Life in Colour

The world was filled with colour and everyday always felt like no other. You could break the darkest clouds and paint the grey with your smile. I can still remember your eyes, bright and blue, like the summer sky and I will never stop thinking about you. Your laugh was like music, a beautiful melody and the soundtrack to my life. But the song has finished.

I remember the day we met, the day I first laid eyes on you. You were sitting on that park bench, armed with a sketchbook and paints and you turned the blank canvas into a work of art. I remember how I stood there, watching you and I lost track of time.

“Do you like it?” You asked, laughing slightly.

“It’s beautiful,” I replied. I had looked at the painting believing it to be beauty beyond compare. But when she turned around, I knew that nothing could be more beautiful than her.

“I’m glad someone likes it,” she sighed. “I haven’t found one buyer.”

“They’re amazing,” I managed to stammer. Her brunette hair fell in perfect curls over her pale face and she wore no make up, she was a natural beauty. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“My art is on display in the Rouge gallery in town, I don’t sell it any other way,” You didn’t understand that I was a lovesick young man, or you were too sensible to talk to a strange guy who had been standing over you for half an hour.

I remember the first piece of your art that I bought. It was the piece you had been painting in the park, a beautiful landscape of the lake and the rolling hills in the distance. I remember the second piece, a solitary flaming candle stood alone in a grey bedroom. But my favourite piece was that of girl, holding a paintbrush and she was bringing colour to a grey landscape. That girl reminds me of you, painting my life in colour.

“Its you!” she exclaimed, rushing up to hug me. “Thank you so much!”

“Anytime,” I replied. That hug meant more to me than anything else, mere touch was beauty. A touch that warmed my heart.

I remember our first date. A humble coffee shop that was small, intimate and cosy. Beautiful paintings adorned the walls, but they were bland compared to the angel that sat before me. I ordered a plain coffee, but you ordered a vibrant smoothie. That was the day you brought colour to my bland life.

I remember the day you got a job as an illustrator and I as a lawyer. I remember how we celebrated with a night out and we’d never been so drunk. Actually, I don’t remember that much about that night.

I remember the day we moved in together and you painted the walls, you painted my life in colour. And when I lost my job and I sunk into the depths of depression you broke the grey clouds. You saw my worst, yet you still saw hope in me.

I remember when we were married and the bridesmaids were each dressed like a colour of the rainbow. I held your hand and you held mine and I became lost in your sky blue eyes once more as I slipped the ring onto your finger. Your beaming smile, beautiful white dress and soft gaze made me forget about how my Dad didn’t approve of the marriage.

I remember when we found out you were pregnant, how we danced around the room and you painted the walls of the baby’s bedroom rainbow coloured because you didn’t care about the gender. I remember how we drank orange juice to celebrate because you couldn’t have champagne and we painted a picture together. The one that hangs above my bed.

I remember when you had the miscarriage. How you cried and cried for hours and nothing could console you. You wouldn’t paint, wouldn’t dance and you wouldn’t sing anymore. I remember the heartbreak, and I vowed we would try again.

I remember when Billy was born. We took him to the park where we met on his first trip out of the hospital and we wrapped him in the blanket you made. I remember how you cried on his first day of school and how pleased you were when he came home.

Then you dyed your hair like a rainbow and you didn’t care what the nursery mothers thought. We would walk together as a family; go out together, we did nothing apart. And just after Jessica was born, I remember the news.

I remember when they diagnosed you with cancer. You were so confident you would get through it and you told me not to worry. And I cried myself to sleep. I remember when you asked me to shave off your beautiful rainbow locks and I wept as the colour fell to the floor. I held your hand before the operation with Jessica and Billy by my side.

I remember when they said the operation failed and you had two months to live. We didn’t send Billy to school for those days so he could spend all his time with you. But he didn’t miss two months of school. He missed two weeks. I remember seeing you in bed, frail and the colour drained from your face. You said you could feel yourself leaving and we should talk to you whenever we could, all we needed to do was to pray to God and he would pass on the message. And we sat together as she breathed her last breath.

I remember laying multi-coloured flowers by your grave and I have made a vow. I will live with a life in colour. I remember walking away from the grave with Billy and Jessica, and the three of us were alone in the world. I will always love you.