iii.

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"Let's start with red," she said. "Because it's my favorite."

"Alright," he said. They were sitting on a blanket in the park. He was wearing the hat she'd made him for his birthday, and a scarf. She had been laughing when she'd given him the hat. ("My knitting skills are abysmal," she had said. "It's a good thing you can't see it!") He really liked that hat. He wanted to let her know how much, but he was a little afraid to. 

Anyway, the hat was red. She'd told him so. 

"Red is a lot of things, and some of them seem like they don't really fit together, but that's just how color is. Every color has shades, and every shade can convey different moods."

He sat there, letting her words wash over him like water, refreshing. 

"Red is warmth, first of all. It's heat. Red can be fire, as in fire itself, or as in spice. Like a hot pepper or hot sauce. Siracha, it's red."

He loved Siracha. A lot of it, on a lot of different things. She always teased him for it. 

"Red is also passion. Red is like when lovers kiss, and even in the way they look at one another across a room. Roses are red. When people blush, it's red. People think of red as a romantic color. It's deep and it's strong and bold, like love can be sometimes."

He thought of the way he felt about her. Was that red? He wanted to kiss her, sometimes. (More and more often, lately.) He wasn't sure how she'd feel about this though, so he kept it to himself. He didn't want to ruin the friendship that they had. 

"Red can also be sweet, like the taste of a strawberry or a raspberry. Or it can be anger, and the tones of frustration during an argument. The nuances; they're important. The shade can take red from a color of heat to a color of passion to the sweet taste of a berry."

He pictured her smiling, inserting emotions and expressions into the silence and trying to fill in the gaps left by his lack of sight.

"Red is boldness, and confidence. It's the feel of fabric on a red dress, and it's dance music."

"Why is it your favorite color?" he asked her.

She was silent for a few moments, and when she finally answered, it was with a hint of shyness in her voice. "Because...it's really the exact opposite of me. It makes me feel brave."



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