Black & White - Susanna D. Stark

In the kingdom of Newra, everything was once filled with color - gardens bloomed in thousands of shades, people celebrated life, and joy and festivities were part of everyday living. But when the young prince Amal inherited the throne, he made a decision that would shake the entire kingdom: he abolished all colors. Convinced that the splendor of colors encouraged wastefulness, he made this choice so that the kingdom could continue to live in prosperity and abundance. And so, one morning, Newra awoke pale and lifeless, transformed into a world of black and white. Though shocked, the people obeyed their king, trusting in his good intentions. Yet from that moment on, life grew quieter, and joy faded a little more with each passing day. Only one person could not accept such a colorless world - Amal's twin sister, Princess Diadora. To her, a world without colors was a world without a soul. Although Amal gave her a birthday gift - a newly permitted color, red - she stubbornly insisted that he restore all the colors. For her, a single color could never replace the entire lost world. Because colors mean life. Colors mean happiness. Thus, the color red became her silent rebellion, an unmistakable sign of hope and a reminder of what Newra once was. As time passed, the once inseparable brother and sister grew further and further apart. And then, one day, Diadora vanished without a trace. Did she flee in search of the lost colors - or did an evil sorceress cast a curse upon her?

Her disappearance leaves behind a question that will haunt the kingdom for a long time:

Does life without color have any meaning at all?