In the heart of their neighborhood stood a broken, dull wall covered in old political posters and peeling paint.
Meera had an idea.
"What if," she said to Aarav the next day, "instead of throwing colors at people, we paint something permanent? Something that stays."
Reluctantly, Aarav agreed.
They gathered children from the colony. Buckets of eco-friendly colors were arranged. Brushes replaced water balloons.
At first, Aarav's hands trembled.
Then he began.
He painted a sunrise. Meera painted hands reaching toward each other. The children painted flowers, kites, and faces smiling under showers of gulal.
Soon, passersby stopped. Even the elderly uncle who always complained about noise smiled.
The dull wall transformed into a mural of hope.
At the corner, Aarav painted something small but powerful—a boy laughing under a splash of red and blue.
Rohan.
But this time, Rohan wasn't frozen in memory. He was alive in color.