returned to Dorcha, staggering yet triumphant. The sight of the village took a breath away. His walk around echoed gasps of astonishment. As he raised the Time Orb, the world held its breath. The orb radiated an intense energy, sending waves of colours, correcting the shades and tones, bathing the village in vibrance. The unnatural silver string of light that loomed around Ethan vanished, replaced by the healthy, vibrant hues suitable for his age.
In the days that came, Ethan served as the new Colour Guardian, his existence was no longer an anomaly but a harmony. His story was scribed in the Chronicles, serving as a beacon for any unforeseen anomaly in the future.
The village of Dorcha flourished, its inhabitants continued living their lives in colours, rich and new. A harmony had been re-established, reminding one and all of the priceless wheel of time, its hues, its vibrancy. Amidst this radiant world, the Colour Guardian, Ethan grew, cherished not for seeing the colours no longer visible to others but for gifting the village an opportunity to enjoy every second in their true colours.