A Colorless World
Cast:
Amami Hakuya - age 19
March, 2017
The young man lives in a dimly-lit room. Whether it is day or night, the single window faces into a narrow alley that admits little natural light. In any case, the window is screened with a gray curtain. A ring-shaped bulb is mounted on the ceiling, but is turned off. The room is illuminated by a computer screen.
His black uniform jacket appears faded in the poor light. It is crumpled on the floor and missing a button, but that is of no consequence. A small tube containing the young man's diploma has been dropped on top of the jacket with as much care.
There is a small wastebasket at the base of the desk, which is filled with papers. Some graded papers, some study materials, some notes. A couple of letters. Nothing in the trash can be read in this light, but the letter on top is from a college. The young man's name is mentioned. He is thanked for submitting his application. The letter goes on to explain that there have been an excess of qualified applicants for this year's admissions. It is nothing the young man did not already know; when the passing exam numbers were posted, his was not among them.
There is a knock at the door.
"Hakuya? Won't you come out for dinner?"
The young man does not deign to answer. He is not hungry. By the light of his computer screen, his pale skin and silvery hair appear drained of color that he lacked from the beginning. In each direction, the walls have been stripped of decorations and appear the same and his body: Colorless parts of a colorless world.
As he scrolls the screen, an advertisement appears. The image is a man in a dark suit, with flowing black hair. He has his hand on the head of a large black dog.
"Has the entire world turned against you?" The young man reads. "It has."
After he clicks on the ad, he is invited to register the name under which he will fight back against the world. The young man enters an alias.
E-L-Y-S-I-O.