Leia glanced around the store. There are so many colors she has never seen outside of the store. She glances at the store owner: a man around the age of twenty she guesses. By his height, he must be grown up, but when he smiles his face turns so childish. It is a face that is full of delight and wonder, something that almost represents her emotions whenever she enters the store. She could never understand how this man could possibly be a demon. She has never seen a smile as kind as his.
To be honest, she could see the colors in this store outside quite easily. After all, this store is the Color Store: the store she can buy colors from. For some reason, everyone else can see in color besides Leia. That is why this store exists only for her. But why doesn’t she buy the colors? Leia is afraid. The only thing that Leia can use to buy the colors is not money. No, the only thing the demon accepts are memories. The fear of losing something, and never knowing what she lost terrified Leia.
However, that… the thing they call red. The autumn leaves in a painting are so beautiful. She could imagine them slowly falling from the trees, like crimson snowflakes slowly drifting down from the sky. She smiles bravely at the demon and holds asks for red.
She sees father in front of her. Her legs are trembling. Fear? No, fear is only part of it. She has been standing for hours. She can smell his breath. He was clearly drin…
“You’ve taken away my memory already?” she asks the demon, forgetting what she recalled earlier.
“Yes, and in exchange you can enjoy the beauty of the color red”, he tells her while smiling.
She happily skips outside. The next week, she finds that the whole world is so much more vibrant. It is as if apples taste sweeter, even though the only difference is that they are now red. The next week, she decides that the beauty of red was worth losing memories and comes back in order to buy blue. She smiles at the demon who smiles back again with his delightful smile. This time, she requests blue.
Her mother is crying. They are in Leia’s father’s funeral. What is this feeling she is feeling? It seems to be relief… and guilt. “If only she was never born!” Leia heard her mother scream between her wretched sobs. She felt as if her mind was torn away from her body. She is aware of her surroundings, but she feels disconnected from it. She thought that at least her mother loved her. But it wa…
“I have taken away your memory. Come back again whenever you please. Enjoy blue”, the demon says smiling at her.
After the two weeks, Leia was not scared of going back to the store and buying a new color again. She always worries about what she could possibly be losing, but every time she leaves the store the world is more beautiful. Nothing she could possibly lose is worth more than how beautiful the world is becoming. The outside world is becoming as beautiful as the worlds in the paintings shown in the store. She came again and again in order to buy more colors. And in exchange, she would lose a memory of the demon’s choice. Finally, she has bought all the colors except one. For some reason, she feels as if life is much happier. It must be because the world has become so beautiful, she tells herself as she asks for yellow-green. The demon gives a lonely frown as she buys the color.
She sees herself entering a store. Then again, and again. She sees a man of twenty two years old with a really delightful smile. Every time she leaves the store, her heart is lifted. The world becomes more beauti…
She finds herself in front of a store she has never seen before. The Color Store: May you leave here happier than before you came in it says on the sign. “Heh, that’s pretty lame”, she says before turning around and walking home.
The demon looks at her turn around. He smiles softly to no one in particular, before walking out of the store himself and taking the shutters down. Until the next time he finds such a pained soul, the store will remain closed.
