The First Sunset
by Katy Cartee
One morning, Buddy Blue was taking his daily jog
around Rainbow Land. Every few yards, he would throw another shiny blue Star
Sprinkle up into the sky - turning it from the black of night, to the
brilliant blue of the day. His circular route finally brought him back to the
Color Castle, where he took a moment to stop and gaze at his handiwork. He
smiled at the sight of his favorite color drenching the entire sky. Once he
was satisfied with what he saw, he headed inside to make one of his famous
health shakes.
Elsewhere in the Color Castle, Rainbow Brite, Lala
Orange, Canary Yellow, Patty O'Green, Indigo, Shy Violet and Tickled Pink were
waking up from the slumber party they'd had in Rainbow's room the night
before. Tickled Pink, a chipper morning person, jumped up and walked quickly
to the window. She peered out at the electric blue sky and grinned. "Wow,
looks like Buddy had a good jog this morning! I've never seen the sky so
blue!" Patty O'Green buried her face in her pillow, so the others
wouldn't see her blush. She was always secretly proud of how serious Buddy was
about his work. One by one, the girls got up and joined Pink at the window.
Patty was the last to rise.
They all stood in silence for a moment, letting
their eyes soak in the beauty. Then Lala remarked, "You know, i don't
have anything against Buddy, but why should he have all the fun with the sky?
He has the largest canvas of all of us on which to color! Don't you think it'd
look divine with a hint of orange here and there?" Murmurs of agreement
were whispered by the others.
"And maybe a little yellow!" said
Canary.
"Some indigo too!" said Indigo.
"It would also need some violet to keep the
colors balanced," added Violet.
"And don't forget about pretty pink!"
chirped Tickled Pink.
Patty scowled at the others. "Well you can
forget about green! I think Buddy does a great job all by himself!"
Rainbow jumped in to prevent a fight, "You're
right Patty. Buddy does do a great job already and we don't want to take that
away from him - he enjoys it too much. But i also agree with the others, that
the sky would look beautiful with some more colors added to it! Perhaps we can
all come to a comprimise." Everyone listened quietly. "How about we
let Buddy do his job just like normal, but for a few minutes each evening
(before Moonglo takes over), you can all add your own colors to the sky. What
do you think?"
They all cheered with joy...that is, all except
Patty. She relaxed her scowl and said, "I do agree that it's a good idea.
But i still don't want to participate. I'll keep my reasons to myself."
Rainbow gave her an understanding hug. She knew Patty would never do anything
to possibly upset Buddy.
"Well!" exclaimed Rainbow. "I'll go
make sure it's ok with Buddy. But if he has no objections, let's all meet at 6
o'clock this evening in front of the Color Castle. And bring lots of Star
Sprinkles!" she said with a smile.
They all shouted with glee and excitedly ran
downstairs to eat breakfast.
Rainbow stopped by Buddy's room on the way down,
to seek his permission. She knocked on the door and he opened it, holding his
half-drunken health shake in his hand. He smiled and exclaimed, "Good
morning Rainbow!"
"Yes, it is a good morning Buddy - thanks to
the beautiful blue sky i awoke to!"
Buddy blushed slightly, "Ah, it was nothin."
"You always do a great job Buddy. Everyone
appreciates your work. You know that don't you?" she asked with a smile.
"Yeah, i know. But it's not work to me - it's
just fun!" he replied, grinning.
"I'm glad to hear it!" Rainbow said.
"I just came to let you know that some of the girls have a little
surprise in store for you this evening. And if you like it, they might want to
do it every evening. Just look up at 6 o'clock tonight, wherever you are, and
let me know what you think."
Buddy looked a little confused, but had confidence
that Rainbow knew what she was doing. So he replied, "Ok Rainbow, i'll
look forward to it."
With that, she went downstairs to prepare for her
day. Twink brought her some Star Sprinkles and Starlight was waiting for her
right outside the front door. She formed a rainbow and waved to her friends
below as the trio took off for Earth.
The day went by quickly for the girls. They were
so excited. They talked about the coming event all day long!
At 5:45 that evening, Patty and Buddy were taking
a walk through Green Grange. She wanted to show him the new batch of clovers
that had recently grown there. They were determined to find one with four
leaves.
Back at the Color Castle, Red Butler was helping
the girls sort out a pile of Star Sprinkles he had brought them at their
request. "Will ya'll please tell me what these are for?" asked Red
indignantly.
"We can't Red, it's a secret!" responded
Tickled Pink.
"Oh blah...girls and their secrets," he
sighed.
The girls giggled at his frustration. Finally they
saw Rainbow returning from Earth, and they knew it was time. They smiled at
each other with anticipation.
"Hey, Rainbow!" shouted Lala Orange with
a smile.
"Hi everybody!" replied Rainbow, when
she reached the ground. "Are you all ready to go?"
"You bet!" exclaimed Canary Yellow.
"Alright! Everyone grab some Star Sprinkles
and gather around me. On the count of three, throw the crystals up into the
sky. I'll direct a special beam to shoot them up towards the sun."
Rainbow held a red Star Sprinkle to the star on
her Color Belt. It sparkled and then turned into an orb of light, resting in
her hand. "Ok! 1...2...3!"
The girls threw their Star Sprinkles as high as
they could. Rainbow blew on the orb, sending a brilliant red beam straight
towards the sun - pulling the Star Sprinkles along behind it! When the beam
hit, it turned the sun to a reddish color, while spreading the other colors -
orange, yellow, indigo, violet and pink - all throughout the sky. Some colors
were reflecting off of clouds, while others were shining as long horizontal
lines. It was a spectacular sight!
The girls cheered and smiled as they stared in
awe. Twink felt so happy that he hugged Starlite around the neck. A single
tear of joy ran down Rainbow's cheek. And Red Butler was speechless, for once.
Over in the Green Grange, Patty and Buddy were
staring up in astonishment. "Wow!" said Buddy. "I guess that
was the surprise that Rainbow was telling me about this morning! It's
gorgeous! But hey Patty, why isn't there any green up there?"
Patty looked down at the ground. "I just
thought you did a great job on the sky already...so i didn't think it needed
altering. And...well...I thought it might upset you...and i didn't want to do
anything to make you mad."
Buddy smiled at his friend. "Patty, I don't
think you could ever make me mad. Even with all your jokes and pranks, i've
never even come close to getting upset with you. But thank you for thinking
about my feelings like that. It means a lot." He picked her chin up with
his hand and then gave her a reassuring hug.
Patty smiled, "Thanks Buddy."
They looked up at the sky again, watching the
colors slowly change and fade. Patty smiled contently and soaked it all in.
She would never forget this - her first sunset.
