The Bright Colours of Misery [COMPLETED]

𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚂𝙸𝚇 -einzeller-

Heidi could barely put her paintbrush down anymore. She woke up, ate some bread—if that was an option—then she sat down on the poarch. Painting their street over and over again, until her knees were wet from all the water that soaked through her papers. Her colour mixing abilities got better as the days went by, but I must admit, the paper she had didn't really allow the end result to look good. It's no secret to anyone that newspapers are a horrible canvas for watercolour painting. (or any other painting for that matter) Trudy watched her from inside the shop, even through the window I could see her smile and the exact emotion behind it:

Relief.

Trudy had worried about Heidi ever since she was little, and it had only gotten worse over the years. She feared her daughter would never have fun as a child should (because of her lack of socialisation with other kids) and realise how bad things truly were all  too early. Her fears were slowly fading now that she saw her paint everyday, finding beauty in the simplest details of their street.

I found a lot of comfort in Trudy's clear concern for all her children's well-being. They all deserved a mother like that. Although she wasn't irreprochable, it was clear she always tried her best and that needs to be said.

One day in early april 1933, when Heidi's mother wasn't there to spy through the window. Heidi got interrupted during her afternoon painting session.

"Hey, mädchen!" called a voice to her left. It caught her off guard and she jumped back in fear, making a long streak of green paint cross over her entire painting. She clenched her fists around her brush in irritation. I told her to calm down, that it wasn't a big deal, but she had only done so by herself, remembering what Wilma had told her a few days prior to this incident.

"True art is filled with emotions."

Heidi took her brush, dipped it in red, and traced all the elements and shapes of her painting, pressing down hard on the paper. Her irritation quickly dissipated as she saw what had now become of her street. It was by no means a grand piece of art, but it was different and oddly relaxing to Heidi.

She quickly looked up at the boy who had yelled, it was Alexander fischer, but he stood too far away from Heidi for her to recognize him.

She quickly got back to her painting after casting him one quick uncertain look. She thought he had called for someone else, there were many mädchens that weren't her.

Alexander apparently saw this ignoration as more of a misunderstanding than an active choice on Heidi's part (which it was but heidi convinced herself it wasn't. )

"Yeah, you!" He chuckled, clearing up the confusion, or so he thought. Heidi was highly confused at the idea of someone actually wanting to talk to her.

Her eyes drifted away from her painting and saw this boy standing just a metre away from her. He wore a dirty dark beige coat, his golden brown hair escaping a pale yellow hat that Heidi recognized.

Finally she knew who this boy was.

Alexander Fischer, the boy who had helped her and from whom she had sort of stolen a hat.

"Hi, mädchen." he said, giving her a slight smile.

"I have a name, you know." She told him, before getting back to her colour palette out of fear. This was too unfamiliar to her.

Alexander rolled his eyes up at the sky, sighed loudly and shuffled Heidi away to get a small seat on the stairs next to her.

"I know you do, mädchen" he said, but he had no idea what her name was, however he figured mädchen was certainly not it.

Heidi turned to him and gave him a death glare, before pushing him away with her elbow.

"Then don't call me that, einzeller!" Heidi exclaimed, she wanted to sound annoyed and intimidating but in the end she mostly sounded like a fussy toddler.

Alexander obviously felt offended, since he had just been insulted and pushed her back with his elbow.

"I have a name too!" Alexander declared angrily. (as if she didn't know it already and that he hadn't introduced himself weeks ago)

"So do I!" Heidi practically hissed back.

"Oh really, Mädchen!"

"Yes you einzeller!"

The best friendships always start with bickering. How do I know this? Because of these two. I need no further proof or data on the matter, and just so you know einzeller translates to:

One  cell organism.

Heidi didn't really know that at the time, she had only heard Walter call Wilma that once and figured it was appropriate to call Alexander that.

"Stop calling me that! My name is Alex!" The young boy yelled, stealing one of Heidi's paint-brushes.

"Give that back!" Heidi demanded, trying to snatch it from him, but her blurred eyesight didn't make her the most precise.

She waved her hand in front of her, almost reaching the paint brush but always failing to grasp it.

"I will give it back if you tell me your name." Alexander finally said, putting the precious paint brush behind his back, he had such a smug expression on his face—that amused me— but Heidi couldn't see that.

"You are going to call me mädchen anyway." She protested, crossing her arms over her chest. Oh she was right, so right, but I don't know how she figured it out so quickly.

"Maybe," Alexander shrugged. "But how can I be friends with you if I don't know your name?" He asked with a childish smile.

I never understood if Alexander had a crush on Heidi in the beginning or if he simply wanted a better friend than Frieda, but if he did have a crush on my human, it must have quickly died out.

"Why would you want to be my friend?" Heidi muttered, finding a new brush behind her and dipping it in paint.

Alex frowned, and looked down at her painting.

"Why wouldn't I?"

The question got Heidi thinking, and she answered it herself. Because anyone would rather be friends with Frieda. She was nicer, prettier and not practically blind.

She didn't say it out loud though. She looked down at the painting and shrugged, as if she didn't have an answer to give him and didn't know what more to say. She only gave him silence. Alexander tried to talk to her again, but he eventually left. Maybe he had said something wrong? Maybe he had to leave her alone now, but the truth was he had done the opposite. He had made Heidi happier than ever, so happy it confused her. Someone wanted to be her friend.

Alexander wanted to be her friend.