FICTION | LIFE

I Reach for You, Colour Me Blue

I saw a lorry, coming straight for me, onto the pavement, out of control, headlights on full, horn honking. Momentarily, fear gripped my very core…

I first noticed I could see auras on the last Saturday in October. The clocks were going back and I was joking with my flat-mate about having an added hour to party.

“Yeah Dave, and maybe the extra time will mean you get to score for a change.”

Jack glanced over his shoulder to check if he’d managed to rouse me. I didn’t flinch. He was right, my track record with the ladies was dreadful. Friends said I was good-looking but that didn’t stop my shyness. Women simply overwhelmed me.

At the party, to my surprise, everyone had a coloured glow around them. I stared at the beauty of this phenomenon, mesmerised. People were radiating violets, red, orange, greens and blues. Most with a mixture of colours. I was dumbfounded, never having seen such a thing before. Perhaps I’d eaten or drunk a hallucinogenic? The hostess was a vegan and the buffet consisted of many strange looking vegetables — what else could it be? I felt stoned, but had only drunk two beers. I wondered if anyone else could see the beautiful sheens people emit?

I continued wandering around in a kind of daze. Glancing at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I could see my colours too. Wow! Very light brown with tints of blue thrown in.

The next day I slept in late as it was a Sunday. I waited until Jack went out before I switched on my laptop and tentatively looked into what the hell may have happened to me the previous evening. I learned our colour halos are called auras. Apparently, the hues indicate personality and reveal what drives an individual. The ability to see them is not common and often comes with clairvoyant traits. Not always, obviously, as most of the time, I don’t know what is happening right now let alone in the future. According to my research, the colours I gave off depicted a sensitive and emotional person. Yes, that was me.

Jack walked in, a shiny red beacon leading the way. Same as last night. Now I understood why he was always such a hit with everyone. A popular dude. His bright demeanour radiated confidence.

Then one day, a few weeks later, I got up and found my aura was drastically different. Small variations were normal but it had faded and was almost non-existent, shining only slightly, the colour of glass. This scared me somewhat. It felt wrong, spooky even. I had barely got to grips with the fact I could see them at all, and now this new discovery. Why had it changed?

I suggested to Jack that we go into town for a drink — to take my mind off things. We had a game of pool and a laugh. Being a gooseberry, I left him in the Dive Bar chatting to a blonde and awkwardly slunk off to catch the bus home.

Just as I was about to turn a corner I saw a lorry, coming straight for me, onto the pavement, out of control, headlights on full, horn honking. Momentarily, fear gripped my very core and I thought my number was up when a hand grabbed my arm and wrestled me back into a hedge. I fell through the foliage and landed on the grass next to my saviour. The lorry thundered into a wall a little further down the road.

I sat up shaking my head.

“Geez. What just happened?” I turned to see a woman pulling herself up from the ground.

“I was behind you and… well… in the right place at the right time.”

I recognised her from the bar because she had looked a little strange to me. She didn’t have any glow at all around her body. Very unusual.

“My flat is just around the corner?” she continued. “We could both probably do with a brandy. I’m Lottie by the way.”

We passed the lorry. It had a blowout. The driver seemed OK. Just looking at it made my heart quicken and my breathing shallow. What a near miss. I could not believe my luck. Lottie had been there to save me — a guardian angel. I had an overwhelming need to stay close to her, so was happy to be invited to her home.

The flat was warm and cosy. We sat sipping our drinks and chatted. What had happened out on the road made it seem as if we knew each other well. Intimate from the start. She must have been about fifty, at least twenty years older than me. Her long wavy hair was grey but well-kept. As she spoke, a typical BBC accent, I began to get aroused. Her nipples were protruding through the silk blouse, and the skin around her neckline became rosy. Everything seemed magnified, right down to her colours. For some reason now they had become visible and were literally illuminating the moment.

Moving from my seat, I joined her on the sofa. Had she noticed the bulge in my jeans? Our eyes locked and her generous mouth moved to meet mine. Any uncertainty vanished. I had never wanted someone so badly, buttressed by knowing she felt the same way.

The head-on with the lorry and this mature woman’s attention met in my mind. All at once I felt glad to be alive, unabashed and confident, assertive for the first time in my life.

I grabbed the just in case condom from my jacket pocket. Lottie was already leaning over the sofa cushions. Kneeling behind, I lifted her skirt to be greeted by lacy thrills. My eyes revelled at the sight. Slowly and deliberately, I fucked her. Wanting to savour every moment.

After, as I checked myself in the mirror, I noticed I had no colour at all. In sharp contrast to Lottie, who was still glowing brightly. She spotted my confused stare and smiled.

“Greens, aren’t they?”

“What? You can see them as well? Why is it just us who see them?”

I had so many questions.

She began to explain. “You’ve probably had a similar experience to me. I first saw them a month before… well, before I… nearly died.”

“Hang on,” I interrupted. “So you had a near miss too?”

“Listen, it’s important. The day before I’d been rescued, my colour changed to crystal, just like yours. It happens for a reason. This way we can be identified and hopefully saved from death. I followed you from the bar because your aura showed me you were running short of time. It’s what we have to do.”

“We? But how do you know this stuff?”

“I was told by the man who saved me. Karma dictates, a good deed needs passing on.”

“Right. So now I must try to help someone because you kept me alive? But why has my light gone while yours has returned?”

“I can’t actually see them now,” Lottie explained. “I don’t need to since my job is done, I saved you. Yours will stay blank until you do the same. Life for you will feel as if it is on hold. Then, I assure you, once you help another stay alive, the experience will make you want to grab life by the horns and shake it up.” She laughed.

Getting up, she hugged me. I kissed her lightly, saying I’d had an amazing evening.

When she saw me bite my bottom lip, feeling a little lost, she stared intently into my eyes and said, “It will be okay. Forget about me. Get out there and do what has to be done.”

The following morning, I slept through the alarm. I called in and feigned a headache — the computer department could do without me for one day. Walking to the shops, I mulled over the conversation with Lottie and reminded myself it didn’t matter that I wasn’t glowing. Most wouldn’t know anyhow — they don’t need to.

In the supermarket, all manner of different colours were throbbing in the isles. Amethyst and emerald mingled as a young couple embraced in the frozen food aisle.

How on earth would I ever find someone who needed saving?

People seemed to notice me even less than before. At work or out with Jack, I had to practically interrupt colleagues and friends to get any attention. Insignificant in all areas of my life. Lottie was right, it felt as if I was constantly in a halfway place. I looked back on the night with her and longed for the feeling I’d had when we were making out — unafraid of life.

A few more weeks passed and the winter weather turned for the worse — snow. Everywhere I looked I saw coloured lights or neon adverts, and the long dark nights meant the auras were brighter and more captivating than ever. I was overstimulated and longed for a break.

With that in mind one Friday evening I finished work early to catch a train to Norwich and spend the weekend with my parents. Glad to be getting out of the incandescent hustle and bustle of London. The 16:32 arrived ahead of schedule and stopped, ready for boarding. As the passengers walked towards the train, some of their hues began to fade in colour, their glows becoming translucent — just as mine had that fateful day. I was bemused for a moment before realising this was exactly the state I had been waiting to find, to pass the good deed on. However, I’d expected to be dealing with only one.

I had to act fast. There was more than likely a problem with the train which would mean disaster for these passengers. I glanced to my right at a gorgeous young woman, her vividness faded in front of my eyes from orange to clear. She nodded at me knowingly — I was one of her customers. She worked in the bank. Normally I would never have found the guts to approach her, now it was the only option. But how to explain what had to happen?

Putting my hand on her shoulder, I spoke slowly and clearly as if my life depended on it.

“Hi. This is going to sound strange, but please believe me. I need your help. I know this train is in some kind of trouble. It is due to leave in 5 minutes. We have to keep the others from getting on.”

She went to speak. I surprised myself by stopping her.

“Don’t waste time. You try and delay them and I’ll speak to the guard!”

She appeared to be looking at my form, my shape. I guessed she was wondering why I had no aura, as I had with Lottie.

“Please,” I implored.

“Okay… I can tell something is not quite right. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”

She was certainly resourceful. Explaining to people the train was about to be cleaned before leaving the station and they needed to wait.

I sprinted up to the front carriage and shouted for the guard, not knowing what I was going to say until my mouth opened.

“My father’s collapsed. I think it’s a heart attack. He’s on the train. Can we please wait until I get him medical attention?”

My voice was panicked anyway, and that did the trick. Thankfully, by the time my lie was revealed, the maintenance crew had discovered a fault on the line, just outside the station. The track had split in the extreme cold and our train would have derailed.

Herded into a waiting room while staff sorted alternative transport for us, I sat down with the girl from the bank. I was on edge, knowing I needed to speak to the ones I had saved. Their different shades had now completely vanished. They sensed this and were drawn to our table. Of course, they gravitated towards me as I had with Lottie. I told them all why they possessed the ability to see auras and what they had to do next before moving on with their own lives. Only when I was sure they understood, I got up to leave. The girl sitting with me was going home.

“It’s all been a bit surreal. Will you come with me?” She requested.

“Sure,” I said. Glad, but not surprised.

She lived a few miles out of town so we hopped on a local train. We had the carriage to ourselves.

Our eyes locked.

“How long until the next station,” I asked, knowing our minds were attuned.

“That’s my stop. It usually takes about fifteen minutes…”

I am unsure who moved first. It was a freezing evening but there was a little heat in the carriage. Once again my senses were heightened, I could smell her perfume — a mixture of vanilla and musk. All at once she was on my lap and as if in a dream, we found ourselves moving in time, gradually thrusting faster to the rhythm of the train. Moaning, she ground down harder. It was all I could do to stop myself coming. But I did. This was not about me, but rather her realising today was not going to be the last.

When the train slowed at the station, we smoothed our clothes and jumped from the carriage hand in hand.

It was only then we introduced ourselves.

“I’m Kate.”

“It’s been a pleasure. I’m Dave.” Both of us smiled and marvelled at this latest twist of fate.

We woke up the next morning entwined. Just as Lottie had warned I’d lost the ability to see auras, although Kate insisted my blues were shining through strongly. The extraordinary events of the last few months were playing through my mind like a movie. At the start, I had been the victim. Now as the credits rolled I had morphed into the hero. All I wanted to do was snatch the leading lady up into my arms and embark on our own adventure. But instead, knowing she needed more time, I stifled the urge and got up to leave.

Immediately, she asked me to stay. I hugged her and even though it was the hardest thing I’d ever done, with my hands cupping her face I explained,

“Remember, a good deed needs passing on. Go save a life. Then, if you still want me… I will be waiting.”

'I Reach for You, Colour Me Blue' is a May More original Tale.

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