麻豆社

By Isabel C

Walking down the street, the people were all slumped, heads were down low, shoulders dipped. People bumped into each other, they didn't look up, too busy scrolling on their phones.

That's the way it was, Ava noticed that every single person produced grey, dark blue and dull shades. There were so many dark and sad news stories on the TV, that the colours were being soaked away like rain washing the streets clean.

She turned to look at her family, crowded round a cosy table on the roof terrace of a pub. Her father glowed red, her mother bright green, her brother bright purple... We are a happy family she thought. Ava looked down to her own arms, hands, and feet. A yellow glow shone out. It was then she realised that by loving, laughing and being together they stayed happy and bright.

She looked again down to the street and the people, she had to do something. She had to change the colours she saw and brighten the people.

She walked back to where her family sat, she talked to them about how she felt about what she has seen, then she had an idea, she should use her happiness and laughter to make others glow the colours of the rainbow... but ... How?

Ava looked around ... she saw a lady sat alone, blue, scrolling on her phone. She walked over and plucked up the courage to ask her a question ...

"What do you call a dog that can do magic?"

The lady stopped scrolling and looked up at Ava. "I don't know, what do you call a dog that can do magic?"

Ava was chuffed that she had the lady's attention... "A Labra-cadabra-dor" she grinned.

A small dint in the lady's cheek spread to the other side, the corners of her mouth stretched up to her face and she smiled a smile every bit as big as ava's.

Ava looked down, the lady's feet were changing from blue to green... She had to keep going!

"What goes black white black white black white?"

The lady's smile grew "I don't know, what goes black white, black white, black white?"

"A penguin rolling down a hill!" Ava blurted out.

Laughter echoed over the roof terrace as the lady dropped her phone and clutched her tummy. A green glow grew and grew and the lady started to sparkle a lovely lime green colour. She laughed and laughed, and Ava couldn't help laughing with her.

This was great! This was exactly the reaction Ava wanted. But this was one lady on a roof terrace ... there were people on the street that needed her jokes too.

She ran to the bar and found a megaphone and shouted jokes down to the street, one after the other, at first, no one listened, then one by one she saw shoulders shake, people slowing, people looking up, people changing... a glow of rainbow colours raised from the street below.

Ava was happy.