For his entire life, Kaveh has felt incompetent.
Incomplete. Broken.The truth is that the boy was born with a special medical condition. He can only see cold colours, like blue, white, purple, and black. Kaveh knows how vibrant the lake beside their home is. He is aware of how gorgeous a snowy winter can be. However, when someone asks Kaveh about fire, blood, or other warm-coloured things, he cannot answer properly. Those things seem grey and lifeless to him. Where everyone notices brightness and joy, Kaveh makes out just an empty shell of the real image.
It wouldn’t be so tragic, if not for one thing. Kaveh strives to become an artist. The one that is renowned and famous, whose paintings are sold for millions of dollars. He wants to portray all his emotions onto the canvas for the entire world to see.
But he can’t. Not when he is only able to use half of the colour palette.
Kaveh has tried so hard to grasp the essence of concepts like red, orange, and yellow. If he manages to understand those colours, maybe he will be able to use them appropriately. Then, his paintings will finally be flawless.
However, can he really do it? All attempts have been futile thus far.
Despite the odds being against him, Kaveh doesn’t lose hope. Even though he is unable to see the colours, he still has a chance to feel them. And he might succeed in doing so with a certain someone’s help.
-
“Are you even listening? Ugh, you dummy”.
This is Dana, the only friend Kaveh has ever had. They have bonded over a similar problem and a common goal. Just like the boy, this girl is also special. She can only see warm colours and is completely obvious to cold ones. Simply put, she is the opposite of Kaveh – both in vision and character.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m all ears now”, the boy replies. Both of them are sitting together under an oak tree in the middle of a forest. Right now, they are in the middle of their daily mental exercise. Dana tries to explain what the warm colours feel like, while Kaveh describes the cold tones to her.
This exchange is just as useful for Dana as it is for Kaveh. In the future, she wants to pursue a career as a fashion designer. Being only ten, Dana has already developed multiple sketches of gorgeous dresses, suits, and other items of clothing. She is truly a prodigy in her field of expertise.
However, Dana is unable to realize her full potential due to the condition. She struggles to comprehend the meaning behind certain hues. That is why both of them decided to cooperate. Together, they can finally see the world for what it really is – not gloomy, not fiery, but something in between, perfectly balanced.
After making sure Kaveh is done dosing off, Dana continues. “As I was saying, red is very similar to the taste of chilli peppers. It is hot, biting, and aggressive. Like a person who doesn’t hold back.”
“You mean, like a delinquent?”
“Well, sort of…” Dana looks confused for a second. “But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You know, it’s like when a person does something reckless for the greater good. Or for their loved ones. Oh, by the way, red is also the colour of love!”
“So, it’s an energetic colour that represents fury and passion…” Kaveh says thoughtfully. “I kind of get it, but it still confuses me. I struggle to grasp the motivation behind it. How can passion be worth all this risk and danger?”
Dana smiles sheepishly. “You’re not a passionate person yourself, are you? That is why this seems illogical to you. Well, just so you know, sometimes people trust their heart more than they trust their brains”.
Kaveh blinks a couple of times, speechless. “And what is the meaning of doing that?”
“Everyone has at least a tiny ounce of passion inside their hearts. Take yourself, for example. You strive to become an artist while not being able to see all colours. Wouldn’t it be more logical to give up and do something else with your life?”
Now that she mentions it…
Dana gets closer and pokes Kaveh in the cheek. “This is what you call passion, dummy. Was I able to get it through your thick skull?”
“Yeah, yeah, just back off already,” the boy replies, annoyed a little. Still, he definitely understands the colour red better now. This wasn’t enough for him to actually see it, but it is still a great improvement.
“It’s your turn now!” Dana shouts. The excitement and passion in her voice are undeniable. “Tell me everything you know about blue!”
-
They spend many more afternoons like this.
After their creative lessons, Kaveh has learned that the colour orange is fiery and overwhelming, and yellow represents sunlight and life. Also, pink is beautiful and has a lot in common with the taste of candyfloss. Dana’s descriptions are always very specific, and they interest Kaveh to a great extent.
As the time passed, the kids have bonded over a shared misery. They complete each other in a way two fitting puzzle pieces do. With Dana by his side, Kaveh has forgotten the feeling of incompetence.
One day, Dana comes back from her art school with a sour expression on her face. She looks as if she is about to burst into tears.
“What’s wrong?” Kaveh asks.
The girl lets out a loud sigh and quietly speaks up. “I have botched one of our main assignments. We were told to create dresses based on all colours of rainbows. I nailed the warm ones, as usual, but the cold tones… I couldn’t colour those sketches at all. They are still completely blank”.
Ouch. Kaveh knows how important this art school is to Dana. That must be hard for her to handle.
“B-but, our descriptions… Haven’t they helped you at least a little?” he asks with a shaky voice.
“They have. They really, really have helped me. But, still…” Dana looks away. “I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I created the design, did the sketching and all that stuff. And yet, I was still very unsure about the colours”.
Kaveh definitely gets her emotions. He has felt like this countless times before.
“I guess I’m just really afraid of messing up. Every colour has a unique meaning behind it. I don’t want to discard it”. Dana takes a deep breath and gives Kaveh a confident look. “That is why I won’t use cold tones until I’m sure I understand them properly!”
This girl really is something, isn’t she? Kaveh gives her a faint smile. “If you say so…”
-
Then, suddenly, Dana stopped showing up to their meetings.
At first, Kaveh wasn’t too worried. Maybe she was down with a cold or something. It was a pity that they had forgotten to exchange addresses. Kaveh would have brought her a get-better gift card and a box of oranges.
Some time passed. Kaveh was starting to freak out already. He couldn’t shake off the gross feeling deep in his got. Something was off.
And, finally, today came. The doorbell rings, and Kaveh’s mother rushes to answer it. After a minute passes, she calls Kaveh over. “This man said he wants to talk to you personally”.
Kaveh gets up from the couch and walks to the entrance. There he sees a man he has never seen before. He holds something resemblant of a notebook in his shaking hand.
“I have been looking for you, mister Kaveh,” the man says in a deep voice. “I wanted to thank you personally. For everything you have done for my daughter.”
Is he talking about Dana? “Oh! Are you Dana’s father? I actually want to know how she is doing. I hadn’t seen her in a while, so I was starting to feel a little…”
“She is dead, Kaveh.”
…
What?
“I am here to inform you about this,” the man continues. “She passed away just yesterday. The truth is, for the last few years she had been fighting cancer. Dana was a brave and fearless warrior”. The man lets out a single sob but then collects himself. “Nevertheless, the illness took her away from us”.
Kaveh is speechless. This can’t be real, right?
“However,” the man says with more confidence, “Dana had one last wish. The one that I vowed to fulfil. She wanted you to have this”.
He extends his hand. In it, there is a sketchbook.
“I am deeply sorry to dumb this bombshell on you, but you have the right to know the truth”.
Still stunned, Kaveh takes the item from him.
He opens it. Inside there are many sketches of gorgeous dresses. Some of them are grey, and others are completely colourless.
Dana’s father watches Kaveh closely. “I put a note with our address inside. If you want to, you can visit our family anytime. Any friend of Dana’s is an important person to us, too”.
After uttering these words, he nods and leaves.
-
Five hours pass after this meeting. A whole five hours and Kaveh hasn’t stopped crying at all.
He weeps on the bed in his room, holding the only memento of Dana he has. The grief, sorrow, and sadness overwhelm him to his very core. Kaveh needs to calm down as soon as possible. He knows he does because he is about to faint from exhaustion any second now.
When there are no tears left, Kaveh is finally silent. He lies like this for a while, hoping to gain some energy to get up. To do something. He doesn’t want to fall victim to despair. The dreams Kaveh has….
They cannot die. He cannot abandon them.
Dear Dana,
will you lend some of your passion to me?
Kaveh quickly gets up. He sits at the table and opens Dana’s sketchbook. He starts to colour the empty sketches with the speed of a rapidly working machine. The boy fills the pages with beautiful shades of blue, purple, and grey. This is the first time he has felt so inspired by drawing.
Finally, he is done. The sketchbook is complete.
Kaveh looks at his collaboration with Dana, feeling satisfied. This was her final wish – to fill her designs with both warm and cold tones. He is happy to help her accomplish that.
Without thinking about it too much, Kaveh turns over a page. In a second, the boy is overwhelmed.
He sees a gorgeous ball gown, coloured with passionate red tones. On the next page is a fiery orange suit, along with a sunny-bright yellow tie.
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