a world of colours - a.k. short story

<3

Introduction

In which both Awsten and Lilac have synesthesia, but are completely unaware the other has it too.

Synesthesia is an anomalous blending of the senses in which the stimulation of one modality simultaneously produces sensation in a different modality. Synesthetes may hear colors, feel sounds and taste shapes.

Chromesthesia or sound-to-color synesthesia is a type of synesthesia in which sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color, shape, and movement. Individuals with sound-color synesthesia are consciously aware of their synesthetic color associations/perceptions in daily life.

[DISCLAIMER: Lilac's synesthesia is based on my own, and does not reflect how other synesthetes experience theirs !!]

A World Full Of Colours
Short Story

Lilac and Awsten have been friends for a lifetime, longer than either of them cared to remember. What they didn't realise, however, is they have a condition in common. They see the world as a vibrant ball of colour, every sound they hear giving off a different shade - sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly, sometimes neither.

It wasn't until Lilac was driving Awsten back to his apartment after an MTV interview in which he painted the colours he sees for FANDOM, the band's latest album, that they realised they shared this experience.

Lilac breathes out heavily, not quite a sigh, as she sinks into the driver's seat of her car. She had spent the past hour or so waiting around the MTV studios for Awsten to finish whatever this interview was so she could drive him home, where they could sit and watch TV for hours, film stupid videos of themselves and just have a moment to breathe.

"So, how was the interview? What was it about again?" She asks.

"Yeah, yeah it was good. It was fun. I should not be trusted with paint though," He breathes a laugh, before continuing. "So here's the thing, have you heard of synesthesia?"

Lilac furrows her eyebrows in thought as she turns out of the car park, coming to a conclusion. "I don't think so, no."

"Right, I- uh, how do I explain this..." Awsten trails off, unsure of how to explain his ability to see sounds. "Ok, so you know how people hear sounds?"

She gives him a glance and a confused nod, unsure of where this conversation is going. "Yeah?"

"Well, there are people like me who... shit, how do I explain?" He sighs, clearly annoyed at his loss for words. "Ok, let me try this again."

Lilac giggles slightly at Awsten's apparent confusion, steering the wheel as she turns right at the traffic lights.

"So basically, synesthesia is where you can see colours with sounds, whether thats like songs or- even just like noises. Is this making any sense?" He gives an uncertain laugh as he finishes his sentence, not sure if what he's saying is making any sense out loud.

"Yeah, you're making complete sense, I get what you're saying." Lilac's eyebrows furrow again slightly, before she says, "Wait, so, hang on, sorry." Her focus reverts back to the road for a minute as she parks her car outside Awsten's apartment block. "I'm sorry, I'm pretty sure I get what you mean, but I'm not 100% sure. So like, if I were to put on a song right now, the song would have colours, right?"

Awsten nods before remembering she can't see him if she's watching the road. "Yeah, it's different for every song. Every sound, even. Why?"

The pair collect their things from the car and step out, heading inside the complex. Awsten's apartment was on the second to top floor and neither of them felt like walking, so they came to a halt in front of the lift and pressed the button.

"If I'm understanding this right, isn't that like...normal?" Lilac says cautiously, not completely certain she gets what he's saying.

"I mean, you could have synesthesia too, that was my first thought when I found out not everyone sees sounds," He smiles at her as they step into the lift. "Although, I don't know how well I've explained it, so."

Lilac pulls out her phone and opens google, typing the word into the search bar. She hums as she does it; Awsten sees orange, she sees pink.

"This kind of makes sense, actually," She says slowly as she scrolls, reading some basic information. "I can't believe this isn't normal."

He giggles at her confused expression. "Don't worry, that's exactly what I thought." He thinks for a second before adding, "We should compare colours, what do you think?"

A smile lit up Lilac's face as she looked up at him. "Yes, oh my god that would be so fun."

By this point, the lift had come to a stop and the two were already halfway through the door to Awsten's home, which from the amount of time she spent there, may as well be Lilac's home too. She approaches the sofa and lets her body fall, collapsing onto the soft cushions with a sigh.

"What should we listen to?" She asks Awsten, who had gone to the kitchen for orange juice.

"The interview I did today was about FANDOM, so-" He's cut off by an excited squeak from the girl.

"Wait! Hang on, is that why some of your songs are named after colours?" She practically squeals, as if she's got him all figured out.

He gives a small giggle at her enthusiasm. "Yeah, thats why."

"Man, I'm so smart. I'm like a whole genius, I've got everything figured out." She laughs, mostly sarcastically, yet still proud of herself for sussing it out.

Lilac insists they close the blinds for this, since 'the colours are prettier in the dark'. The pair get comfortable on the sofa before opening spotify. FANDOM begins to play from the phone resting on the coffee table.

Cherry red, you know I died for you.
Sour green, we both lost me.

"I see dark red, orange and purple." Awsten states. "You?"

"Dark orange and dark blue. Not navy blue, like a deep blue."

They continue on like this for every song, stating the colours with ease and admiring the shades their minds present them with.

I wanna be a millionaire before I'm thirty,
but saying that allowed is probably gonna hurt me.

"Dark green and neon yellow." Lilac states, right before the song ends.

Awsten smiles. "Orange, yellow and red, kind of fiery."

Am I the boy you dreamed of, living in your subconscious?
Do you believe in love?
And is it because of me, yeah if it's up to me say it all.

"Light green and light pink. Theres some blues in there too I think." She smiles.

"That's cool, this one's very blue to me. Like, a lot a lot of blue."

Time passes by quickly as they compare colours, playing different albums, different bands, different genres, different styles. Before they know it, it's 10pm and they're completely exhausted, despite the fact they've spent hours watching the colours in their minds.

Lilac's head rests in Awsten's lap as he plays with her hair, humming softly as her eyes grow heavier by the second. He sees green, she sees blue.

When she speaks up, her groggy voice startles him slightly, but what she has to say causes a smile to spread across his face. "We see the world with so much colour, so much vibrance. Isn't that special?"

And with that, she falls into the land of her dreams, leaving behind the real world full of colour for a faraway fantasy.

End.