The world is so black and white. Boy and girl. Dog and cat. Water and fire. Past and future. Dark and light. Sun and rain.

What about the present? A gift of now? They and them? Hamster and snake? Snow? A mix of light and dark that balances each other out?

Close your eyes, and all you CAN see is dark. Just nothing at all. BUT. But that's only if you don't look close enough. Imagine. Imagination isn't black and white. Imagination is such a swirl of colors, feelings and possibility, it's extremely hard to keep up with.
Open your eyes now. Look around you. What do you see? A flower? What's the color? Blue? That can't be all. What I see is a swirl of petals, spiraling deeper and deeper, and when you stare into the depths, you get lost in what you see. Sparkles of light, dots of red and purple, planets in the dark universe tucked away in the sweet scent of the flower. Do you see?

Look over there now. See that animal? It's a squirrel, yes that is correct. And what-? Oh, very good. A wisp of smoke prancing over the grass, leaving behind a trail of embers. A very nice touch. I see a busy family member, trying to sneak in a few nuts before dinner, while on the lookout for playmates. Oh, look, there's another, A merry game of tag follows, and there you go.

A cupcake? Where? Ah, how clever! Yes, that cloud certaintly looks like one, with swirling frosting on the top. Yes! and the raindrops could definetly be sprinkles, once rain falls. 

So you see? The world is so much better in color. More imagination. Look. See that figure over there? Their face- they look bored and sad. Go teach them to put a bit of pigment in the world.

So.... I'm not sure if I strayed from the prompt? But I had fun either way  

I get so tired of this black and white.

I sometimes think I am the only one who remembers The Before, when the world was an exciting swirl of color and adventure. Then the Dark came, and when the swirling cloud of dust and ash cleared, everything was changed.

After a while, no-one seemed to think anything was different. I always wonder why I remember The Before. Maybe it's because I was always curious, exploring all the hidden, colorful spaces that no-one else seemed to ever notice; and then they were gone, and to everyone else, caught up in the hurrying, the rushing grey of life, it was the same; but to me, my world is gone.

I am lost.

I try to tell my classmates, remind them of The Before, but they stare at me like I am crazy, and whisper to each-other about "that weird girl."  

I am lost in the black and white world of The After.

Every day, I search anywhere, everywhere, for a hidden nook of color, something that so often used to catch my eye, but now they are lost, just like me. I don't understand; when the colorful world, my world, disappeared, why didn't I fade away with it? 

It feels like I was left behind in a world I don't belong in.

Today I will search one last time for a splash of color, and if I don't find it, I will give in to the grey flood in my mind that I have been resisting ever since the Dark came. 

I walk along the street, straining my eyes for one drop, one splash of vibrant color. I don't see anything. My hopes, as always, are very low; as low as the bottom of the sea. I am so desperate today that I walk further than I usually do, to the very limits of the city. Dark things roam out there, hungry, waiting. I can't go out there, so I turn around to head home, hopes shattered like every time. 

Wait! That familiar, longed for, pigment is in the shade of a ruin beyond city limits. I run towards it, hoping, wishing.  A spot of flowers and bushes, with a young tree sheltering them. As I near it, a bird flies from a nest. Sitting there, on a stone covered in bright green moss, is a palette of paints, meant for me. I pick them up, and, smiling, bound back to the city and to the nearest stark white wall, a perfect canvas. I will bring back the color to the world. 

The End

Renna felt wrong. Why did it seem as though she was the only one in the whole world, although there were people all around her? She 

Yiiikes i accidently posted my first 2 sentences! :/ Sorry everyone :)

I am going to re-post mine, since I have edited it and last time I was being pressured to get off the computer so that someone else could get on. 

I get so tired of this black and white.

I sometimes think I am the only one who remembers The Before, when the world was an exciting swirl of color and adventure. Then the Dark came, and when the swirling cloud of dust and ash cleared, everything was changed.

After a while, no-one seemed to think anything was different. I always wonder why I remember The Before. Maybe it's because I was always curious, exploring all the hidden, colorful spaces that no-one else seemed to ever notice; and then they were gone, and to everyone else, caught up in the hurrying, the rushing grey of life, it was the same; but to me, my world is gone.

I am lost.

I try to tell my classmates, remind them of The Before, but they stare at me like I am crazy, and whisper to each-other about "that weird girl."  

I am alone.

Every day, I search anywhere, everywhere, for a hidden nook of color, something that so often used to catch my eye, but now they are lost, just like me. I don't understand; when the colorful world, my world, disappeared, why didn't I fade away with it? 

I am left behind, forgotten.

Today I will search one last time for a splash of color, and if I don't find it, I will give in to the grey flood in my mind that I have been resisting ever since the Dark came. 

I walk along the street, straining my eyes for one drop, one splash of vibrant color. I don't see anything. My hopes, as always, are very low; as low as the bottom of the sea. I am so desperate today that I walk further than I usually do, to the very limits of the city. Dark things roam out there, hungry, waiting. I can't go out there, so I turn around to head home, hopes shattered like every time. 

Wait! That familiar, longed for, pigment is in the shade of a ruin beyond city limits. I run towards it, hoping, wishing.  A spot of flowers and bushes, with a young tree sheltering them. As I near it, a bird flies from a nest. Sitting there, on a stone covered in bright green moss, is a palette of paints, meant for me. I pick them up, and, smiling, bound back to the city and to the nearest stark white wall, once a glare, now a perfect canvas. I will paint the color back into the world. 

poppy says, Wevr W. 

I'm so so sorry but I just realized I won't be able to post on the 14th so I'm moving the deadline to "sometime by the 18th probably". deepest apologies. I might have to post the full comments later too, depending on how things go. Again I'm so sorry, and thank you for all of your entries (and any ones that might be posted later)!

Ok, I decided to just change my story so there is no spoilers. :)

Paint 

Edward was lonely. He couldn't stop greiving the loss of his Elanor. She had been so dear to him, so beautiful, so... colorful. She was a bright flame in his life, and when she was gone he was lost in an abyss of darkness that he could not get out of. 

He lived life in a daze, a distracted sadness covered him like a blanket.

One rainy morning he heard a knock on his door. He went to open it but found no-one there, nothing but a package on the step. He set it on the kitchen table and unwrapped it. Inside was a beautiful paint box, full of paints, brushes, paper and color. He was confused. He didn't know anyone that would send him a package. He set the box on the table and didn't remember it was there until the next day, when he found a strange note in his mailbox.

Edward, paint.

For your sake, and all around you.

Now he was very perplexed, but he didn't know what else to do. So he painted. And what came out was not what he expected at all. 

On the paper was a face. It was so familiar, so perfect, so colorful. He loved that face. His Elanor. 

And the next day, when he woke up, he felt a little lighter, a little brighter, a little more

Colorful  

Sorry if that was too short:). I was gonna write more, but I kinda thought it sounded done right there. It's also not that great, it just wrote itself. I had nothing to do with it. I am not making sense, am I?:) Um also my CAPTCHA is called Janie. She says:

hwedf (I think that means "Hi''in CAPTCHA) 

I can't post the full judging yet but -

Congratulations Neverseen! You are the winner! 

The actual full judging takes a lot more time so expect the full critiques to trickle in slowly.