Forever Autumn!

How life is from many aspects!

My Life began all of the sudden. I wasn’t ready or had an option. I just found myself out there, beneath the sun’s ray and the moon’s beam, below the polychromatic sky, so young and fresh I was, a little bud so close to my mother and family, filled with life and shipped to shore. I opened my eyes to see myself surrounded by love and care, I wasn’t alone though, deals of my sisters and brothers were born along me which gave me an amount of self-confident and esteem knowing I am not alone or atypical.

As a baby I only had one thing to do, grow up! But it was too boring, so I started to scrutinize and brood around.

Why am I green?

Why do we all look the same?

Why is the sky up and the ground below?

Will I grow one day to be like my old sisters?

What are these strips all over me?

Those and many other questions I asked every day, every minute, just a way to kill time and use my childish, brand-new imagination. My sisters as well had no different wonders. It took me sometime to get on with them, but now we are great, we play together most of the time, and whenever the breeze comes to visit he joins as well.

One day wind blew heavily, and I clung tightly to mother’s embrace, it was scary, even big leaves had trouble hanging on, so what chance a little leaf as I have got? And amongst this dread I glimpsed a leaf on the opposite tree struggling with the wind as well. She was quite big but her colours were pale and weary. I couldn’t focus or see clearly because of the wind and rain. I just hanged on until the storm passed by.

Next day I woke up tickled by the early dew drops which found resort on me. I looked at them and said “Hi!” but apparently I scared them away, and fast they descended from my back down onto the wet, brown ground. Then I raised my sight and saw that leaf again. It looked tired and wan, and when looking carefully, I noticed her branch and it’s almost cut down by the storm, poor leaf! I foolishly called out for it, but for naught! My young soft voice is not loud enough.

I watched it wilt day after day, its colours started to change gradually. I had no idea what’s going on with it…

“Is it sick?” One of my sisters wondered

“Maybe the heavy rain washed away its colours a bit and with time it’ll regain its colours.” Another added

“Should we send some of ours to it?” I suggested

Everybody showed enthusiasm towards my proposal and agreed to donate some of our fresh, green colour to that old, wounded leaf on the other tree.

“But how could we do that?” a young leaf wondered

“Let’s ask one of the elder leaves! They should know!” another proposed.

And so we did, I turned to the older leaves and presented our enterprise. However, one laughed out loud and mocked me; another looked at me with disdain, some shacked their heads like they’re saying “Foolish little child!”

 We were rejected, mocked and our heartiness was imprisoned. We had to choke on our thought, veil our innocence, stay shush, and watch that leaf wither day after day… Until one morning I woke up as usual with the orange daily ray, and found that leaf hanging by a thread! It was swinging and about to fall. I panicked and started shouting out for my sister and brother to wake up.

“Fellows! Look at the old leaf!” I yelled

“What’s wrong with it? I can’t see anything?” one replied

“Wait! It’s about to fall, isn’t it?” Another screamed

We cried out for the bigger leaves to act or help, but they all shunned their faces with sad expressions and remained silent. And suddenly, the old leaf fell down! The scene left us all shocked and masked with silent. As it surrendered and relinquished its mother and danced its last dance down unto the earth. And before it settles, a cool breeze accompanied that poor leaf in her last dance and finally laid her to rest under our mother.

We all stared at that yellow old leaf for some time, and then my mates were bored so they almost forgot it after a while, but I couldn’t take my eyes off it. That scene impacted me to the core. There were lots of human kids in the park that day, and a little one came from a distance carrying a small wooden chair which he placed under our mother, right before the fallen leaf, he sat on the grass like he’s waiting for someone, and he didn’t wait for a long term as an old man came walking slowly leaning on a thin wooden staff then he rested on the chair.

I was puzzled and confused a little bit, this was too many inputs for me to analyze, it’s my first time seeing a leaf fall, and the first time seeing a human as well. When that kid leaned ahead and caught the fallen leaf off the ground.

“Grandpa, Is this a leaf?” He asked the old man

“Yes! Sonny, this is a leaf” the old man replied

“Why it’s not up the tree?” the boy wondered while pointing at my mother.

“May I see it, sonny?”

“Sure, grandpa!”

The little boy handed over the fallen leaf to his grandpa whom pondered at it for quite some time, and then a warm smile was drawn on his wrinkled face.

“Why are you laughing, grandpa?” the boy asked

“What are you thinking of?” he added

“My son, people are like leaves.” The old man stated

“Leaves?” the boy wondered

“Yes, sonny… Leaves! We are all like leaves… Look upright, my boy! At this towering tree, notice its thick and thin branches, and its leaves as well. They are not all alike. Some are big, some are small. Some are up, some are down. Some stands still inside in the shadow of others, and some are up or out facing the sun. Some have fruits near them and others don’t”

“But this leaf doesn’t look like the other leaves from this tree” the boy said

“You are a sharp-witted boy, aren’t you?

Exactly young lad! Look at that tree right there, its leaves are different in shape, size and number just like people, some are white like you, some are black, others are red or yellow. Some have black beautiful hair like yours, others have blonde one or red or maybe blue! Even the stripes on and within the leaves aren’t the same. Some are parallel, some are branched or netted.

Some leaves which are on the top are the nearest to the sun, but they are alone. And those leaves which grow together down in the middle are closer to each other, but they get less sun.

This leaf in my hand has probably have fallen from that tree over there”

“But why grandpa? Why do leaves fall down?” the boy asked

“That’s another point sonny. Leaves are like people. Eventually their time will come and they’ll submit and yield. They might fall before they reach an old age, but most grows old and they become weak and pallid. Thus finally, they die.

Can you see that almost broken branch up that tree? It must have been injured during the past storm; I guess our little leaf here had fallen from it. However, you still can see other leaves on that branch, can’t you?”

“Yes!” the boy answered

“Well, as people, not all leaves can endure hardship, sonny. Some may wither and fall, into a forever lasting autumn, and those that stands still, endures and dies hard, will become stronger and live more. One day boy… You’ll wit my words”

 

 

Reviews

[September Solis]

This is very captivating! Great use of perspective. I'm impressed!

[Adam Lebzo -RonninWarrior-]

Thank you very much! Although I wrote this one for beginners, i teach Creative writing at Hashemite University, I wrote it as a template for the students. Not my style though

[September Solis]

Oh, you're a Creative Writing professor? That's awesome! That's what I'm majoring in. :)

[Adam Lebzo -RonninWarrior-]

Well, no! lol
I am 21 years old! But the profs at HU liked my talent and books and had me teach a selective course and its going great... Students are loving it

[September Solis]

Ooooh. haha! oops. :P Well, still! That sounds really wonderful! Congrats :)

[Adam Lebzo -RonninWarrior-]

LOL its cool
thanks! try reading "Silence in the house of tongues" lots of people liked it

[September Solis]

Okay, will do :)