Color Blind

As a Mountain, Iniko wasn’t really sure how he came to be. He just suddenly was. It was almost as if he opened his eyes on his first day of life and the world was born.

Valleys dotted with yellow flowers and sewn with soft grass carved paths through the Land. Rivers as thin as snakes streaked between them, meandering as if they were lost. Trees of deep umber and chestnut stood sentinel to mossy boulders and fallen leaves, their branches tracing the autumn breeze. Hills of humped mounds and swaying grass watched from afar.

But above every Nature One was Iniko, who blinked, bewildered, at the sight.

His eyes darted from blue to gold to brown to green and his head swam.

He closed his eyes in protest. Too many colors! But when he opened them again, a smile lit up his face. Look at the wildflowers, bright as gold! The wind, warm and sweet as honey! The grass, keen as emerald blades. Iniko looked at the sun, basking in its amber warmth. What a beautiful day.

---

Maurice was in a bad mood. He usually was, even on a summer day as bright as this. Ever since his leaves began falling and his bark started to harden, he had been grumbling a lot. Anna was the only other Tree that wasn’t bothered by his complaining, and instead assured him of his still-present youth. Of course, that didn’t stop Maurice’s muttering, but secretly, he enjoyed Anna’s company. He could even dare say it made him feel younger. As Iniko woke from his deep slumber, he caught traces of Maurice’s bushy voice.

“Do you smell that? Goodness, it stinks!”

“I’m sure it’s the squirrel’s droppings, Maurice,” crooned a sleepy Anna. “Just go back to sleep.”

Two sniffs and a huge groan. “Oh, who am I kidding, my tree sap’s rotten! Now I’ll never smell clean again!”

“You never did,” Anna muttered under her breath, one eye open to stare questioningly at her friend.

Iniko yawned enormously, a smile creeping across his face. “Good morning, you two.”

Maurice spun around. “Ah, Iniko! How goes the day?” he said, taking a final sniff as Anna rolled both of her eyes now.

The sky was cloudless. Small animals rustled in their dens, scampering for nuts and leaves. Drew dripped from the leaves with a satisfying plunk, and the river was abuzz with fish. The Forest rattled out one big sigh and settled down again.

“The Land is at peace and all seems well,” Iniko concluded, as he felt pebbles shimmying down his side to land on the wet dirt. It tickled him and he let out a joyful laugh.

Maurice frowned, the whorls on his bark swirling; Iniko could tell he was no longer thinking about his sour-smelling sap. “Do you ever move?”

“I’m a mountain, Maurice. Mountains don’t move. They sit and watch the Land.”

“You don’t ever tire of sitting?” Anna asked with a note of curiosity. “Ever want to wiggle your branches or shake your leaves?” giving her own limbs a twitch.

“If I’m not mistaken, Trees stay in one place too.”

Suddenly, the smell of sea salt and sand blasted Iniko’s senses, and he coughed from its pungency that could only signal one thing.

“As a Wind that has traveled through the North, West, and South of the Land, I can suitably confirm the fact that Trees do not move,” Noah said, smoothly coming to a halt beside the flustered Maurice, whose leaves were shaking from the breezy arrival.

Anna’s face lit up. “Noah! It’s been far too long. How have you been?”

“Oh, your hard-working Wind of all the Land and Water has been alright,” Noah happily replied, his silver eyes agleam. “Been flying around a lot, seeing more of the Ocean and the Islands.The fish have begun swimming south now; ahh, the Ocean looks beautiful when they go!” Then his face darkened. “There’s something new in the Land. Something bad.”

At Iniko, Maurice, and Anna’s curious looks, Noah took it as a sign to continue: “Furless beasts have arrived in the North, and they’re nothing like we’ve ever seen before. They walk on two legs and sleep in places made of cow hide. They carry sticks with sharpened rock at the top and pick the roots and grass to eat. They steal from the Land and I don’t like it,” he finished grimly.

Confused, Iniko blinked several times. “What’s so bad about that?”

Noah dashed around the other Trees’ trunks, his mind racing with disbelief. “This is our Land, Iniko! These beasts cannot come and take what is ours!”

Iniko shook his head, mounds of pebbles scattering noisily. “I have seen many creatures come into being, Noah. Wolves, bears, hyenas-they have all taken part in killing the long-lived prey like deer and birds. They are a force of nature and have no less a life in this Land than we do.”

Noah scoffed, cold air flowing outward to chill Iniko’s face. “Beasts are of fur, feather, hide, or scale. Not as pale as white. They also master the orange light, Iniko, the one that burns bright and hot. No Nature One should have the power to do that.”

“If they have that power, then they are intelligent and adaptable. The Land isn’t harmed by knowledge, or else you wouldn’t be here, Noah.” The Wind shot a dark look at him, and Iniko sighed. “All I’m saying is- the Land has transformed in the many years I’ve lived. Animals were once an intrusion into the lives of plants, but now they are an inseparable part of the Land. If what you say is true, Noah, then these furless ones may well signal another age of prosperity.”

“Beware your words, Iniko,” Anna warned, now glancing towards the North. Her bark seemed to soften.

---

The sky blazed with the stars of another galaxy.

White orbs as bright as crystallized dew dazzled Iniko, as he stared longingly into the night. Velvet black muffled the sun, darkening the Land into a rich shadow. Iniko had grown much over the past years at the behest of the truly aging Maurice and Anna. He loomed far above them now, and was able to see much more of the Land, as well as the furless beasts. They had grown too, in a way, taking their animals and cow hide bundles to settle near the rivers. Their behavior fascinated Iniko; they barely slept, fashioned furry cloths that draped over their bodies, and tended to the dirt all day.

But what captivated Iniko most was the orange light.

It danced like it had no form, seeming to twist forever and ever without rest. Even in the blackest of the many nights Iniko had spent looking at the beasts, the light was always bright, always shining.

Iniko heard a loud crackle and the Forest exploded with orange light, as if the Sun were glaring right at him. He cried, the light burning his feet and melting his pebbles. He shook his head and gritted his teeth in protest, but the light was like a sharp knife, cutting into him with stingy bite. Iniko heard the Trees scream in pain and smelled blackened wood.

“No!” he yelled, as the light enveloped sky and dirt and everything was lapped up in its hot tongue. As suddenly as it came, it now left, dying down to a soft glow. Iniko gasped, the smell of smoke heavy in the air and among the Trees.

“Maurice? Anna? Are you alright?” He got two painful groans in reply.

Iniko no longer liked the orange light.

---

Noah didn’t smell like sea spray from the ocean, or wildflower from the meadows anymore.

He smelled like smoke and machinery; both a musty thickness and a metallic tang. The Wind had brought back invaluable amounts of knowledge about the beasts, which Iniko now learned were called Humans. They had changed so much.

Cities now sprawled all across the Land, their buildings puffing smog that swirled like clouds in the silver-smocked sky. Grey buildings crawling with pipes and machinery lined the harbor, where trading boats bobbed on charcoal water. The Humans now traveled by rattling boxes with wheels on the sides; a crk-crk-crk on cobblestone always pervading through the day and night. Iniko hadn’t seen much sign of the orange light, which he was glad for. He would’ve liked the Humans for that if not for what they’d done to the Forest.

“It’s everywhere, Iniko,” Noah said, spluttering with each breath. “The Trees are sick with cough, their leaves shriveling and their branches drooping. The sky’s no longer blue; the imitation clouds are always there. There are no more animals in the Land. I can’t even see where I’m going most of the time, because it’s so hazy, Iniko.” Noah shook his head. “I told you they were bad.”

Iniko thought himself into silence, while Noah bid him farewell and left towards the North. Maurice and Anna had struggled with the cough for 7 days, then passed away peacefully. He missed Maurice’s complaining and Anna’s comforting, for it had been a lonely thousand of years. His pebbles had aged grey and his head an ashy white. Iniko wished he hadn’t grown so tall, so that he couldn’t see everything bad the Humans were doing. But especially so that he couldn’t witness the Forest’s death.

---

Iniko had never felt so scared. He screwed his eyes tight, but blindness didn’t shut out the thunderous booming all around him.

Suddenly, silence. Then-

Chk chk chk chk chk! followed by a thousand Human cries and Iniko’s own whimpering.

No more, no more, please no more-

Another silence.

Iniko opened his eyes and anger rose as if the sun burned inside him.

What had remained of the Forest was utterly decimated. The Humans had swarmed around his feet, in a ground so wretchedly scarred and barren he couldn’t tell it used to be the Forest. Like ants swarming over rot, the green-clad humans ducked behind dirt walls, jumped into holes, and crawled in meter-long ruts, all the while gripping black contraptions that spat out pain. Machines droned and buzzed with rat-ta-ta’s overhead, their small chunks plunging Humans backwards with immense force. Projectiles launched and exploded, furious orange pouring out onto the land. There was no trace of Nature, no sign of life. Iniko was staring at a graveyard where the Humans were dancing on Nature’s tombs.

Suddenly, pain erupted in Iniko’s front and he cried, tearing his gaze away from the Humans to look down. A band of ten Humans, one holding a red stick that sizzled, crowded at Iniko’s feet. As he hissed in pain, the red stick soared, and for one brief moment, he glimpsed the orange light flickering. Then it spun down and burst, knocking Iniko a terrible blow that made him seethe with agony.

The Human in front waved his hand, and another ran forward with two more sticks.

BOOM! BOOM! Iniko felt an emptiness gathering beneath him as he swayed in and out of clarity.

Chk-chk-chk-chk went the black bite, drumming holes into Iniko’s thoughts. He caught a trail of orange-

BOOM! His ears churned, and rage bubbled in his chest and heated up his insides. No more, no mo-

BOOM!

Iniko didn’t know which was louder-his own screams or the rapid rat-ta-ta’s, didn’t know which was hotter- his own fury or the orange light that now licked below him.

A flash of red and orange.

NO MORE!

Gritting his teeth, Iniko yelled with all his might, and the red anger shot up from inside his chest into the sky, illuminating it to the color of blood. It rained down like crimson swords onto the Humans, sweeping them under its molten grasp. It filled the trenches and grabbed up the contraptions and drove the sky machines away. Letting out a huge breath, Iniko stopped the torrent of fury and was enveloped in a drowsy wave of black.

---

When Iniko opened his eyes in what felt like days later, he wished he’d kept them shut. The Land was completely ruined now. The red wrath had hardened into a blackened shell, covering the true Forest ground that would’ve sprouted golden tulips and jade ferns. Scrawny trees that craved for fresh air cowered beneath the ash-muffled sky. This was worse than what the Humans had brought with them. This was Iniko’s doing.

Iniko didn’t feel any pain beneath him anymore, but his chest swelled with ache and a tear slid down his rocky cheek.

He wished the Humans had never come.

Then the Land would still be alive.