⏱ ~3 min reading
On the Saturday before Easter, Sofiyka came to her grandmother in the village. Grandma had already put a large saucepan on the stove. Water was steaming in it, and on the table were bags of paint — red, yellow, blue, green. And a box of eggs — white, smooth, like small river pebbles.
Sofiyka loved this day. She had been waiting for it all year to arrange the colored eggs on a plate with her grandmother.
"Grandma! Can I do it myself?"
"On our own? That's what we'll do. I just won't use my hands to climb around - I'll give you a hint.".
Grandma showed me. She dissolved red paint in a deep bowl with vinegar. She dipped her fingertip in it - checked, it got warm.
— Throw an egg.
Sophie carefully placed the white shell. The water turned pinkish-pink. A minute later Sophie bent down.
— Can I get it now?
Grandma smiled.
"But it's quite light, swallow. Look.".
Sofiyka looked. Through the clear water, the testicle was indeed still slightly pink. As if someone had browned it with a handkerchief.
- So when?
"We have to wait. About ten minutes.".
"Ten?! That's a long time!"
Grandma sat down on her stool by the table. She placed her hands on her knees—old, thinly wrinkled, soft as crumpled petals.
— Swallow. The color doesn't like to be rushed. If you pull it out too early, it will be pale. If you wait, it will be deep, like a ripe cherry.
— And if it lasts even longer, will it be even better?
"Not exactly. The color knows its own. About ten or fifteen minutes later, you see the real thing. And then it doesn't get any darker.".
Sofiyka didn't understand right away. But while her grandmother was dissolving other paints — yellow, blue — Sofiyka decided to check it herself. She took two testicles. She put one in a blue bowl and after a minute took it out with a spoon. She put the other in a green bowl and left it.
"Grandma. Look. I want to see.".
Grandma didn't scold. She nodded. She looked.
When the time was up, Sofiyka took out both testicles. She placed them on a napkin.
Blue is light-light. Almost white with a hint of blue.
The green is deep, saturated, like grass before a thunderstorm.
Sophie looked for a long time.
"Grandma. You were right.".
"You can see for yourself. The first is hasty. The second is patient. The colors are very similar to people.".
— How is that?
"He who waits, reveals himself fully. He who tears quickly, remains only a little.".
Sofiyka nodded. Then she took the third egg. She put it in a red bowl. And sat down next to it. She didn't bend over. She didn't fiddle with her fingers. She just sat and watched the hands of the clock above the stove go where they wanted.
Grandma softly hummed a song — without words. Sofiyka joined in.
When the minutes passed, Sofiyka took out the egg. It was red-red. Like a ripe strawberry. Like a holiday.
— Grandma!
— Well, what did I say?
Sofiyka put it on a plate. Next to it were blue and green. And many others — yellow, orange, burgundy — that Grandma had been patiently painting all morning long in the sun.
Their plate looked like a nest of colored pebbles.
— Grandma.
"What, mine?"
— Now I know how to wait.
Grandma stroked her hair.
"The most important thing, swallow. The most important thing in knowledge.".
💡 Color comes to those who wait.