Blue

BLUE The salty air, tinged with a slightly fishy scent, filled my nostrils and the wind whispered murmurs of mischief in my ear, whistling as it went. The sun was shining with shining with splendiferous magnificence, sending golden warm fingers to caress my brown skin. The waves crashed with a thunderous cascade of water and erupted into tips of white frothy foam that swirled around like the skirts of women’s skirts. The water rumbled in my ears as it crashed into waves. I scrunched up my toes in the warm sand, feeling the grains rub against my feet. Even though my ears were filled with a cacophony of sounds and my nose was distracted by a rainbow of new scents, the one thing that held my attention in a firm grip was the sight. The ocean that day was a dazzling cerulean blue like none I had ever seen. It was a deep blue that popped and made all the other colors of the city fade in comparison. The dynamic water was filled with life and spreading as far as the eye could see. The vast stretch of blue that spilled over the surroundings and washed up to land took my breath away. Rolling waves towered and then fell to smoothen out into pockets of white swirling foam. Beyond the chaos of the breaking waves, the vast, slightly moving blue water gave us a glimpse of the secrets of the deep. Above my head the birds filled the air with melodious calls and the distant beating of feathered wings travelling the immense blue canvas. The sun filled the sky making the blue cloudless canvas burst with colour. Her rays danced across the rippling water causing it to gleam. The sea looked like a never- ending blue jewel. I looked out to where these massive blue wonders met. A single fine line, barely distinguishable, joined the vast bodies. I felt so small when I looked at it. Beautiful as they were, they could destroy me without a second thought. Yet, they were offering me the greatest sights in the world. I wanted to stay and look forever, held in awe and terror at

1

BLUE the entities that commanded so much respect. I felt proud and important that I could be able to witness the meeting of the two most magnificent sights I would ever see- blue untouched by man. There was a thunderous roll of a passing truck that woke me abruptly from my dream. It had been five years since the orphanage had taken the once in a lifetime trip that had been graciously donated by some unknown beneficiary. It had been five long years since I had seen blue. My footsteps echoed along with the incessant dripping of water. The orphanage had fallen into ruin and we were left to our own means on the dull, claustrophobic streets. I left the derelict house that we called home and walked out to the much worse outside world. I onged for the darkness where I could not decipher the dead grey of the world. I looked up to the sky hoping for blue. Dense grey smog hung in the air even at that early hour. The sky was punctuated by sheer, grim, stern buildings plated with glass. They were just as depressing as the sky. They stood like sentiles closing in around the street, looming ominously overhead. The ground was slick with grime and dotted with garbage of ever moving throbbing crowds, dressed in sharp suits to match their workplaces. The traffic on the roads was already at a standstill. There were more vehicles than I could count, spewing black exhaust to add to the already polluted black air. The noise was deafening. Horns honked in the distance and the curses of impatient drivers littered the air. Music blared from cars and the rumble of engines was becoming deafening. People were entering the city in herds to get to their different destinations, leaving the remainders of their meals on the sidewalk. Finally I saw the last of the stagnant vehicles as they snaked their way into the veins of the city. I was crossing over to the port and I looked out at last 2

BLUE to the gulf. It was still, hardly moving, devoid of life. The colour was a disappointing bleak grey tinged with slight washes of a macabre blue. The sky above it was as grey as ever. Birds flew across the dreary sky with difficulty, fat on the litter of the city. One landed close to me. It had empty eyes; the bird was a shell of those I had seen. It tiled its head and let out a melancholy cry. I looked away towards the horizon. It was dotted by barges and ships. Grey sludge was spewing from a mammoth drain that was issuing from the factory. It seemed to be a cruel portrayal of some demented artist’s idea of productivity. The factory was puffing away like the man on the corner. The smell was sickening. It was acrid and putrid. I looked down to the water. Suddenly I felt afraid. A fear filled me, a fear filled with toxic liquids, raw sewage and poisonous chemicals. I felt ashamed it was there because those of my kind created it. I turned with saddened eyes and continued walking. The roads here were less congested. I stood on the slime covered pavement watching them go by. A large truck passed by. It slowed to a stop and I saw the driver through the mirror. He had blue eyes. They were cold and dead. His looked at me, distrustful and suspicious. He pulled his cap over his head and looked ahead through his dirty clouded windshield. He struck me as a mean, cold hearted person. I looked at the truck. There was a blue stripe running across it. It was covered in grime and patches of rust were appearing on it. The blue felt neither inspiring nor vibrant. It was just slapped on the monster and the slave driver who were destroying the last chances of blue ever peeking out from the grey barrier holding back the sky. Masses of exhaust poured out of the pipes and the black smoke engulfed me like a plague. My throat seized up and I felt my muscles contracting. The smoke was grabbing onto my throat, 3

BLUE squeezing all the air out of me. I dropped to my knees and gasped for air. My eyes were burning and I felt delirious. My head was spinning round in absurd circles making the world a blur before me. Suddenly, I felt something in my mouth and a hand on my back. Soon after, wonderful air rushed in. I looked up at the arms holding me straight. “Are you alright?” I stared at the eyes. They were blue and alive. Pangs of nostalgia ran through me. It was a glimpse of the awesome ocean. I nodded. “Let’s take you to the hospital,” said the eyes. I didn’t refuse as long as I could look at the tiny portrait of the wide ocean in those two amazing windows in the sea of grey.

4