3: Tom and the Colour Revolution
Synopsis
After the small Multicolour Celebration at the Old Meeting Place
of the Colour Tribe, an impossible idea is born.
What
if a Multicolour Celebration were to begin in the very heart of
Colour Village... and simply never end?
A colourful
tent camp springs up in the Old Man's garden. Brothers and sisters
join in. Ben jokingly declares his cottage the Headquarters. Yang,
the Golden Retriever, is promoted to Head of Security. And somewhere
between rehearsing, camping and endless brainstorming sessions, an
idea begins to grow into something far greater than any of them could
ever have imagined.
Together, Tom and his friends create Huh?
Wow!—a fantasy role-playing game in which everyone plays
themselves, not merely as residents of their own Colour District, but
as citizens of Colour Village. Gradually, they come up with the idea
weherby other Colour Councils would be inspired to follow their
example: at schools, in community centres, on campsites and within
families. What emerges is the start of an endless, constructive
revolution—not by storming the town hall, but by building an
ever-growing network of Colour Councils. Not by forcing people to
change, but by making music together, playing together and forming
new friendships.
In the end, a Multicolour Festival is held in
the Grey Centre, the old inventor Ben finally receives recognition
for the twenty years he devoted to creating his multicoloured
glasses, and Tom discovers that the girl he has secretly been in love
with for quite some time... feels exactly the same about him.
The Opening
"It went by far too quickly," Liva sighed. She had enjoyed every minute of it. "This party's still going, you know!" Ben called cheerfully with his eyes closed, still playing his djembe drum to keep the atmosphere alive. They had been celebrating all night, and now dawn was almost breaking. Everyone had stopped dancing long ago. In fact, the few brave villagers who had wandered over to the little Multicolour Festival at the Old Meeting Place of what had once been the Colour Tribe had already returned to their own Colour Districts: the Red District, the Blue District, the Green District and the Yellow District. There, everyone lived according to coloured exclamation marks—truths that each district believed were the most important things in life. There's one more thing you should know about Colour Village: almost everyone wears glasses with one coloured lens. A pair of coloured glasses that—if you're not careful—you may never be able to take off again. There was also a fifth part of the city: the Grey town centre. Or rather, the city centre, because Colour Village had long since grown into a city. Even so, everyone still preferred to call it Colour Village. Simply because it had always been called that. And some things, most people believed, were never meant to change.
"Lovely out here in the forest," Zinnia said. "That's such a Green thing to say," Liva replied with a smile. "Well, it's just as typical," said her best friend Vonka from the Red District, turning to Liva, "that you, from the Party District, think it's a shame the celebration ended so quickly." The three girls looked at one another and laughed. Tom couldn't help smiling too. He liked the fact that they could laugh at each other's stereotypes—because, although they were sometimes based on something real, they were usually exaggerated. "You can stop drumming now if you want, Ben," he said. But Ben had no intention of stopping. "Looks like we're keeping the party spirit alive a little longer," Vonka remarked. "This is the after-party," Ben said, instantly filling Liva from the Yellow Party District with excitement. "THE AFTER-PARTY!" she squealed. "Of course! I never even thought of that!" "What exactly does that mean?" Vonka asked. She didn't particularly like admitting that her English wasn't very good yet, but she had worked up the courage to ask. "It's the party after the party," Liva explained with a broad grin. Tom, who had never heard of an after-party either, almost fell over in surprise. "There's actually a special word for the party after a party?" he asked in disbelief. "Yes!" Liva laughed. "Isn't it clever? The party keeps going—just with fewer people." "Which often makes it more personal," Ben added, still drumming while following the conversation. "More intimate." "So the party isn't over after all!" Liva cried, jumping to her feet and dancing again for a moment, much to everyone's delight.