A Sea of Colour

Bianca swam in the shallow tropical waters searching for colour, but all she could see was white. No life. Only a graveyard of bleached coral. Even the water, usually vibrant and blue was muted and ashy. Like her marriage, her surroundings were colourless and dull. Her husband hadn’t touched her in years and to be honest, Bianca wasn’t interested in touching him. The lustre of their marriage had worn off years ago. That’s why they had taken this vacation together, to bring colour back into their lives.

Lying alone on the white sandy shore of the reef, Bianca tried to soak in the orange light of the sun. Her husband was in their hotel room having his routinely afternoon nap, so she had come here to escape the snoring. She longed to feel the heat, but the darkening, swollen clouds blocked the sun’s rays so that no colour touched the earth. Passers-by walked along the beach dimly, as ashen as the surrounding sky and sea. Some grunted when she waved hello, others covered her in sand as they stumbled over her. She felt invisible. Undesirable.

When the grey clouds finally opened the people scattered, leaving Bianca to weather the storm alone. The rain wet her face and washed the sand from her skin. The cold numbed her of feeling. Not a soul had stayed to endure the rain with her. Except one. A flash of red caught Bianca’s attention, brilliant against the dull landscape. A woman carrying a scarlet red umbrella, a picnic basket and a fair isle rug woven with bright colours. Bianca was mesmerised by the patterns and hues.

‘Would you like to share my umbrella?’ the woman’s melodic voice called.

The small piece of red coral poked out from the vast whiteness. Finally, Bianca had found life. She swam closer to the bright piece of coral, fascinated by such beauty amongst the bleak landscape. This was what she had been searching for. She turned to find her husband, wanting to show him her discovery, but he was too absorbed by a piece of dead coral. He turned the coral skeleton over and over in his hand, examining every angle, fixated on how stress had caused such lifelessness. Bianca turned her back on him and swam away.

The woman flicked out her rug of vibrant colours onto the white sand, placed the picnic basket between them and stabbed the umbrella into the earth. She angled the wide umbrella to shield Bianca from the rain.

‘Better?’ the woman asked.

‘Much better, thank you.’

The woman sat down beside Bianca, offering her a sunny smile from fiery red lips. The kind of smile that filled a room with brightness and laughter. That warmed those who basked in its beauty. The kind that Bianca had been craving.

‘You must think I’m crazy lying out here in the rain.’ Bianca’s cheeks reddened at the thought of how unhinged she must appear.

‘Actually, I thought that someone lying in the rain might like company and a conversation.’

Jaw agape, Bianca felt a stirring from deep within her body. Where had this woman appeared from? She couldn’t be real. Bianca had the urge to touch her to see if she was tangible. To lick her skin. She smelt like sea salt and sunshine.

‘My name is Shiloh. Are you hungry?’ the woman said as she unpacked the picnic basket. Oh, Bianca was hungry.

Bianca started to see random bursts of colour. Sprinkles of lavender, turquoise, emerald and canary yellow amongst the bleached coral. The colour was enchanting. Breath-taking. The further she swam from her husband, who was still wading amongst lifeless white coral, the more colour she could see. She considered stopping and turning around to find him. To take him with her. But she was afraid that if she stopped following the colour now, that she would never find it again. She kept on searching, swimming further and further away.

Huddled up together, Shiloh pulled a spoon and a small watermelon with the top cut off from her picnic basket. She began to eat it, scooping the juicy pink flesh with one hand and caressing the round, firm watermelon with the other.

‘That’s a peculiar way to eat a watermelon.’ Bianca mused.

‘It’s the best way to eat a watermelon.’ Shiloh said as she slurped down the vibrant, coral coloured flesh. Juice ran down her neck and into her bosom. Bianca considered tasting the pink, sticky juice. It looked delicious and her stomach was rumbling. Her eyes lingered there until Shiloh offered her the sweet fruit.

‘Would you like to try some?’

The further Bianca swam the more colourful her surroundings became. Colonies of fish with the brightest and wildest patterns started to swim by. Octopi played. Seahorses danced. Bianca smiled. This place was alive and full of magic. She looked over her shoulder. She couldn’t see her husband anymore.

The watermelon was fresh and fruity, the flesh sweet and pink. Bianca felt more and more refreshed with every mouthful. She had never tasted anything so lovely.

‘How is it?’ Shiloh asked.

‘You’re right, this is the best way to eat it.’ the watermelon was juicy and ripe, Bianca thought she might never eat enough.

Eventually, trying to control herself, she passed Shiloh the spoon.

‘Now it’s my turn to eat.’ Shiloh gave Bianca a devilish grin as she grasped the round, swollen watermelon.

This was paradise. The way it should always be. Lively. A rainbow of colour.

Shiloh stretched out her hand and it came back dry.

‘The rain has stopped.’ Shiloh snapped the umbrella closed to reveal the sun. Its brilliant marigold colour touched every inch of the earth. The ashen sky was now a baby blue, the ocean as clear and bright as a sapphire. The sand, that Bianca had originally thought was white, was blushing pink.

Shiloh extended a pointed hand into the sky. Her arms jingling with the melody of a hundred colourful bangles.

‘Look Bianca, a rainbow.’