After the beginning of people but long before painting, all of the colors asked the Creator to be named. Some were given shared names with plants: Violet, Rose, Olive, Saffron. Some were given shared names with animals: Coral, Vermilion, Salmon, Teal. Still others, like Gold and Silver, shared names with metals. After Red was named, after Brown was named, and after Gray, there was one last color without a name. The very last one sat in the shadows, almost unable to speak, so tired it was from the waiting and the anticipation. This last color whispered to the Creator,
“Do I have a name?”
White, shining nearby, turned and said cruelly,
“You are not a color. You are not one of us. You are nothing.”
Creator turned and fixed White with a stern look. White streaked off to another dimension, quick as light, but ashamed inside.
“You are the One who will absorb all of the other colors”, Creator said. “They will fade, and find rest in your quiet shade. Hold yourself proudly, your name is Black, and you are beautiful.”