A Bright Future

Title: A Bright Future
Author: Cassie Brite
Editor: Robert Teague
Rating: G
Setting: Seven years after Brian met Rainbow Brite.
Spoiler: Brian comes to Rainbowland to visit Rainbow, and
to give her a gift.

Archive: Rainbowbrite.net, Robert's collection; Onyxmoon's
site; others ask first, please!

Feedback: Greatly appreciated! Any and all is welcome!
Please send to me at: "phred1414@aol.com". Thanks!

Disclaimer: All the characters that appear in the story are
NOT mine. They are property of Hallmark and other
companies (Who need to realize what a gold mine
Rainbow Brite is and re-release the episodes for public
sale!) such as DIC, Inc. I am receiving no money from
this story, and I'm just taking the characters out to play
for a bit; they'll be returned shortly, I promise!

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

     A Rainbow made its way across Rainbowland, its'
passenger a tall boy of eighteen, dressed in jeans and a
light blue sweatshirt, as he always did when he visited
Rainbowland. He had brought the large sweatshirt out of
his closet and worn it, just for this occasion. His chestnut
brown hair was the same length as it had been years before,
and it fluttered in the wind as he approached the Color Castle.
The young man was carrying a small, flat, package in his
hands. It was wrapped in rainbow-colored paper. It seemed
to be important; the young man was clutching it in his hand
like he wouldn't let go for the world.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

     Rainbow Brite, Twink, and Starlite were on their way to
the Grand Canyon on Earth for their once-a-year check on
the landmark, when they spotted a gray-looking field
across the continent in the Tennessee Valley. There had
been a flood there recently, the trees were uprooted, and
the flowers were wilted and dying because there was no
way for the sunlight to get through the overcast sky
overhead. It looked almost as bad as The Pits.
     Rainbow turned and asked her loyal sprite, Twink.
"Twink? I think we need to help down there in that field!
May I have some Star Sprinkles?"
     "Sure, Rainbow...but don't we need to use them at the
canyon? If we don't have enough with us, the sand won't
change colors on time, and we'll be a day behind schedule
again!" Twink remembered the last time they stopped on
a whim of Rainbow's. Their sidetrack lead to them getting
chased by a huge flying saucer, and they almost didn't
make it back to Rainbowland! Of course, that was about
five years ago...but, still, the thought crossed Twink's
mind all too often.
     "Oh, Twink!" Rainbow laughed, "You are always so
worried about running out of Star Sprinkles! We'll have
plenty! And if we run out, we can always go back to
Rainbowland and get more!"
     Convinced, Twink opened his Star Sprinkle pouch and
took out an assortment of Star Sprinkles. They glistened
in the sunlight, casting sparkles around his hand. "Here you
go, Rainbow!" He reached forward and put them in Rainbow's
outstretched hand.
     "All right, Starlite, let's go and save that field!"
     "My pleasure! Here we go!" And with that, Starlite
galloped along the Rainbow back towards the muddy field.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

     The Rainbow set Brian down at the front door of the
Color Castle and disappeared with a small flash of magical
sparkles. Brian looked out over the moat towards
Rainbowland proper, and he smiled for the first time in a
while. Wow... it's still bright and beautiful. Just as I
remembered it was! Brian turned around and knocked on
the front door of the Color Castle, expecting Rainbow to
open the door and smile, like she used to. He was rather
surprised when the door opened, for he saw Shy Violet in
the doorway.
     "Brian? Is it you? Oh, WoW! Hi! Won't you come in?"
She opened the door a little wider and ushered him in.
     Gosh, she's changed! thought Brian. What an
awesome haircut! She's not so shy anymore! Violet had
chopped off her lavender hair. It now fell right above her
shoulders in a stylish bob. "Hi, Violet. Thanks!" Brian
ducked, and entered the Color Castle. "How are you
doing today? Your hair looks wonderful." He said, politely,
as he glanced around the main room. Well, the Color
Castle hasn't changed much, has it? The Color Console
was still in place in the center of the room, its' glass
communications tubes running up towards the ceiling of
the main room. The Color Kids' doors were as bright as
ever, adding more life to the room.
     "Well, thank you, Brian! You are such a nice guy! I'm
doing good..." Shy Violet closed the door behind Brian and
walked around to look up and face him. "So, Brian, what
brings you to Rainbowland?"
     "Well, I'd rather not say what I'm here for until I speak
to Rainbow...is she upstairs?"
     "Well, Brian, she's out on a short mission right now.
Would you like to wait for her to get back? She left about
four hours ago; she should be back anytime, given that she
only has enough Star Sprinkles with her to last
approximately 4.32657 hou-"
     "Okay, Violet, I don't mind waiting for her to get back."
Brian quickly interrupted Shy Violet's spiel, knowing enough
that if he didn't stop her now, she would go on forever on a
science lesson. "Are you sure you don't mind me waiting?"
     "Of course not, Brian! You are ALWAYS welcome in
Rainbowland! Would you like to take a look at the new
telescope I built for Rainbow to use? It is so powerful, it
can see an orchid lose its' color halfway across the galaxy!"
     "You know, I wouldn't mind seeing your new creation at
all, Violet! Lead the way!" With that, Brian and Shy Violet
headed up the stairs to the observation landing that housed
the new viewing instrument for the universe.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

     Back on Earth, Rainbow Brite, Twink, and Starlite
stood in a field of life. The once-muddy field had been
transformed into a green meadow, with wildflowers of every
color of the Rainbow and lush, green grass.
     Twink looked up at Rainbow Brite and said, "Well, that
field looks a lot better, now that we've been here!"
     "Yes, it does, Twink. Now, we can go back to the
regular mission: Color the Grand Canyon!"
     Twink looked in the Star Sprinkle Pouch on his belt,
and held out its contents: five Star Sprinkles. "But, Rainbow!
This is all we have left! This won't be enough to Color the
Grand Canyon! We'll need bunches more to do that!"
     Starlite spoke up. "He's right, Rainbow. Let's go back
and get more Star Sprinkles. It's only about nine o'clock
in the morning, Earth time. We'll be back by eleven, and
have the whole afternoon to work."
     "Well, I guess I'm outvoted!" Rainbow mounted her
horse, and helped Twink up. "Back to Rainbowland, Starlite!"
Star Sprinkles in hand, she touched her magic Color Belt,
and a Rainbow appeared, going towards Rainbowland.
"Besides, if we pick up one of the Color Kids to help, it won't
take that long at the Canyon! Who should we pick up?"
     They flew the Rainbow towards Rainbowland, pondering
that question.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

     Back in Rainbowland, Brian and Shy Violet were up on the
highest floor of the Color Castle, the veranda around the
dome, looking through Violet's new and improved telescope.
     "Wow, Violet!" Brian exclaimed as he looked through
the contraption. "I never would have thought this possible!
I can see my dog from here! This is SO neat! Hey, Boy! I'm
up here!"
     Shy Violet laughed. "He can't hear you, Brian! He is
260, 395. 53682 light-years away from Rainbowland!"
     "I know, Violet. It seems like he's right in front of me
though, when I'm looking through this telescope!" Brian
looked over at Shy Violet. "This is amazing! How is this
possible?"
    "Well, Brian, it's a lot of complicated quantum physics
and chemistry that explains it, are you sure you want me
to tell you?" Shy Violet asked.
    "Actually, Science wasn't my strongest subject in High
School..." He looked back into the telescope. "I'll just accept
this as a miracle, and... Whoa! Is that Rainbow?" He backed
away from the telescope for Violet to take a look.
    Violet looked through the optical viewer and smiled.
"Actually, yes, it is, Brian. It's amazing that you were
looking at that particular part of the system when she went
by; there's a pretty big area to keep watch over!"
    At that moment, Buddy Blue and Patty O'Green came
out on the veranda. "Hi, Brian! Long time, no see!" said
Patty with a little hug.
     "Hi, Patty! It's good to see you, too!" He hugged her
back.
     "Hi, Brian! You're keeping in shape, I see!" Buddy
exclaimed.
     "You too, Buddy! Yes, I am keeping in shape, but that's
because I was on my high school baseball team...we had
so many grueling practices and workouts, but they all paid
off when we were State Champs!" Brian smiled,
remembering that day. He had made the winning home-run
in the last game of the play-offs.
     "Wait a sec... 'WAS on the team?' What happened?"
Patty asked.
     "Well, yes. That's kind of why I came here to begin
with." Brian held up the package he had been carrying
around. "The season's over, and since I am graduating this
yea-" Brian stopped in mid-sentence, interrupted by
someone.
     "GRADUATING?!?" LaLa Orange exclaimed, from
around the door frame where she had been politely
eavesdropping. Everyone jumped at her sudden entrance.
She jumped out of hiding, and rushed up to Brian. "Brian,
you are graduating from High School this year?"
     "Yes, LaLa, that's what he just SAID," Buddy said,
exasperated.
     "Well, I wanted to be sure I was hearing correctly from
around the corner...never mind!" LaLa blushed, knowing
that she was out of line eavesdropping on the conversation.
     Shy Violet spoke up from behind the telescope.
"Anyway, you were saying, Brian?" She was tinkering with
the controls, still trying to improve the telescope.
     "Oh! Yes, I just wanted to stop by and bring this for
Rainbow." He held up the package again.
     Before the Color Kids could ask more questions,
Rainbow, Starlite, and Twink arrived in Rainbowland, on the
Rainbow.
     The Color Kids ran together down the stairs and out the
front door to greet Rainbow Brite. Brian was slightly behind;
he had to duck to get down the stairs. As they exited the
front door, Canary Yellow, Indigo, Stormy, and Tickled Pink
ran up to meet them from Indigo Acres. They had been
practicing a drama skit for the Sprite Fair in May.
     "Rainbow! You're back!" Shy Violet exclaimed. "Did you
get everything done?"
     "Hi, Kids!" Rainbow jumped down off Starlite and helped
Twink down. "Actually, I didn't, Violet! We got kinda
sidetracked at a meadow in Tennessee! We didn't have
enough Star Sprinkles for the Grand Canyon, so we came
home to get some more. LaLa, I think I'll need lots of your
Orange Sprinkles for the sand...would you like to come
back with me and help me?"
     "Oh la, la, Rainbow! You want my help to color the
canyon? Je t'aime beaucoup! When do we leave?" LaLa
asked, excited about visiting Earth.
     "Wait a sec, Rainbow..." Buddy Blue interrupted with
a twinkle in his eye. "You have a visitor that you may want
to see before you leave!"
     Rainbow looked puzzled. "Who is it? No one knows
about Rainbowland except..." She looked up and trailed off
in mid-thought, totally surprised at who was standing in the
doorway.
     Brian had finally made it down the stairs. "Hi, Rainbow.
It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
     "Brian? Is that you?" Rainbow pushed her way through
the crowd and ran up to him, looking at him closer. His hair
and outfit is the same...but he's so much taller! And what
happened to his eyes? They used to be hazel, but now
they are brown...wait... She looked closer still, past the
matured facial features, past the clothing. "YES! It IS you,
Brian! I see you now!" She laughed, and he knelt to catch
her in a bear hug.
     When Rainbow broke the embrace, she looked at him.
"It is so good to see you, Brian! What brings you to
Rainbowland? Do you need help?"
     Brian cleared his throat and stood up. "Actually,
Rainbow, I came to give you this gift." He held out the
package.
     Rainbow took it from him with a curious expression.
"Really? For me? What is it for, Brian?"
     "Well, why don't you open it and see?" Canary Yellow
suggested.
     Rainbow tore the paper away, eager to see what was
hidden in the paper. She unwrapped two items: a picture
frame and a small white envelope. In the silver picture frame
was Brian's cap and gown senior picture. It was an excellent
picture of him; he had a genuine smile on his face and there
was an air about him of confidence and happiness that was
conveyed through the picture. The envelope was addressed
to "Rainbow Brite and the Inhabitants of Rainbowland," and
it was sealed; she undid the sticker seal on the back flap,
and took out the card that was inside. On the inside of the
card, printed in French Script, was the following message:

You are cordially invited to Commencement Ceremonies for
the graduating class of Nineteen hundred Ninety-two of
                 Abraham Lincoln High School
                                     at
                         City Commons Park
                                     on
Friday, May Twenty-second, Nineteen hundred Ninety-two
                                     at
                     Six o'clock in the Evening

     Rainbow looked up, and passed the card over to Patty
O'Green, who had been peering over her shoulder to read
the invitation. "Brian, are you really graduating this year?"
     Brian peered down at her and said, "Yes, I am." He
sighed. "I can't believe that I am graduating High School;
it seems like I was in fifth grade, meeting you all for the first
time, just yesterday. But, I made it through High School;
and I would like for you all to come to my graduation
ceremony in about two weeks. Do you think you can make
it? Is there anything planned in Rainbowland that I don't
know about?"
     "Brian, you know that we'd rearrange our schedule for
you anytime...especially for your graduation ceremony! I,
for one, would love to go!" Rainbow spoke up quickly. "Is
there anything planned, Indigo?"
     "Well, there is the Sprite Fair the following day, but there
is nothing planned for that Friday Night." Indigo informed her
quickly.
     "Well, now we have a commitment on that night,
everyone!" Rainbow spoke up for everyone around her to
hear. "We're going to Brian's Graduation!"

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

     Rainbow Brite and LaLa Orange rode on Starlite to the
Grand Canyon later that day, having been delayed due to
Brian's unexpected visit. They had waited to leave until
Brian had told them all what had happened since his last
visit to Rainbowland.
     They discussed what he had told them on their way to
the Grand Canyon after dropping him off at his house.
     "Oh, Rainbow! Brian is such a great kid, isn't he?" LaLa
said in her soft voice.
     "Yes, he is, LaLa." Rainbow replied. "But, it's going to
take some getting used to; he's not a kid anymore. He's
going to college next year on that Full Baseball Scholarship."
     "Oui, c'est vrai! I had a feeling that his baseball would
pay off for him later in life! It's great that he kept playing
baseball in High School, isn't it?"
     "Oh, yes, it is!" Starlite jumped in the conversation. "I
think that Brian is going to enjoy his college experience very
much."
     After a brief period of silence, Rainbow spoke up. "LaLa?"
"Oui?"
     "Did you notice that Brian had different colored eyes than
the last time we saw him?"
     "Yes, I did. I asked him about it, and he said that he had
gotten contacts about two years ago for better vision. Do you
like his new look, Rainbow? C'est chic, � mon opinion!"
     Before Rainbow could answer, Starlite said, "Here we
are!" They got down off his back, and looked around at the
task before them.
     The naturally colorful patterns in the stone had faded
considerably in the past year. Stone that was once a bright
dark orange was now a dusty brown.
     "I'm glad you brought me, Rainbow," LaLa said after a
few moments. "This is going to take a lot of work..."

~^~^~^~^~^ Two weeks later ~^~^~^~^~^

     Rainbow Brite and her friends sat around the Color
Console in the Color Castle, having a heated discussion
about their friend, Brian.
     "I still don't understand why we have to do this, guys!"
Rainbow protested. "It just doesn't seem right to just
leave him!"
     "You have to Rainbow," Patty O'Green said quietly,
from the green section of the computer. "I know it's hard,
but you'll have to cut ties with him. Brian is growing up,
and he has to leave us behind. It's time for him to go on."
The rest of the Color Kids around the console nodded in
agreement.
     "I know...but it just doesn't seem right to do this to
him at all! He won't even know why we have to do this."
Rainbow responded, looking around at everyone.
     "No adults can see us anyway, Rainbow. He will be an
adult as soon as he graduates." LaLa Orange said from
the orange seat.
     "You know, that's not scientifically proven, LaLa." Shy
Violet spoke up from her violet area. "We really don't know
what will happen between us and Brian when he graduates.
We've never done this before."
     "That's right! We've never done this before, Rainbow,"
Canary Yellow reminded her from the yellow seat. "Brian
is the first and only human that has ever been to
Rainbowland; he's the only human to ever know about
what we do for Earth and the rest of this universe. Soon,
he may want to tell others about us...it is better this way,
that's all."
     "How is it better?" Rainbow asked.
     "Well... how about this;" Red Butler said from beside
LaLa. "What if humans found Rainbowland? What would
happen if they discovered the power of Color Crystal? You
know as well as I do that the people of this planet are just
not ready to know about us yet. Maybe in a few millennia,
they will finally be ready. I eagerly await that day, but it is
not going to be anytime soon...right, Buddy?
     From the blue section, Buddy Blue spoke up. "Yes,
Red. You're right. The people on Earth just aren't ready to
know about us yet."
     "But Buddy, Brian knew about us when he was eleven
years old, and nothing bad has happened to us yet!"
Rainbow objected.
     Red Butler piped up again. "Rainbow, you know that
Brian was a special case when you found him. You had
to get the color off of him somehow, and the only way to
do that was to bring him to Rainbowland. I must admit,
Brian is a caring, honest person with a good heart. There
aren't many others like him on Earth. But we have to cut
contact with him."
     "Can't we wait and see what happens? We really don't
know what is going to happen tonight at the ceremony,"
Indigo said quietly from her indigo chair.
     "But if nothing happens..." Stormy prodded from the
stairs.
     "If nothing happens...then I'll cut ties." Rainbow said.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^*

     Brian looked in his mirror and straightened his white bow
tie. He was wearing a black tuxedo with tails; white vest and
all. All the senior guys on the baseball team had gone out
together and rented identical tuxedos to wear that night
under their black graduation robes. There was a formal
dance after the ceremonies that night; Brian's date for the
dance, Julie, had been the alto section leader in the
advanced choir.
     I hope that Rainbow comes tonight! I wonder when I'll
get to see her? Will she come to see me before the
ceremony or after? Brian's mind was whirling, just thinking
about Rainbow and all the other Color Kids coming to see
his graduation.
     Suddenly, a voice from downstairs called. "Brian! Dear!"
It was his mother. "Time for dinner!"
     Brian walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Mom, you know that I already have made arrangements
for dinner. Project Graduation is right after the ceremonies,
and they will have plenty of food there for us!"
     His mother looked up from the stove, where she was
dishing up mashed potatoes. "Oh, I know, honey...but I
just wanted to cook for you tonight. It's just something
that my mother did for me on my graduation night; she
cooked me a full meal, so I would be full of energy for the
outing afterwards." She trailed off for a second, a far away
look in her eyes.
     Then, she snapped out of her reverie, placed a plate of
food on the table, and said, "So, no complaints! You are
having dinner here tonight, okay? It's tradition!"
     "Okay, Mom. For tradition's sake, I'll sit down and eat
before I go. Thank you." Brian sat down in his chair, tied a
napkin around his neck to protect his tuxedo shirt, and
began to slowly eat the food she had placed on the table.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

      Rainbow Brite and her friends sat back in the corner of
the Coliseum, invisible to the crowd around her, with tears
running down her cheeks. "Why do I have to do this to him,
Patty? I don't want to put him through this..." She watched
Brian in his black robe, scanning the Coliseum balcony,
obviously looking for her, so they could talk before the
ceremony started.
     "We already discussed this back in Rainbowland,
Rainbow," Patty said. "We aren't going to do anything until
after the ceremony ends. Let's just sit back and watch.
Something may happen, yet." On the floor of the arena,
Brian spotted the group from Rainbowland, and gave a
subtle wave. They all waved back, and he turned away,
heading for the room to meet the rest of his classmates.
     Rainbow whispered softly to her friends around her. "I
know that we have to do this, Kids. I just wish that I had
a reason not to..."

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

     The commencement ceremony was going perfectly. The
Valedictorian made a marvelous speech about Pursuing
Dreams, and the Salutatorian read a poem about Friendship.
The Band and Choir played and sang together the Alma
Mater, then did separate numbers. All the while, Brian was
sitting in his little chair among his classmates, thinking
about his friends up in the balcony. I'm glad that they
came! I hope that I get a chance to talk to them after the
ceremony before I take off to the dance with Julie!
          "Brian..." Brian stood up before the announcer had fully
announced his name, and walked down the aisle. He
climbed the small steps to the stage and took a quick look up
at his friends in the balcony, who were invisible to everyone
but him. They all waved again, but he noticed their smiles
were forced, and the glimmer of tears was reflected in the
lights. I wonder what could be wrong? Are they happy or
sad?
     Brian kept walking, and he shook hands with his
principals, accepting his High School diploma. He strode
down the stairs with a relieved smile, back to his seat with
his classmates. Only when he reached his seat, did he think
to gaze up at the balcony, but all he saw was empty chairs.
His friends from Rainbowland were gone, vanished without
a trace, and with no explanation.
    There must have been a color emergency, he thought,
and turned his attention to his friends as they received
their diplomas.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

     In the balcony, Rainbow Brite stood up and turned away
from the scene below. She looked over at Shy Violet.
"What's happening, Violet? Brian is acting like he can't see
us, and I didn't do anything!"
     "I don't know, Rainbow...let me check our visibility
factor..." The inventor stood and pulled out a small, handheld
instrument hidden in her belt. She held it up, scanning the
room. The reading on the screen surprised her. "According
to the Visibility Scanner, there is no one in the room that
can see us, not even Brian!" Everyone gasped in surprise.
     "Do you know why, Violet?" Buddy asked, the first to
recover from shock.
     Violet thought for a minute. "I have no proof, I have a
hypothesis about what happened."
      LaLa spoke up impatiently from beside Canary. "Well?
What is it, Violet? What made us disappear to Brian?"
     Shy Violet took the impatient demand in stride, knowing
that she was just upset and didn't mean it. She went on with
her explanation. "Well, I think that this is only applicable to
humans. When they reach a certain point in their lives, they
may lose a certain hormone or a brain function that enables
them to detect our electromagnetic signature. So, they
cannot see us, hear us, or feel our presence. This will take
some study, but I think that this is a viable explan-"
     "Violet!" Red Butler interrupted her scientific analysis.
"Are you saying that Brian can't see us anymore because
he is missing some hormone now?"
     "Well, that is one of my theories, yes."
     With this evidence and the trauma of the past four hours
of discussion over this situation, Rainbow Brite burst into
tears, and fell back in her chair. Brian...I'm so sorry... She
thought to herself. I had no idea it would end like this...
     Patty looked back into Rainbow's tear-brimmed eyes
and sat down beside her. She put her arm around Rainbow's
shoulders. "It's breaking our hearts, too, Wisp," she said
softly. "But, maybe this is going to be the best way for him
to deal with this...and the best way for us, too..."
      Rainbow nodded through her tears and said, "I know,
Patty. But, it still doesn't make it easy..." She sat there
for a few minutes, then abruptly stood up, and turned to
face her friends. "I am going to send you back to
Rainbowland, okay? There's one more thing I have to do
tonight." Down on the stage, the principal was making her
final remarks to the Senior Class.
     "What are you going to do, Rainbow? You can't show
yourself to Brian anymore!" Indigo said.
     "Oh, I know, Indigo. I'm not going to say anything to him.
He won't see me, either." Behind her, a sea of black hats
flew up in the air as the Band played the fight song. The
ceremonies were over, and the new graduates were hugging
each other and their families.
      She walked outside and made a Rainbow for the Color
Kids to travel on back to Rainbowland. They started to step
on the Rainbow one by one, but before Shy Violet stepped
on the Rainbow, Rainbow pulled her aside. "Wait, Violet. I'll
need your help to do this. C'mon!" Rainbow began to walk,
explaining her plan to the inventor as they went.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

     Brian walked in the front door of his house after the
dance and trudged up the stairs to his bedroom. It was
three AM, and he was tired. He had danced the whole party
with Julie, and had had a wonderful time hanging out with
his baseball buddies at a friend's house. But, now that he
was home, he allowed himself to think about what he had
put at the back of his mind since Commencement
Ceremonies.
     "What could have happened to Rainbow and the
others?" He thought out-loud as he flicked the light switch
by his bedroom door. "They just disappeared! Was it planned,
or was it an accident? I wish she would come and tell me
what hap-" Brian stopped in mid-sentence as he turned
around to face the inside of his room. Set up by the window
was a smaller version of Shy Violet's telescope. Attached
with a rainbow-colored string to the side of it was a small
folded note.
     Brian walked across the room to open the note. It said,
in neat penmanship:

            Congratulations on your graduation, Brian.
    I hope that you enjoy using this to discover the rest of
                               the universe.
Love,
Shy Violet

P. S. Rainbow left something for you in place of the keys.

     Brian smiled. "Oh, Violet. Thanks for the gift... Wait! "In
place of the keys"???" Brian dashed to his bedside table
and opened the drawer where he kept his keys for
Rainbowland. Instead of two keys, there was a small
package, wrapped in plain white paper. On top of it was an
envelope addressed simply, in red ink: "For Brian."
     Brian took the package out of the drawer and sat down
on the bed. He opened the wrapped gift first. It was a framed
picture with all the inhabitants of Rainbowland: all the Color
Kids and their Sprites, Stormy and Skydancer, Moonglo
and Nite Sprite, Twink, Starlite and Sunriser, and Rainbow
Brite. They had all written something to Brian in their
respective colors on the sides of the photo.
     Brian swallowed back tears as he set the picture aside
to open the envelope, knowing what was going to be inside.
It was a letter from Rainbow.

Dear Brian,
      You have been our dear friend for a long time, ever since
you were just eleven years old, and I accidentally colored
you in rainbow colors. It was a happy accident though,
because you have proved yourself to be brave and willing
to help. You have faced many dangers with us, and helped
us solve problems. We had wonderful times together, and I
will always remember you, and cherish our memories.
     When you graduated from High School tonight, you
became an adult, and could no longer see us, Brian. This
is a new experience for us, too, but it became evident to
us that your life is changing, and with it, so must our
relationship as well.
     I value our friendship very much, and I will always
remember you. But, due to this new experience and the
following reason, I must end your trips to see me, and I
must stop visiting you on Earth. I broke the rules by
bringing you to Rainbowland that first time; the people on
Earth are not ready to learn about Rainbowland yet, even
though you were ready years ago. If the technology we
have developed fell into the wrong hands, terrible things
could happen; you have seen that through Murky Dismal's
plots and schemes.
     You are truly special, Brian, and you have a Bright
Future. Never forget that. We will always be with you, even
though you might not see us. Remember to look at the
Rainbows, you never know what you'll discover.

Love Always,
Rainbow

     Brian smiled through his tears, knowing that she was
right. He stood up and looked out the window at the dark
neighborhood. The stars were shining brightly in the sky.
Brian spoke into the night, "I'll miss you, Rainbow Brite.
Thank you for being my friend..."
     A few feet away from his window, Rainbow and Violet
stood on the rainbow, looking at him, tears flowing from their
eyes freely.
     "I don't know if you can hear me, Rainbow," said Brian
softly. "But I want you to know that I won't let you down.
I've tried to take the lessons you've taught, and make them
part of myself. And, thanks to you, I know that I will make
my life a success. Thank you all, and...and good-bye. I'll
miss you."
     He started to close the window, but before Violet could
stop her, Rainbow tossed a yellow Star Sprinkle that tapped
against the windowsill and fell to the carpet. Brian picked it up,
smiled through his tears, and closed the window. It was all
the answer he needed.

~^The End~^

feedback: Cassie Brite (phred1414@aol.com)

_-Back to the Fan Museum-_