[untitled]

He stooped to gently grasp the stem of a fully formed, dried leaf that had been revealed on the sidewalk by the rapidly melting snow. The leaf was marked with patternless splotches of red, gold and brown.

 

Beautiful.

 

A smile threatened to transform his somber features, making the corners of his thin lips twitch upwards before it faltered and vanished. He blinked slowly at the leaf before bending to delicately place it amongst a smattering of browned grass which was peeking stubbornly through the snow beside the path. Satisfied, he walked on.

 

It had been long, frigid and bleak, this winter. The blizzards and hail storms had been few and far between, while the distant sun reflected brightly--cheerily, even--off of the smooth drifts of snow and ice; and still, it had been the most desolate, drawn-out season he'd yet lived through.

 

Yet.

 

The prospect of how many more cycles of the days, of the seasons, of the earth, he knew he would have to face was more than daunting, to say the very least. But he didn't cry, didn't sigh, didn't even pause on his journey through town. He had long since ceased fighting against the endless cycle of time. He had, instead, given himself over to it completely, and in return had received not peace, but inner quietude; not happiness, but an ignorance of misery. He no longer knew the bitter pains of anger or sorrow, nor did he notice the light spring breeze which was gently pushing the hair back from his face. He was now unfettered by the intensity of loss and depression, as he was likewise unaware of the fresh, earthy scent of the roots of dormant plants pushing their way up through the thawing soil. Occasionally a memory of old experiences niggled at his mind, just as the colorful, dried leaf had caught his attention, but these things quickly were quickly forgotten.

 

He had to get to work, and if he stopped again to look outside of himself, he would be late.

 

Reviews

[Sammy]

This was good. You have something definite to say, and the dried leaf parallel worked effectively.

I wasn't sure about "didn't cry, didn't sigh" and I believe "off of" is ungrammatical. Anyway, nice work.