Billy was always my favorite character in the Afterlands questline, especially when you think of all the possible stories that could come from an artist full of imagination surrounded by white. It's why I wanted to write at least one story about him. Hope you guys enjoy!

Paper, toys, houses, people, it didn't matter what. Anything under Billy's watch that wasn't colored would soon be colored. Sometimes it got him in a lot of trouble with the other kids, but none could ever say his added color ever made anything less pretty. Still, Billy could always feel a small sense of yearning hidden in the corner of his heart. It was a feeling that gradually grew over time as he continued living in the land of innocence. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the company of his fellow friends, or that he didn't like the paper canvas that always accompanied him, but he always felt like something greater awaited him. A different kind of canvas.

But how could he sate this ever-growing desire? The land of innocence was all he ever knew, and how could he tell this to his friends? Could they ever understand his desire to go to the lands beyond, or was he resigned to a life of complacency in this small world?

It wasn't until the mysterious adventurer came that he realized he had found the answer to all his questions. He couldn't believe his ears when the adventurer spoke about it for the first time.

A land without color?

Had he finally found his true canvas?

It was just too good to be true. Nevertheless, upon crossing the rainbow bridge he had drawn (one of his finest works) Billy finally saw it with his own eyes. The snow, the trees…

The people!

The souls approached him slowly, their expressions tame, but curious. Almost as if their emotion was tied to their color or lack thereof.

"A boy with color…"

"Just like the adventurer…"

"Could he…give us color too?"

"Hiya, I'm Billy!" the little boy waved.

The little boy's loud voice startled the souls, unfamiliar to anything but solitude. Still, their past experiences with the adventurer piqued their interest, and with Billy the curiosity got the better of them, urging them to come closer.

An elderly man then made his way over to Billy, ensuring none came too close.

"Now now, everyone, zere is plenty of times to ask questions, but first we must ensure zhe little one feels comfortable."

He introduced himself as Adler, and was a bit more expressive than the rest. At their first meeting, Billy immediately noticed something different about Adler. While he was covered in white like everyone else, he was far more expressive and animated, and Billy could practically see color emanating from his soul. Struck with inspiration, Billy asked Adler to hold still and took a quick look at his new canvas before filling him with color. Red for his shirt, blue for his overalls, brown for his hat, apricot for his skin, and gray for his hair. The souls let out an audible gasp almost as if they were witnessing magic.

"Amazing…"

"Adler has been colored again…"

"Could I…be like that too?"

Adler could only look at himself in disbelief as he found his color again and muttered a quiet "thank you" in gratitude to the young boy.

Billy smiled, admiring his handiwork as he turned to the souls and raised his paintbrush in triumph.

"Anyone who wants to be colored, please line up here!" the little boy exclaimed, drawing a line on the snow. "And don't you worry, there's plenty enough for all of you!"

And just like that numerous souls found themselves in a single file line, eager to live life with a new perspective.

Adler could only watch as Billy gave color to everything around him. The snow became green, the people began turning red, blue and yellow. Just as the people were colored, so were the surroundings, each given a new form of life from the color imbued onto them. Snow began to smell like grass and herbs and the autumn colored trees began to smell like wood.

It was like magic.

Eager to feed his hungry imagination, Billy zoomed all over the land painting all he could see. With the amount of paint containers the adventurer supplied him with, it would be several human lifetimes before he ran out. Occasionally his eyes would meet with Adler's and he would smile and wave.

"Is everyfink to your liking little Billy?" Adler asked, approaching the boy as he painted the small sprouts. "I hope it isn't too quiet or lonely here…"

"Don't you worry about a thing, mister Adler!" the little boy exclaimed. "I've never had so much room to paint before! It's like it was made just for me! Oh, I forgot to paint that bench!" Billy exclaimed, zooming over and slapping a shade of brown over the thinking bench and gray over the statue. Once the bench was colored to his liking, Billy was off again.

It wasn't until Billy had covered a considerable distance did his heart finally feel sated if even for a little while. Standing up to admire his handiwork, he scanned over all he could see over the horizon. Hills of white snow became grasslands and the snowmen trees had trunks of varying shades of brown topped with leaves of green, yellow, and orange. The native souls, now with color of their own, stared in awe at something they never had thought possible.

"It is so beautiful."

"I've never seen so much color in my life before."

"It's hard to believe this is all real."

Billy smiled at the native souls, now his new friends. All were born anew with colors of their own and trying to regain their footing in a new world.

Billy took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of fresh herbs and leaves emanating from the freshly painted snow and autumn colored trees. This was it. This was his calling. An overwhelming feeling of happiness and satisfaction washed over him as he lifted his hand to wipe sweat from his forehead. There was still much more to paint near the horizon, but Billy wasn't worried. After all, he had all the time in the world to complete what he would eventually call his masterwork.

I'm still alive! Man, how long has it been, more than a year? Sorry for my long absence you guys. I've still been writing my stories in bits and pieces here and there when I have time but for the most part my job currently has my full attention. Still, I'll always try to make time to write my stories. Not sure when's the next time I'll update but I hope y'all are still around by then!