"Go to your room. Study" A grey sun said, frowning. Cleaning.
A boy frowned, trying to explain to the sun that he did and that he needn't study more.
He couldn't speak. No words seemed to convince the sun, and he was worried. Worried for both the sun and himself. He didn't want to tire the sun. He didn't want her to hate him-
-So he did as the sun asked. He studied. More.
…
"I've no time, I'm busy. Go by yourself" A blackish lion flipped through papers, sparing the boy no glance.
The boy lowered his head. He said nothing, perhaps afraid. Perhaps longing.
He left the study. His shoulders drooped.
…
"I'm studying. Another time" A greyish-black book sighed.
The boy stared at him. He could tell he was tired. He wanted to tell him everything will pass. He tried to say so. He couldn't. No words would come out.
He saw the book frowning so he left with a guilty heart.
…
"Go to bed. It's not suited for you" A dull-grayish owl said, annoyed. Holding a laptop and wearing headphones.
The boy was mad and tried to convince her.
She was silent, unbothered by the silly attempts he made.
He got madder. The look she gave him made him more so.
He left the room, red with anger.
He stopped in his tracks, face darkening as he realized-
-He never spoke.
…
"Ugh, can't you see? I'm calling my friends," A red mirror frowned and closed the door to the boy's face.
He frowned and lowered his head. He went mad the moment he saw the PSX controllers he'd been holding.
He wanted to argue with her but he didn't. Not after he remembered that he couldn't talk. His face grew darker with each passing second.
…
The boy looked back at his house, His heart a cruel mess. He checked his backpack before boarding a train after wandering to the train station.
He was sick of his family. They never understood him. They barely care about him. Perhaps they don't love him anymore. Maybe he was just annoying.
The boy started crying.
The train was almost empty, scarce for few people from different ages, few in numbers and seemingly lost and in daze. No one paid him attention.
He wanted to stop crying. He couldn't though.
Time seemed to slowly pass by. His cries softened and lessened to sniffs.
He knew he wanted people who cared about him. People who were similar to himself.
By the time he summed up courage, the train told him he'd reached his current destination.
He took a look around. There were familiar faces, still sitting there in daze. Some others were gone. New faces were there. More seemed to enter as he left the train.
His palms were sweating. He figured he was nervous. He was determined, though, and excited.
He met a group of boys. They talked. He liked them. He believed they were similar to himself, so he hung up with them.
…
"You're the only grey among us. You do it." An orange fox sneered.
The boy looked at his friends with a frown. They were all laughing at him, believing false information.
He was sure he wasn't grey. He knew he was a reddish yellow.
He felt uncomfortable. He wanted to tell them, but, fearing their hate, he couldn't speak.
He just faked up a laugh.
…
"Don't forget any of what we asked. Thanks, grey~". A red fox laughed, joking.
The boy forced out laughter and never spoke. Scurrying to buy what was asked of him, the judging and heavy eyes of his fox friends made him shudder and fearful.
A tear slipped down his cheek.
…
Smack.
"Tsk. The answers were wrong, you grey monster." A red fox shouted in anger.
The boy held his stomach in pain, eyes deep with fright and shock.
"Ah, calm down now. Go easy on him. We'll be in trouble if he tells on us." A blue fox patted the shoulders of the mad fox.
"Oh, hell no!" The furious fox blurted.
The two foxes started a heated argument.
The boy couldn't hear or understand the content of what they were saying. He was shocked, too shocked to feel the world outside his mind and heart.
He didn't know when or how he did it, but he found himself running away, trembling.
He ran for a long time, never daring to look back lest they caught him.
He couldn't tell how long it took him to summon up courage and look back with fear.
No one was after him. He was just running away for God knows how long. Perhaps alone. Perhaps he made it by hair. Maybe no one had even followed him, deeming him unimportant and a coward.
Maybe he was.
He laughed.
He turned right to find a mirror.
His eyes dilated and face paled.
He saw himself in the mirror.
No, that wasn't himself. There was absolutely no way it was.
He was sure he was a bird. A red, yellowish sparrow with bright eyes. That was the him he knew, not this-
-He saw an almost transparent, slime-like ghost, almost black in color. His eyes filled with gloom, tiredness, fright, and pain. He was disgusting. He was ugly.
His knees went weak. He sat in his place in daze, looking opposite the mirror. He couldn't look at himself.
He just sat there.
He didn't know how long. His hatred for himself deepened as time passed. He noticed someone sitting next to him. He didn't care, not at first. But he found solace by the presence of the one next to him.
One time, he decided to take a look. So he turned his head towards the source of comfort. He found the blue fox looking at him. He flashed him a smile. The boy smiled at him, at his friend.
They exchanged looks and stood up. They walked side by side to the station.
There was no need for words. They both couldn't speak.
They boarded the train.
They both knew what needed to be done. They finally had a goal.
The train thus reached the destination fairly quickly.
They left the train side by side. The days in their eyes diminishing greatly.
…
"We all worked hard on the project. Good work, everyone!" A crimson-tiger almost shouted, laughing.
The boy nodded, laughing in relief. The blue fox slumped over the chair, exhausted and relieved. Some others laughed while others cried from happiness and relief.
The boy was satisfied. He felt great.
…
"Tell me how you feel," a white coat gently asked.
The boy was nervous, hesitant and frightened a bit.
He knew he couldn't speak, but he tried.
…
The boy was sitting on a bench with his fox friend. Now light blue.
They casually talked about random matters.
A family walked by, laughing. The boy's eyes were glued to them until they left.
He turned his head towards his friend, who smiled at him.
The fox took out a mirror and gave it to him.
The boy took it. He wanted to see the new him, a better him, not the ugly monster from before.
His heart dropped when he stared at his reflection-
-He was still a monster, an ugly, unforgivable monster, uglier than the him from before.
His eyes misted and he looked at his friend with a pained smile. The fox frowned and took the mirror from his hands, then held it up for his friend to see.
The boy was shocked.
A green tree, bright and healthy, with dreamy eyes. He looked at his friend, confused.
His friend gently smiled at him, patted him and said, "I'm proud of you."
That was when the boy realized that his friend was no longer a fox. He was a bird, a light blue bird.
He laughed. They both laughed.
"You know what needs to be done, right?" The free bird asked.
The boy nodded.
They both stood up and went to the station.
The bird was speaking.
They both knew their destination and so the train arrived quickly.
they stepped out of the gloomy train.
They slowly walked to a house.
In front of the house were the boy's family.
He was surprised. They were different in color. They looked different.
The sun was no longer gray. She was a brownish yellow.
The lion was no longer black. He was brown.
The book was no longer grayish black. He was cyan.
The owl was no longer dull and grayish. She was purple.
The mirror was no longer red. She was yellow.
He was no longer black. He was green.
They all changed. Everyone, including him.
The boy laughed in relief.
He finally spoke.
"I'm home."
The end.