Changes in America began in 2016. A lot has changed since then.

Darcy walks around, and she notices the void of color. When she was younger people were still aloud to wear color to express themselves. You would see splashes of pink, red, blue in the dark, colorless void that society was today. Slowly the colors started fading like a picture left out in the rain. And soon all the beauty was sucked out of the lives of the people residing in this country.

she misses color.

Darcy looks into the dark black eyes of her peers. Their are are scary and cold. She hates there are eyes like tiny lagoons in hollow faces. Everyone sports black hair like the feathers of a raven. She can’t stand the lack of color that is why she gets up early to watch the sunrise. The colors she see are beautiful and alive. When she watches the sunrise she want to fly in the sky with the sun and the clouds.

This is what she was doing when she saw John. He was a stranger standing in the market square long before anyone should even be up and about. He was wearing blue jeans, a white dress shirt, and a brown jacket. His hair was bleached except for in spots he must’ve missed which were still as black as ebony. What caught her eyes was a red scarf wrapped around his neck. She found that she was curious. What was he doing? What colors were his eyes?

She went downstairs. She walked up to him, and she looked deeply into his beautiful blue eyes. She had forgotten blue... the skies were so smog filled they were gray during the day and black at night.

Darcy was confused. She was curious, scared, and a little mad at this man. She didn’t know what to say. There world wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t the nicest place. Hell it wasn’t nice at all, but it was safe. Safe until you broke the rules that is. And by standing here with this... this squirrel, she was putting herself in danger.

“What do you want?” He said.

“Wa-why are you breaking the rules?” I practically mumbled.

“Because the rules are pointless.” He stated.

“But why would you put yourself in danger.”

Darcy knew this boy. His name was John, and he went to school with her. She had seen him at the market with his sister. She used to have play dates with him and other kids. He shared his lunch with her once when she had forgotten her’s. He had given her a sympathetic look when the girls at school had picked on her.

John was not a close friend. He was more of an apprentice, but the fact that she knew him, and he was probably going to die fighting for a cause she believed in made him an ally in her dreams. Her dreams for a better, happy world. A world where flowers bloomed. A place where colors were looked at with awe instead of banned. She really didn’t know why colors were banned. Colors helped express feelings. Colors made people different. Darcy could still remember mood rings which changed color depending on the emotion you had.

“Because no one else will stand up to them. No one else will say no. Everyone is too scared.” The boy looked like he was gonna cry. “Yesterday they killed my mum downtown. You wanna know why.”

Darcy already knew. It was mandatory for everyone who was not sick or dying to go to the executions. But her throat was dry, and she couldn’t say a word.

She remembered yesterday clearly. The blood on the street. The little girl who had sobbed and thrown herself at her mother trying to keep the government officials from taking her mother’s body. The scared look on everyone’s faces. She remembered... she wanted so badly to forget... The tears built up in her eyes. She knew life wasn’t fair... but would she give up her safety for freedom? Give up her security for a short lived bit of happiness.

“Because she didn’t wanna cover up her silver hairs anymore. She thought the dyes were intoxicating. So she just refused to dye her hair. She denied them. She tried to assert her opinion. Sure they gave her a chance to dye her hair black. Sure she still denied them. But she was just trying to be free, and they killed her...” His voice cracked.

He continued. “ I had to go to her execution... my little sister had to go. People are afraid. People want to be free. But everyone is too scared. I was one of those people. But now I am broken. I have nothing to lose, just stuff to gain. I wanna rebel against these government. I want my sister to grow up in a world more colorful than a rainbow.”

Darcy realized she would give up her safety. She wanted color back. She had realized while John was talking that this man was no lunatic. John like everyone else lately was sick of rules and restrictions.

In the spur of the moment the girl found herself with her arms around the boy and his arms around her. They were in a comforting embrace. Then they were sharing a kiss. He pulled away blushing. It was an impulsive moment perfect for the impulsive day.

“I’m John....”

“I’ll stand by you, John. I’m Darcy by the way. I was scared too, but now I’m not.”

John put his red scarf around Darcy’s neck. Darcy hadn’t put on her contacts that morning, and her eyes shone a deep, chocolate brown.

“Red looks nice on you, Darcy.”

Darcy blushed.

“Your beautiful” John said. “Be proud.”

Darcy and John marched up and down the streets of America. They kissed. They laughed. They danced. They sang. Darcy giggled as John gave her a piggyback ride, and her scarf flew in the wind. They did all of these cheerful things until they were shot. Their crimson blood spilled on the gray streets.

The officials had tried to stop them, but Darcy and John ignored them. Every Time the officials voices got louder they sang louder and louder and louder.

“Ma’am, Sir, please stop this nonsense.”

Louder.

“Please stop singing and listen to us.”

and louder.
A few people joined their singing. Some of the people like Darcy stopped being afraid and grabbed colorful articles of clothing they had kept hidden in their homes. Those people that kept going against the government officials and police also got shot down.