Colorless Hearts

e p i l o g u e

  She peeked outside of the car window, nervously chewing the inside of her cheek, as the crowd of people seemed to be growing by the minute.

  A familiar pair of arms circled around her waist and pulled her away from the window. She twisted her head to look at him. "Hi."

  "Hi," he replied as he gazed down at her in his lap.

  She smiled, placing her hands over his. "Hi."

  "You already said that," he grinned; she chuckled. He studied her face for a moment before planting a kiss on her forehead and sliding her over to the seat beside him. Turning her towards him, he cocked his head at her. "What are you thinking about, Eden?"

  "I'm nervous. I can't believe we're really doing this."

  "Well, we've been planning this for months," he said softly as he pushed away a loose strand of hair from her cheek. "But don't worry. We're doing this together, remember?"

She smiled and leaned forward, pressing a small kiss to his lips. "I remember."

"Good. Now come on, it's time."

He pushed open the door and climbed out of the car, offering his hand to her. She took in a deep breath, preparing herself, before stepping out into the light. Upon seeing the couple, the crowd that was gathered behind their car erupted into cheers.

At first, she felt uncomfortably exposed, while he was used to being in front of thousands of people by now. But then she noticed the posters in their hands, the shirts they wore, and the look in their eyes that showed exactly what they yearned for; and all of her worries disappeared.

The two of them walked up to the crowd, hand in hand, and smiled at the beautiful people before them. After someone stepped forward to give them megaphones, they were ready to begin.

"Thank you for joining us today. Thank you for caring about our world. Thank you for being the change," she said as her eyes roamed across the waves of people, who looked at her with the same respect as she did with them.

She then glanced at him beside her, and with a supportive squeeze of the hand, they began marching down the open street. The crowd behind them followed suit, holding their posters and fists up high.

"No justice, no peace!" he shouted into the megaphone, inciting the chant that sounded throughout the city.

The powerful screams of the masses filled every building and car they passed, even gaining the encouragement of some outside witnesses. It was a beautiful, inspiring spectacle to behold that had everyone's hearts racing with unified pride.

  When she turned to look at the crowd behind her, she saw all of their faces and souls connecting. People of every race, every culture, every sexuality, every religion came together to stand for the importance of a human life, no matter the color of their skin.

  Once they reached the central park, after miles of chanting and stomping, they all collectively took a break. She sat down under the shade of a tree with him, and he looked around at everyone who had protested with them.

A smile crept onto his face at the sight of people talking to one another, treating each other like human beings. His eyes eventually floated over to a couple across from them, who were embracing each other tightly, and he was reminded of his own special person.

He turned to look at her as she fidgeted with her hands, seeming to have other things on her mind. After a moment, he slowly lifted her arms up and lowered his head onto her lap. She smiled, caressing his cheek, as he stared up at her.

"You look beautiful, Rose," he whispered through the cool breeze of the park.

"You look beautiful too, Blue," she said, and he grinned. Right as he was about to raise his head up to kiss her, a newspaper flew directly onto his face.

She laughed as he pulled off the paper from his face, frowning. "Whoever owns this is garbage — oh, wait."

He read the title of the paper and pursed his lips. He slowly lifted his gaze up to her, smiling. "Just kidding."

Narrowing his eyes at him, she took the newspaper from his hands, and a smile found its way to her lips as well. The headline of the cover page read: Dion King, world-renowned musician, and his wife, Eden King, successful newspaper publisher, hold racial equality protests in New York City.

  She glanced at the newspaper title, A Seed for Change, and her eyebrows rose in surprise. "No one told me they were publishing this."

"They probably wrote it as a surprise for you," he said as he put his arms under his head, finding a comfortable position on her lap. "Everyone at the newspaper loves you, you know. They all admire you for starting a paper that sheds a light on social justice and people who don't have a voice around the world."

"Hey, you do the same thing by using your platform as an artist to talk about things that aren't talked about enough," she remarked, and he nodded.

"True. I guess that's why people call us a power couple."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "They do?"

"Look at the first line of the story," he said as he gestured to the newspaper, and after doing so, she chuckled. Setting the paper down, she lowered her face to his.

"I guess we are," she murmured before softly meeting his lips.

They spent the rest of their day with the people who had joined them for the protest, getting to know them and their stories. To her, it was like looking beyond herself and into the soul of another, someone who mattered as much as anyone else in the world. To him, it was like meeting his own soul's family, and he appreciated everyone's presence, their existence.

Over the years, this had become what the couple truly loved to do together, what fulfilled their hearts every day. Because the simple thought that humans beings would one day be treated as such no matter what they do, say, or are, was something they lived for.

  After all, even though he was the dark night, and she was the bright day, their hearts were colorless, and yearned for the same change.

THE END!

A/N: and the fourth book of the series is completed! finally!

thank you so much to everyone who stuck by me, who always voted or commented, and even to my ghost readers who don't do either of those! i'm grateful for each and every one of you. you all matter.

i'd also like to take a moment to say something important. i started this story in 2018, when the current protests and movement going on right now weren't as prevalent. so no, i did not originally write this story in relation to the Black Lives Matter movement, but i am dedicating it now to said movement because i do wholeheartedly support it. especially now, with the unjust Breonna Taylor decision.

please know that if any of you would like to talk, i am always here as a fellow human and friend. even if i can't do anything to help you, i will listen. you can also leave comments here to share your thoughts/feelings on the current situation, because i'm sure you're not alone.

but anyway, thank you again for reading, and i hope this story made your day a little better.