Taksa never liked mornings, for to him, they always brought suffering. When vehicle horns began to blare, kitchen utensils clattered, and people started raising their voices to demand attention, Taksa pressed his pillow tightly against his ears. Not a single sound must get through! Never!
Just like this morning, the umpteenth ten thousandth morning of his life. The dingy pillow, its shape and color long indistinguishable, seemed permanently affixed to his head. The room's curtains were drawn tight, making it impossible for anyone inside to tell if it was day or night. Morning was his arch-nemesis; sunlight and the sounds of people beginning their day had long been a virus to which he was allergic. Taksa was like a vampire, though he wasn't. He didn't drink blood, but his aversion to sunlight certainly made him somewhat vampiric.
Taksa stirred reluctantly, his dingy pillow not budging an inch. Several mites and bed bugs migrated from the sheet to the pillow. Taksa's scrawny body remained sprawled on the musty bed that had been his for years. The condition of his mattress and sheets was no different from his pillow's: dingy, smelly, and repulsive. No one else would choose these items as their sleeping companions, except Taksa. The clock ticked on, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, then half a day passed, then three-quarters of a day, and Taksa's body hadn't moved an inch from its original spot. Until finally, the busy sounds of people slowly faded, replaced by the chirping of crickets and the mournful barking of dogs in the streets. It was then that a soft growl was heard from behind the pillow, "hrrr...". Mites and bed bugs jumped back, migrating from the pillow to the sheet, as the pillow's owner had stopped snoring.
"Finally, night has come; finally, what I despise is gone. My energy is restored, and I am once again the Almighty Emperor, with everything back in my grasp!"
Taksa flung off the foul-smelling sheet that was wrapped around his body and pushed away all the objects beside him. His face registered disgust, as if he had forgotten that these were the very things he had been clutching. Mites and bed bugs scattered, searching for piles of decaying kapok to hide in, though it was unlikely Taksa could see them anyway.
"This is my day, this is me, about to begin..." he hissed, the same hiss as on previous nights. He then opened the door and welcomed the night he had been waiting for.
***
"Squeak... squeak.. squeak..."
Taksa swung harder, making the sound of the rusty chain's friction grow louder. His body swayed back and forth, his feet occasionally kicking the sand as they touched the ground. The swing pole trembled slightly under his heavier weight. In that park, Taksa was alone. The long-broken park lights, the deserted streets, and the absence of noisy sounds from people busily going about their day, made him feel peaceful and comfortable. Only the faint, alternating sounds of nocturnal animals could be heard.
"Mama, why aren't you beautiful anymore?"
"Papa, where's your mustache?"
"Why is the mirror cracked? Why are the lights off?"
Taksa swung harder, tears now streaming down his face, though his cheeks were numb to their fall. He kept swinging, trying to banish all the sounds replaying in his memory.
"Look, my painting got the highest grade in class! I love its purple color, I love purple!"
"Nindy, even though purple is a melancholic color, it's the rarest color found in nature! That's why I love purple!"
"Nooooo!!!!!!" Taksa fell from the swing and knelt in the sand. His tears were no longer important, for his heart had shattered, replaced by immense pain and regret. He sobbed for quite a while, just like on previous nights when he spent half the night alone in this park. Suddenly, someone touched his shoulder from behind.
"Are you crying?" Taksa quickly wiped his eyes and stood up. His knees were covered in sand.
A beautiful girl his age stood before him, tilting her head in confusion. Then her smile bloomed, and her eyes sparkled,
"Thank goodness, I thought it wasn't a human. Phew, I got goosebumps and was scared. Hey, what are you doing in this park alone? Let me introduce myself, I'm Upi, a new resident in this complex. Look, my house is right over there. I thought it was too noisy at home because my parents invited their friends over to our new house, so I decided to take a walk in this park."
Taksa turned his face away, greatly disturbed by the sudden appearance of the unknown girl. He quickly turned to leave the park but suddenly fell, tripping over something.
"Heeey, are you okay?? Oh, I'm sorry, you must have tripped over my cane!"
Taksa gasped. A cane? So... What was her name again? Upi?
"You... You... You, you also... can't see, umm, Upi?" Upi was silent for a moment, then her smile bloomed. She felt the air in front of her and found Taksa's shoulder. Warmly, she helped Taksa stand up and move to the side, then they sat together on the bench.
"Even though I can't see the morning sun, God replaces it with many things that signal its arrival. I love hearing Mom open my bedroom window in the morning, then hearing the splash of water when Dad showers, or smelling Mom's cooking as she makes breakfast. Sounds, scents, and the shapes of things—that's enough to introduce me to a beautiful life..."
Taksa mumbled. Upi was so perceptive that she knew what Taksa had been crying about earlier.
"I haven't been able to see since I was a toddler, Taksa. I have Juvenile Cataracts. My eyes were normal at birth, but then gradually worsened as I grew older. But even now, at eighteen, I've never felt lacking in anything. God replaces my loss justly, and His love grows ever more abundant."
Taksa fell silent. He himself had lost his sight a year ago due to a motorcycle accident that severely damaged his retina, leaving him only able to perceive dense darkness. It was also a year ago that he began to hate mornings, despising the sounds that signaled morning's arrival and people starting their activities. His eyesight was shattered, but his mental and emotional state was even more so. The same applied to his parents, who could no longer connect with their own child as they once did.
Taksa changed; he became temperamental, spending his entire day cooped up in his stuffy room. He only came out at night, sitting for hours on the park swing, crying over his fate. But just now, the girl he had just met said that God replaces loss justly and perfectly. Taksa had once enjoyed the visuals God had provided for him; Taksa had seen his beautiful mother, his father's thick mustache, and the graceful face of Nindy, the girl he admired. He also had a favorite color, purple. Did Upi also have a favorite color like him? Did Upi know the color purple?
"I am a skilled imaginator, Taksa... I can imagine things in my mind more vividly than they are actually depicted. You know, I am the author of a best-selling novel tetralogy; have you heard of the novel titled 'Me and Purple'?"
Taksa was startled. Me and Purple? That was the first novel tetralogy written in Braille, then also transcribed into the alphabet, and already translated into various languages!
"Tomorrow I will lend you those books. Oh yes, can you read Braille?"
Taksa nodded,
"Quite fluently, for now..."
Upi smiled widely and radiantly, her eyes sparkling even though the entire surface of her irises was gray.
"Great! Even though I'm not a motivator, I am a skilled imaginator who will share my beautiful world with anyone standing in a dark corner like me. Hehe, sorry, I always refer to people like us that way. You know, people like us always have greater imaginations than others! Because God always replaces loss justly and perfectly! We only lost the light, but we have a lantern!"
Taksa remained silent for a long time; all he could do was listen. He had only uttered five words to Upi about himself. Taksa felt his heart; all of Upi's words replayed in his mind.
"Upi... why is it titled 'Me and Purple'? Do you know the color purple? Sorry..."
Upi smiled,
"Because my name is Violet, which means purple, right? And Mom said, Violet is a beautiful and unique color... but to make it easier, people call me Upi..."
Again Taksa was startled; suddenly, his imagination depicted a beautiful Violet in a purple dress, his favorite color. Then everything became mixed up and burst into bright sparks, like fireworks.
The park lights remained broken, but Taksa had found his purple to light his lantern.