September 2025: Beige – Jared Kranz
‘What about beige?’ He asked.
His words were toneless and flat but then they both knew they would settle on whatever worked.
For two years, this room had sat untouched. The door closed, a forgotten memory in a house devoid of the love and laughter it deserved. Then today he had found her, door open, staring into the room. It was time.
It would be sad, he thought. The room had been a passion project for them. He remembered sanding back the walls together, grabbing her by the waist as they worked, swinging her around. A silhouette of dust had settled around her safety goggles. Removing them, he had traced a line around her eyes, cleaning her soft face. Then he had slowly pulled her mask down and their kiss had lingered, one full of hopes and dreams of the future.
They had painted the walls bright pink, obviously, and added a rainbow from that ran from the window and across two walls. One of their friends, an artist, had painted an array of cartoonish animals in a mural opposite. Of all the things to lose, it would be a shame to paint over such fine art work. But the only thing that hurt more than painting over the past was living it from day to day.
Today, when he had noticed her standing there he had known. Without a word he had brushed past her, reached up and detached the array of angels and fairies that danced in circles above them. It was then he had asked the question.
When she didn't answer, he put a hand on her upper arm. She didn't feel it, she rarely ever did. But she also knew it was time for an answer.
‘Yeah.’ She replied, her eyes following the rainbow back to where its colours burst from the window. ‘Yes, beige will do.’
Jared Kranz
Right Left Write’s September prompt was Loaded Question. New prompts are announced monthly in QWC’s Pen & Pixel email newsletter.
Find out more about Right Left Write at www.queenslandwriters.org.au/rightleftwrite.
Right Left Write’s September prompt was Loaded Question.