The Girl Who Saw Green

“Just one, please,” I said, fishing around in my pocket for change. Crap, forgot my wallet again. The cashier nodded and gave me a wrinkled smile as she hurried to start my coffee. Work was going to be endless today, more long hours of erasing the idea of color from history, and on top of that, a meeting discussing Dr. Lee’s new invention.

“Order for Samuel Smith.” The barista called. She looked ready to quit her job if one more person had the last name of Smith. I grabbed my mug of steaming gray coffee. It swirled drearily in my hands, making sad little whirlpools of colorless liquid. I sighed. In a few years, no one would even remember that the only colors that still existed were called black, white, and gray. In a few years, no one would even know what color was.

I paid for my drink and rushed out the door. The city was alive with the hustle bustle of blokes like me, knowing that our jobs weren’t actually important, but our bosses would still erase us if we were late. The government we worked for erased everything. The worst part was that it was so easy for me to do my job. So easy to erase history from ever being learned at all.

“You’re late again.” My co-worker and best friend, Morgan, droned as I walked through the door. She was staring at her computer, sipping coffee, and typing furiously.

“Nope.” I told her, “As far as you’re concerned, I was here two minutes ago.” Her eyes didn’t move from the screen.

“And I’ve been arguing with you about why espresso is better than Turkish.”

“Exactly.”

I entered the elevator with a smile. Well, as much as I could manage one without the cameras catching a hint of unnecessary emotion. These days, stoicism wasn’t just a lifestyle; it was enforced. It was proven as the most effective way to keep the masses under control. Since patriotic loyalty was a part of this ancient religion, the military loved it. Since color evoked emotion, it needed to be erased from existence. That was my job: make it so humanity forgot that color ever existed.

“Mr. Smith, look who finally decided to join us.” My boss was sharper than anyone else I knew. He was also good at keeping secrets, which was why I said:

“Sorry, sir, got held up in the lobby.”

“No doubt arguing with Ms. Lenard about coffee.” He raised an eyebrow, “Don’t let it happen again, you and I have a meeting we need to get to.” He brisked by me and left me stumbling in his footsteps, hurrying to catch up. Always one to make others look bad, Mr. Weller was.

“-rized by emotional turmoil. Subjects have experienced everything from emotional blackouts to strong feelings of attachment after receiving the treatment.” Dr. Lee was explaining something excitedly when Weller and I entered the room. At least we could slip in quietly, “After three years of hard work, however, my team and I have finally perfected the formula you are looking for, General Mather. We have created a chemical that can neutralize the effect of outward emotion while leaving the neuropathways relatively unaltered.” I knew for a fact Mather didn’t understand a word of what Lee had just said. The mansplaining idiot only cared about having complete control. The details didn’t matter to him in the slightest.

“Excellent!” He rumbled, “I’ll have my team” (That would be Weller and me) “draft up contracts and payment agreements for you. What was it you requested this time, doctor? Unlimited funding? After all the work you’ve done for this country, I daresay you’ll finally have it.” Since Mather didn’t actually have the authority to grant unlimited funding, that decision was left to my firm; he didn’t care that he might have just lied to one of the brightest scientists in history. Nonetheless, a giddy smile spread over Lee’s face at the words ‘unlimited funding’.

“Thank you, General.” He mumbled, trying very hard not to show any unnecessary emotion.

“Now I’m sure the rest of you have matters to attend to, so I’ll leave you to it.” The general left the room, unaware that he was technically supposed to remain for the entirety of the meeting. But we stopped relying on ‘technically’ a long time ago. The general did what he wanted, and everyone at the firm knew he was too dense to argue with.

For the first time in ages, the meeting wasn’t boring or monotonous; it was frightening. Dr. Lee gave us his lecture on how the chemical worked and his notes on how to properly distribute it. The chemical crushed emotion; soon, no one would be able to feel. Joy, sorrow, pain, hate, grief, confusion, nothing at all. It terrified me. Soon, I wouldn’t be free to feel terrified at all. Soon, everyone would be a shell of a human being. Which basically gave the military ruthless killing machines at their disposal in the blink of an eye.

The rest of the work day passed slower that usual. Maybe it was the shock of the morning that kept me distracted. I wondered how Morgan would feel when I told her about the goings-on of the meeting at dinner tonight. She was the most apathetic, nihilistic person I knew, so maybe it wouldn’t surprise her. I was the opposite before the Reform taught me to be otherwise. My mother used to say that emotions were a blessing and a weapon.

Arabel Smith, my mother, was an artist. She was arrested on June 14th, 2432, for “vandalism” and “treason.” That was fourteen years ago. In 2434, she was sentenced to death along with 2,000 other creative individuals. They called it the Purge. They told us that artists had been poisoning our country for years. Lies. Everyone knew it. But as these situations always go, no one was brave enough to argue.

“Where’s the paper I requested, Smith?” Weller asked. I looked up, feeling slightly dazed.

“Right… right here, sir.” I stumbled through the sentence clumsily. I handed him the paper and glanced at the clock. 4:30? How was it already that late? I needed to get going.

“I’m surprised you haven’t clocked out yet.” Weller drawled, giving me a hinting glance. I’m sure Weller was the only boss in the world who reminded employees to leave.

“I was just getting to it, sir,” I responded, rushing to clean my desk and pack my bag. “I’ll see you Monday,” I called as I stepped into the elevator. I sped through the reception room and out the door into the busy street. I needed to get home and drop off my stuff before the dinner reservation at 5:45. I knew it was going to be a long day.

As the sea of people raged around me, I was glad that I was just one person among thousands. I was not glad that these thousands were making it impossible to make it to my flat. The shouting coming from the vendors on the side of the street didn’t help. Neither did the sound of the cars rushing by. The little girl shouting, “I want the green one! I want the green one!” didn’t help either.

I froze midstep. The what? I turned around to face the girl and her mother.

“Moooommmyy please?” The little girl begged, “It’s so pretty, it’s just like Lucy’s eyes.” The poor mother shook her head. She was younger than I expected her to be, late twenties at most. She whispered something in the girl’s ear. Tears welled in the little one’s eyes.

“But mommy, I love green.” She whimpered quietly, “And all the girls at my sc-school have pretty… pretty satin b-bows.” Silent tears were now streaming down her face. Determined, I walked up to the vendor.

“Hi,” I said, trying to sound friendly, “Could I have that satin bow right there? Yes, that one.” I handed him some cash in exchange for the bow. I told him to keep the change before he could think about giving it to me. I turned around and crouched, so I was eye to eye with the little girl.

“I believe this is for you.” I smiled. The girl took it with wide eyes. Her mother regarded me suspiciously, which was understandable, considering I was a 6’5’’ guy in a suit with spare change.

“Mommy, look,” The girl bubbled, “This nice man bought me the pretty green one, mommy, can we keep him, please?” The woman looked mortified, but I laughed. I hadn’t laughed in so long, I’d almost forgotten how good it felt.

“I don’t think your mom would like that, sweetie,” I said. The girl’s brilliantly blue eyes clouded with confusion. I froze again. Blue. Her eyes were blue. Not gray. Not black. Blue.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” I asked her.

“Sherry.” She said, “What’s yours?”

“Sam,” I answered, “Sherry, can you answer a very important question for me?” She nodded, “Sherry, what color are my eyes?”

“That’s a silly question, they’re Brown silly.” She laughed, “Mommy, this man doesn’t know what color his eyes are.” You shouldn’t either. I stood back up, looking at the woman. She was scared, terrified.

“Do you want to join me for dinner?” I asked her, “My friend and I are eating at a really nice restaurant. I’ll pay for you, if you’re worried about that.”

“Ok.” The woman mumbled. I looked her in the eye, and after a moment of my gaze, she relaxed, understanding I wasn’t going to hurt her. As I walked away, I shivered. That girl could see color. Being around her, I could see color. That wasn’t supposed to be possible. The chemical that drained the world of color lived in the air I breathed. But somehow, this girl was immune to it.

I didn’t know who she was. I didn’t know where she came from. But I was sure of one thing. That little girl was going to change the world. It would only be a matter of time.