Morning Colors

Ms Paint Caribou stretched her arms wide in the crystal palace's main room. Paint splats covered every surface in brilliant blues, reds, and yellows. Her antlers caught the morning sunlight streaming through the crystal walls.

"Another beautiful day in Canvas Tundra Metropolis," she said, walking to her favorite window.

Outside, the city buzzed with activity. Humanoid caribou hurried down sidewalks while humans chatted at coffee shops. Everyone moved with purpose and energy.

Ms Paint Caribou reached for her paint brush collection on the wall. She grabbed her trusty blue brush and dipped it into a jar of bright orange paint.

"Time to add some morning sunshine to the palace walls," she said.

She raised the brush toward a blank crystal section, but stopped. The orange paint on her brush looked strange. It seemed thinner than usual, almost watery.

"That's odd," she murmured, examining the paint more closely.

The orange color appeared to be fading right before her eyes, becoming lighter and lighter until it was barely visible on the brush.

When Colors Fade

Ms Paint Caribou dropped her brush and rushed to the paint storage room. Row after row of paint jars lined the crystal shelves, but something was terribly wrong.

"This can't be happening," she whispered.

The red paint had turned pale pink. The deep purple looked more like lavender. Every single jar was losing its color, draining like someone had pulled a plug.

Her phone buzzed. She answered quickly.

"Ms Paint Caribou! You need to get downtown right away," came a frantic voice. It was Clara, a smart woman with short brown hair who worked at the city art museum.

"What's going on, Clara?"

"The murals are fading! Every painting in the museum is turning gray. People are panicking!"

Ms Paint Caribou flew out her palace window, soaring over the city streets. Below, she could see crowds gathering around buildings. The colorful shop signs were becoming dull. Even the bright yellow taxi cabs looked washed out.

She landed next to Clara outside the museum. The woman's green eyes were wide with worry.

"Look at this," Clara said, pointing at a mural that had been vibrant blue yesterday. Now it was barely visible.

"Someone is stealing all the color from our city."