Spectrum’s Truth – Chapter Two

             During my time as….a….tramp…I gave what I would call ‘gifts’ to those who had no home, such as myself. I would take a small stone, and carve an image of the homeless colt or mare who leaned against the wall I drew on….I drew them in…in warm clothes…with a house…as if they had a home. I did anything to make them happy, though I still refused to look into their eyes, and I never stayed long. Every other day or so, I was traveling again. This routine became my life. I traveled. Drew. And traveled again. This constant cycle made my life even more colorless than it had been before, and now, I was suffering physically as well as mentally. I was tired, but I could never stop walking. I was a burden. I was nothing. I was…worthless...if I was to die on a street and rot, what would that do? Nobody would even notice. I wasn’t cared for…

During these travels, I started thinking, Was this really my fault? As I drew, and walked, my mind would return to this question, and I would simply remind myself, ‘yes’ and continue on. However, one day, after finishing a drawing for what I thought was a sleeping colt, I started to walk, but was stopped by a faint call,

‘wait…’

I turned around, still looking at the ground, seeing only his hooves as he slowly walked over to me. ‘Thank you, miss.’

Miss….the word rung in my head…As far as I knew, I was still a helpless filly, wandering about, with no purpose. I had never realized that I had grown…

‘What you’ve done here…for everybody…thank you…’

He was pouring out a thanks…I couldn’t stand it…I hated it…I didn’t deserve to be thanked…so I simply replied with,

‘No thanks necessary…’

‘Oh but it is, miss.’

Miss again…the word stuck out…

‘Please, look me in the eyes…’

As I said, I’d do anything to make people happy…my head slowly lifted…and I saw his face…his eyes…those eyes…those warm, comfortable, amazing eyes…I’ll never forget them…I stuttered,

‘I…I…Uh-I’m…’

He simply smiled to this, Handed me an orange, thanked me again, and returned to the spot he had slept…

I was going crazy…Just standing there…My eyes bulging…I was sweating, though it was a cold, autumn night…I was shaking…my knees buckled, and I just sat there…the whole night…My mind was wrapped in emotions I never knew existed. Thoughts and ideas swarmed my head…Those eyes of his…filled with gratitude…For me…for ME…That’s when reality sunk in. It wasn’t my fault…It wasn’t! I was born into my life! I had no choice in it! Why the hell should I actually accept taunts the rich gave when I passed by on the street as facts!? They weren’t true! For my whole life, I believed I was nothing, and I was worthless…but that’s the day my mind was opened…the world was still grey, however…I was enlightened, but my life hadn’t changed.

For another month, I continued my routine, but with my head held up, and with a new pride. This continued and continued, until that one day…I had seen a small filly…well…not that small. She was probably the same age as me, so I felt a special attachment to her the moment I saw her, sitting there, sleeping in the dark. I got to work. I picked up a stone and started drawing, glancing at her whenever I needed more details on her look. A few times, it almost looked like she glanced back, but I passed it off as being tired. When I finished, I glanced one last time to find an empty spot where she had been. Believe me, I was shocked! I thought she had vanished! Maybe she was kidnapped! Truth, I didn’t know what to think, until I heard a giggle, and a voice from behind me.

‘Hey there!’

I was…shocked to see her standing behind me, smiling so warmly.

‘Uhh…umm….h-hello…’

‘What’s the matter? You look nervous or something. You sick?’

‘I…I, uhh…I don’t know…’

This was true, as I had no idea what my health was at the time, but she smirked and replied with,

‘Well, thanks for the pretty picture, I look real good innit!’

‘…you’re….you’re welcome…’

‘Hey, why are you out here at night? It’s pretty cold!’

‘…………I’m…not sure, I guess….’

‘Oh, well, I was camping here, so, I have a blanket, but you should probably head home.’

So she had a house….she was just out here for fun…

‘…………’

‘What’s wrong? You’ve gotta house, right?’

She said that jokingly, but after my silence, her mood changed.

‘Wait…you…don’t have a house…do you?’

‘…………’

‘Umm…So, what’s your name?’

I never had a reason to remember my name for the past year, so I had practically forgotten it.

‘I…I think spectrum…’

Immediately after this, her look changed as if she were now thinking, very deeply. After a minute of silence, she spoke up with,

‘Do you wanna come over my house for a little bit?’

I was on the verge of tears….after evading this for so long, I was a burden to others again…she was already worrying for me…pitying for me…I couldn’t stand it…but I liked her…I couldn’t stand to see her face if I were to decline…

‘…….alright…’

She immediately perked up, and ran away, signaling for me to follow her, to which I slowly walked in her footsteps.

After five minutes of walking, we arrived at a mid-sized house, on the bottom of a fair sized hill. This girl ran ahead as soon as it was in sight, opened the door, and walked in. When I arrived at the house, I just stood there, on the porch. I didn’t want to go inside. I couldn’t go inside, but she had other plans, she simply opened the door again, and dragged me inside, to which I was pleasantly surprised. The house was so nice…and warm…I hadn’t been in a house since I left Sapling. But I didn’t deserve to be. The less for me the more for them. That had become my sole thought. Her parents were sitting in the living room, watching a television show, and hadn’t even noticed our presence until the girl screamed,

‘I’M HOOOOOOOOME!!!’

I didn’t see a reason for this volume, and was surprised to see her parents simply look over at us, as if it were a normal occurrence, and her mother said,

‘Welcome back Vinyl!’

So that was her name…

‘And who’s this lovely girl?’

She snaked her way over to her parent’s position, as if she thought herself a ninja, and said,

‘She’s my newest, bestest friend, Spectrum!’

They didn’t really argue to this, as they simply said hello and welcome to me, and said that they’d be there if we needed them. I was simply shocked to see the care they had, when saying such a simple thing…She took me up to her room, which I found littered with electronics and posters. It was a mess, but by this time in my life, I was used to messes.

‘So Spectrum….’

Her mood suddenly shifted.

‘When’s…..when was the last time you ate?’

‘…I think it was sometime this morning. I had an orange I…found.’

Her eyes searched me thoroughly, observing every last detail, and focusing on every last mark.

‘So, how long do you wanna stay here?’

I was shocked at this, it was as if she intended me to stay there forever.

‘I….tonight I suppose…I need to get going soon.’ I replied, hoping she’s accept that, but she didn’t.

‘Yeah right, where?’

‘…………’

‘Exactly. For now, you’re staying with me, kay?’

‘…………’

‘Good.’

I never would have guessed that this girl, Vinyl, Would grow to be such a large part of my life. I never would have guessed any of this, but life is strange, and it keeps moving, whether you like it or not. I didn’t want to stay there, but even then, I realized I was going to. Oh, Vinyl…what a sweet girl…