Return to Rainbow Land

[Chibi Rachy]

I decided to do a story based on the fact that Rainbow did end up living on Earth, as the relaunch story is doing. However, I came up with a reason much better than just "she missed her family". That doesn't make too much sense, if you think about it. At any rate, what do I do when there's something I don't like with the relaunch? Yup, I write a story about it with my own ideas. It is only meant to be a oneshot fic right now. I don't have any other plans for it at this point, but it can easily be adapted into a longshot. Another thing to note is that it's my first time writing in first person, since I usually go for third person omniscent. I felt though that it would be better to tell a story such as this if I used first person instead.


Return to Rainbow Land

The little girl wandered up the long dirt road. She was nervous and scared; her eyes darted back and forth across the road, keeping an eye out for…something. She wasn’t sure what. She had no idea where she was going, or where the road would lead. In fact, she couldn’t remember much of anything. She looked down at her outfit, a blue dress with rainbow sleeves and boots held up by a pair of red suspenders. A tickling at the back of her mind told her that she had only worn this outfit, but she didn’t know why. She also couldn’t explain why she felt something was missing.

Tired, she plopped down beneath a large tree along the side of the road, reveling in its shade. The weather was hot, but beneath the tree it was quite cool. She rested against the trunk, her eyes clothes. She was tired and wanted to rest; she had no idea how long she’d been wandered. One morning she’d simply woke up in a large meadow and couldn’t remember a thing. Nothing, save for the outfit she wore, gave any clue as to who she was. A loud rumbling from her stomach reminded her that she needed food. The last thing she’d eaten was a few handfuls of blackberries she’d found in the wild. She couldn’t find anything else that was edible, or even knew what else she could eat. So she went hungry. Her eyes wandered to her fingers, stained purple from the blackberries.

Time passed and the sun rose high into the sky. The little girl rose to her feet, brushing herself off before traversing down the dirt road once more. Trees were her only companion, and her music was the birds that chattered and called around her. Finally, she came upon a long log house. No one was outside, and her fear increased that no one would be around to talk to. She had to find out where she was and who she was. Tentatively, she walked up the two steps onto the porch. Her small hand curled into a fist to knock on the door, but before she could, it opened to reveal a petite woman with short brown hair. She noticed that the woman seemed just as surprised to see her there as she was to have the door open before knocking.

“W-who are you?” she asked gently. “Are you lost? Where are your parents?”

The little girl rubbed her toe on the wooden deck and looked down at it. She tried to think of answers to the woman’s questions, but couldn’t come up with any.

“What’s your name?” the woman asked again, kneeling to get on the girl’s level. She looked at the girl, tried to get her to make eye contact. “Sweetie?”

The girl looked up at the woman. “I… I don’t know who I am. Do you know?”

That was twenty years ago. I was taken in by the woman, who lived far from the hustle and bustle of civilization. She worked with the authorities and social services to find where I belonged, but we never found any trace of my parents or my identity. After years of searching with no results or leads, I was adopted by the woman and treated as the daughter she never had. Since I didn’t know who I was, she gave me a name – Regina. I grew up and moved away, but still preferred the quiet of the countryside to the cities I traveled to. I lived in the woods, close enough to a small town, but far enough away that I felt at peace.

A cry started up and my peace was shattered. Of course, that was what occurred most of the day with little Wisp. She was only two months old and not sleeping much during the night. She was restless and tired. I was just exhausted. Being a single mom was tough. My husband… was killed in a car accident shortly after I became pregnant. An eighteen wheeler lost control and slammed his car into the other lane, where he was hit again by a pick up truck. Chris was killed instantly and I was left on my own.

I thought about Chris as I walked down the hall to Wisp’s room. He’d been nothing but kind and loving to me, even when he knew of my failure to remember any of my past as a young girl. I loved him, and a part of me died the day he did. I found consolation in my art and in being outdoors, especially after a rain storm, when I could usually see a rainbow. Nothing put me more at peace than catching sight of that band of colors. Of course, Wisp’s birth really kept me on my toes. Between taking care of her and trying to work from home, I had my hands full. I quickly learned what my mom went through raising me, and I wasn’t even a baby.

Opening the door to Wisp’s room, I found that she had settled some, and now looked up at me from her crib. I reached down and took her into my arms, cradling her close to me. Wisp snuggled close and I smiled, leaning down to kiss her forehead, feeling the few blonde hairs she had tickle my face. I went over to the rocking chair and sat down to feed her. As she nursed hungrily, I passed the time by looking around her room, reminding myself what I needed to finish doing today. I had painted Wisp’s room myself, decorating it with rainbows. On the wall directly in front of me, I painted a large yellow castle. It had come to me suddenly one day, but I don’t remember anything about it. It seemed so familiar, but I didn’t know why. On another wall, I’d painted furry creatures with belts. They too seemed familiar.

Little things like the castle and the creatures made me wish I could remember my past before finding mom. It was always this tickling feeling at the back of my mind. I knew there was something there, but I could never remember anything. I’d gone to different therapists and psychologists over the years; no one had any answer. My past was simply erased and no one could tell me why. I wanted to remember; tried to remember. I never got any more than the tickling feeling.

Wisp soon finished eating and I changed her, putting her into a pair of overalls with a tiny rainbow on the front. As I was picking her up, the doorbell rang. I didn’t know who would be visiting and I wasn’t expecting a delivery. I shifted Wisp in my arms as I walked to the front door. I looked out the peep hole, but saw no one. Puzzled, I opened the door, only to find a purple haired little girl standing there, arms crossed. “Are you…lost?” I asked.

She looked up at me. “I’m looking for someone,” she began. “named Rainbow Brite.”

I felt odd at the mention of that name, but nothing came to mind. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know anyone by that name. Are you sure you aren’t lost? Shall I call your parents?” Perhaps she could give me some information to work with.

The girl blinked, confused. “What’s a parents?”

I wasn’t sure if she was being smart with me or she didn’t know. Maybe she was like me, and didn’t remember her past. I wanted to ask, but then Wisp started to fuss. “Why don’t you come inside?” I suggested, gesturing for the girl to enter. “Shh, shh, Wisp. It’s all right.”

I noticed that the girl looked at me strangely when I talked to Wisp. I sat down on the couch and settled Wisp against me. The girl sat in a recliner chair without me telling her to do so. She made herself comfortable quickly, settling in and crossing her arms. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“Stormy,” she replied.

I waited for her to say more, but she didn’t offer any more information. I tried again. “Where are you from?”

“Rainbow Land.”

“I don’t know of a Rainbow Land. I don’t think it exists, sweetie,” I said, thinking she was making up stories. “Don’t you want to go home?”

Piercing green eyes looked at me. “I will go home. Once I find Rainbow.”

“Why don’t you tell me where your home is? Your real one.”

“I already told you. It’s in Rainbow Land.”

“I don’t think you’re telling the—“ Stormy wasn’t even looking at me. Her eyes had focused on something behind me. I turned my head, following her gaze, and noticed her eyes settled on my easel. I had been working on a painting before Wisp woke from her nap, some scene that appeared in my head, accompanied by the tickling feeling. It was a picture of a white horse with a rainbow colored mane and tail. The horse ran across a rainbow path high in the sky. I was still working on the rainbow path, and once that was finished, I planned on hanging it in Wisp’s room to match the theme.

Stormy slid off the recliner and walked to the easel, studying the picture. I stood and walked to stand behind her, bouncing Wisp lightly in my arms. Suddenly, Stormy turned and pointed at me accusingly. “You drew Starlite.”

I blinked. “I don’t know who Starlite is.”

“That horse! That’s Starlite. He’s stuck up, always talking about how he’s the most magnificent horse. He’s Rainbow’s horse.”

“That’s just some picture I saw in my head. That horse isn’t real.” I decided it would be better to call the police since the little girl wouldn’t talk to me about her parents or tell me where she was from. I had left the cordless phone on the table by the couch and turned to get it. When I turned around again, Stormy had disappeared. I sighed. Now I was playing hide and seek with some strange girl.

I looked down at Wisp. “Let’s go find Stormy, eh?” I kissed the top of her head before going in search of Stormy.

I had to give it to her. She wasn’t in any of the rooms I checked first. The last room I checked was Wisp’s room, which was where I found Stormy, staring up at the castle. She turned to look at me.

“You painted the Color Castle.” She pointed to the creatures I’d painted. “And the sprites too.”

“What is a sprite?” I asked, confused.

“That,” she replied, pointed to the furry creatures.

Something tickled the back of my mind once more. “How do you know about all of my paintings?”

“Because you painted real things. I told you, Rainbow Land is real.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

“You know what I think?” asked Stormy, turning to look directly at me. “I think you’re Rainbow Brite.”

I’m not sure what my face looked like, but I’m lucky I didn’t drop Wisp. “I’m not Rainbow Brite. I’ve never been Rainbow Brite.”

Stormy took a step closer to me. “No normal human knows about Rainbow Brite. Rainbow only told one human about Rainbow Land and us.”

“Rainbow Land doesn’t exist!” I told her, louder than usual. Wisp started to cry. I rubbed her back and held her closer to me.

For a moment, Stormy looked as though she would yell back at me. Instead, she looked away. “We’ve been wondering what happened to Rainbow for many seasons. Murky built a machine to get rid of Rainbow. She disappeared one day, and never returned to Rainbow Land. Murky took over, and made slaves of the Color Kids and sprites. He controlled the Color Belt that Rainbow left behind, and ruled Rainbow Land. We lost the color in the land. Murky got his wish and made the world gloomy and grey. One by one, the Color Kids lost hope that Rainbow would come back. I escaped and came to find Rainbow. I thought you were her, but I guess I was wrong.” She started to cry, and even though I hadn’t known the girl that long, it seemed uncharacteristic of her to cry.

Without another word, Stormy left the room. I stood there, wondering whether or not to believe her story. Wisp settled down. I stood, collecting my thoughts and thinking about everything that Stormy had said. She had names for all my paintings. She knew them and said they were real. She believed in the story she told, and tell it upset her. It didn’t seem real. Then I wondered if Stormy could be the connection to my lost memory. I turned and quickly went after Stormy.

She wasn’t in the living room, but the front door was open. Something told me I had to hurry or I’d miss my chance. I stepped onto the porch and glanced around, searching for Stormy. There she stood alongside the dirt road, next to a dark navy horse with a lavender mane and tail. I’d drawn that horse before too. Stormy’s hand was in the air, and she seemed to be summoning something.

“Stormy, wait!” I called, moving to catch up with her.

She ignored me, and I noticed the mass gathering of clouds overhead. I looked up, awed by the sight, where just minutes ago a sunny, clear blue sky was visible. Stormy climbed onto the horse.

“Stormy!” I called. “Stop! Please!”

She looked at me. “I’m going home. Rainbow’s not here. We need to find a new Rainbow Brite.”

“I’m not sure who you think I am, or who I really am. I don’t remember much of my childhood. I lost my memory of those years. It was like I woke up one day and couldn’t remember anything before that day. I was adopted because we couldn’t find my parents. I grew up not too far from here with my mom.”

“So?” asked Stormy, annoyed.

“I’ve always wondered why I couldn’t remember my past. I don’t know if I’m the Rainbow Brite you want, but I want to find out.”

Stormy smirked and patted the spot behind her. I looked at her skeptically. “Climb on,” she said.

“That horse can’t carry all of us,” I replied.

“Skydancer isn’t one to brag, but he can do it. Just climb on.”

I handed Wisp to Stormy, who held her awkwardly. Wisp looked up at the girl holding her. I was afraid she’d begin to cry, but she stayed quiet. Once I was sitting behind Stormy, I took Wisp from her and held her close. Stormy spurred Skydancer and off we went, into the sky. I never would have believed something like this could happen, but I was seeing it with my own eyes. As we picked up speed, I held tight to Wisp and hoped for the best.

Was I really Rainbow Brite?