#[In Japanese Airi is a combination of the Kanji characters “ai/愛” meaning “love” “affection” and “ri/莉” meaning “jasmine”]

[airi-of-hearts]

Color Explosion

The sun filters through the window and hits a crystal she wears around her neck, projecting a rainbow on the wall.

Sometimes, Airi loses sight of herself until she is pure feeling, a profusion of love first and foremost. Love for those close to her heart, for the things she likes to do, and somewhere amid all that, love for herself. It must be a curse, to feel everything so deeply.

She looks at her very own rainbow and finds herself entranced. Airi associates certain letters, words to specific colors, she's done it all her life (grapheme-color synesthesia, anyone?). There isn’t a single color that speaks to all sides of her, but she finds different facets of her heart in each shade.

Red: Passion. Depth of feeling. Intensity. A beating heart. Red is the love she is desperate to share with the world. Enthusiasm. Determination. Vitality. Dancing on stage. A wild Saturday night. Rising temper. Defiance. Aggression. It doesn't happen often but if someone hurts her loved ones, she sees red.

Orange: Warmth. Friendship. Sunset. Her favorite time of day. Autumn. The season she loves. Orange leaves piling on the ground. Endurance. Fun. Musicality. Strength. Deprivation. Frustration. Frivolity. The tartness of an orange.

Yellow: Mischief. Energy. Honey. Sweetness for her friends. Happiness. Her face turned toward the sun. The slow hours of a summer day. A spontaneous dance. Cheerfulness. Fragility. Irrationality. Guilt. Fear. She prays the games don't make her yellow.

Green: Life. Soothing vibes. Growth. Renewal. Good luck. A rainy morning in April. Balance. Equilibrium. Peace. Jealousy. Enervation. Rehearsing a difficult sequence. Boredom. Losing someone she cares for will have her wearing willow green.

Blue: Serenity. Logic. Stability. Trust. Loyalty. Coolness, but one that can easily turn too cold. Indifference. This is the color of her rage. A stormy sea that is endless and can drown you in an instant. January. A melancholy song. Sadness that turns into an icy, destructive anger. And something she’s heard over and over: Oh, girl, why are you so blue?

Violet: Mystery. Intuition. Meditation. Creativity. Imagination. Luxury. Royalty. Decadence. Suppression. A handful of fresh berries. The bittersweet taste of a first kiss. The marks of passion left on her skin. November. Her favorite songs. Introversion... but she's no shrinking violet.

Sometimes she does see in Black and White, but all it takes is a word… to unleash an explosion of color, of feeling, of love.