October 16, 1985

The light gently hits my body, oh how it seems to come and go just as the warmth seems to do so. Fall has finally come and for once I am not scared. It has become my favorite yet least favorite time of the month. Why you might ask? I giggle for a second.

 “Well you see, you may not understand this… but I’m a leaf. During the fall we change into these beautiful reds and oranges and if we’re lucky we’ll change into a bright yellow just like the sun. Understanding so far? Yes? Alright, well… The downside to Fall is that we can pass at any moment. Once we turn into our beautiful selves we become so weak and fragile. We lose our strengths and break off from our home, at first it was scary. I was frightened by the thought of leaving behind all I have ever known. I wish I would’ve known sooner ” 

May 4, 1957

I was new to the world. Oh, how I’d love to absorb the sky and see all the clouds moving slowly without hesitation. I watched as petals began to rise and then soar through the sky. I see these beautiful creatures with stunning wings land on my branch, looking for a home. I remember when I first bloomed. I hoped to stay intact forever. I soon realized that life is like a story, and those stories are filled with chapters. That goes on and on.

October 10, 1957

 I had always thought that things would stay the same. I watched as my friends turned red or orange, and some yellow. All I could do was wonder why? Why and how? Why was it getting so cold and cloudy? How could the sun leave me to freeze? Why were they turning different colors? I soon saw them fall one by one. Why was this happening? They fall so calmly without delay. How were they not scared? I never did see them for the rest of the month… I wondered why they weren’t growing back. I became overwhelmingly scared, mainly scared the wind would blow me away just like them. I wanted to stay up here where I was untouchable, but I soon realized my time had come. I began to shake and shiver. The wind blows me away from my home, and that’s all I remembered from that night. I was so scared that once I became unattached I closed my eyes so tight never to open them again. 

April 16, 1958

But I did open my eyes… and I  was so astonished. I was back at my home where I spent the summer watching the sky. I saw all my friends again. I couldn’t comprehend what had happened. One minute I was falling to my doom, the next it's April and I’m back where I started. How could this be? I for sure thought I was a goner. That I would never see my beloved home again.

April 4, 1984

  I realized I’d be back every time. It seems like my life was never-ending, but instead, it was ending a chapter of an everlasting book. I always have something to look forward to. Oh, how I love coming back to the warmth and the sunshine hitting my body. No other feeling could compare, but something was missing. It seems like every year I learned something new… but what is that going to be this year? 

I hope it’s nothing terrifying. I still haven’t faced my fears of opening my eyes. I can’t! The thought of seeing my demise… seeing my friends pass is sick. Who knows though? I wonder if my friends have looked. I wonder what they thought, when they first fell. I wonder if it was difficult for them to take a peek. “Oh” how I wish I could ask, yet I am but a leaf. 

October 10, 1984

I see my friends turn into these beautiful colors once again, while I stay green for as long as I can be. I see them fall one by one, they fall so calmly without delay. I watch as leaves begin to part ways as the wind takes them away. They soar so slowly along the sky until they finally meet their demise. 

I have finally become beautiful. I remember when I wanted so badly to be. So majestic when the sun hit, but now that I am beautiful I see no point. I thought the point of my existence was to be and to be forgotten. I thought this world viewed me only when I was pretty enough, but I have grown to know that no matter what color I may be I am recognized and beautiful all year long. I’m a leaf who stays green for along as it can be.

October 15, 1984

I have become very fragile. It seems the wind can take my body at any given moment. I began to shake and shiver. I slowly come unattached. The strong wind comes blowing me away. I close my eyes… but then immediately open them. I gently soar through the sky just as my friends did. I look up at the sky and see it becoming further away. 

The land was so cool as I brushed my body onto it. I look around unable to move. I see my friends and how brown and hard they have become. I am still yellow slowly wither away. My time has come. I lay there so calmly with a soft smile thinking how silly it was for me to be afraid. There was no sadness either for I have learned I’d be back again. This was only the end of another chapter.

I will be bright and green for the whole world to see. I’ll be so strong the wind will not shake me. I lie there, thinking about my future. Thinking about what my next lesson will be. I watch as day turns to night and nighttime turns to daytime. I see all my fellow friends gliding closer to me. 

October 16, 1985

The sun hits my body for the last time of the year before I sleep the night away. I’m so glad I told my story before I drift away. I watch as the moon takes over the land and shines its blue light. The wind slowly comes and takes me away. I soar closer and closer to the moon until the wind drops me off. I close my eyes after watching the beautiful stars with one thing on my mind. I was once green.