Love Like This

1

Cara parks her car along the edge of the road and walks with lilies and gardening tools in her hands. To her, the flowers are a light, soft gray while their leaves are a darker shade of the bleak color. To outsiders, however, the lilies are a fiery shade of orange, and their cool green leaves are vibrant with life.

Cara's eyes can't fully perceive the beauty of a pink sunset or the allure of a sparkling rainbow. Everyone she knows believes her colorblindness robbed her of the chance to explore the world in all its glory. People have even tried to explain to her the bright glow of the color yellow and the calmness associated with the color blue, but those descriptions mean nothing to her. Her world is colored with shades of gray, and that's just how it is. 

You can't miss something you never had, she reminds herself as she treks along the grassy shoulder of the road.

A short while later, rusty gates emerge from the dense clumps of trees and bushes as gray gravestones sag into the acres of rolling hills. Cara enters the graveyard by walking on the cracked pavement and under a metal arch hanging above her head. She diverges from the walkway a minute or two later, heading towards a crumbling cement block in the middle of the giant field.

Kara Zaleski. Born September 5, 1922. Died December 22, 1997. This bleak headstone marks the spot where Cara's great-grandmother is buried in a casket under the damp earth. Though she never knew her personally, Cara was named after her when she was born, and for this reason, she comes to her great-grandmother's grave on the first of every month to plant flowers in her honor. This time, she picked beautiful lilies to plant by her headstone.

Kneeling on the ground, she yanks a handful weeds from the ground and pulls a clump of dead sunflowers out of the earth. Cara begins digging a round hole beside the headstone when she hears footsteps crunching dead leaves behind her.

Cara's jaw drops when her eyes land on the young man. Her eyes have somehow captured the vibrancy of his appearance! Though she does not know what the colors of his jeans or of his bright eyes are called, she gasps when she realizes that he's the only object in the graveyard that shines with hues and tints of color.

"You look exactly like her, how remarkable!" the boy exclaims, approaching Cara with wide eyes and a gleeful smile.

"Like who?" she asks, attempting to comprehend how her eyes can capture his color.

 "Like my sweetie. Her hair is a darker shade of brown than yours, though."

Cara can't seem to focus. She's got only got question on her mind. "Can you please tell me what the color of your pants are? Of your sweater? Of your hair and eyes?"

"My slacks are tan, and my sweater is red. I've got a head of brown hair and green eyes, lovely."

Cara feels a single tear stream down her face as she stands on her feet. The world around her is bleak and cold in comparison to his sharp red sweater and glimmering green eyes. Her friends are family are right; she's truly been missing out her entire life.

"Why are you crying? Did I upset you somehow?" he asks.

 "No," Cara responds, wiping away the stupid tear, "it's just that my world has been gray for my whole life, and by some blessing of God, you're not!"

"That's insane!" he laughs, grabbing her hands and shaking them with enthusiasm. "My wife is colorblind as well. I've prayed and prayed for years and years for her to see me in color, and it seems as though my wish has been received by you!"

"Who's your wife?" Cara asks out of curiosity.

"Her name is Kara Zaleski. Born September 5, 1922. Died December 22, 1997. Bless her loving heart."

"Hey, that's my great-grandmother!" Cara replies, pointing at the gravestone right next to her. "That makes you my great-grandfather, doesn't it?"

"My sweet child, you look just like her! I pray and pray that you can see this gorgeous world in color. We'll be waiting for you when it's your turn to come over, my darling."

Cara blinks, and the kind man is gone. In his wake, he has turned her world into a colorful masterpiece. Cara finishes planting the lilies while uncontrollably crying; her world will never be shaded with gray again.