Autumn Memories

Autumn Memories

It had been several years since I had been able to get home in autumn when the beautiful colors of the trees painted the countryside with orange, red and golden hued leaves. I had almost forgotten the beauty of Indian summer. Here I was, walking the paths that I hadn’t hiked in more than ten years. I loved to walk in the early morning when the sun was bright and the birds were singing in their nests. Somehow the woods where I grew up seemed smaller, but I think it was just my mind playing tricks on what I was seeing.

The sound of my feet crunching through the crisp leaves that layered the ground brought back memories of when I was a child and in these multicolored leaves we would pile them up and then jump into them as our laughter was carried through the air. Those days were long gone from where I stood looking back on a time that seemed so uncomplicated. The only thing we worried about then was having fun, and making sure we made it home before dark… which brought a smile to my face.

Shaking my head, I continued my walk. Within a few moments I found our little hideaway. So many years ago we had built that tree house. I never expected it to still be in one piece, but there it was, weather beaten and if you looked closely you could see some of our names still carved into the wood. I slowly turned around, trying to see if I could find the stream that led to the small pond where we had skimmed rocks over the surface of the water, but that seemed to be gone.

I walked over to the big rock where a group of us would sit and talk about the future and it was almost as though I could hear those voices echoing to me from the past. I sat down for a moment in the peacefulness and began to reminisce of those times when life was simpler and we had built friendships that we thought would last forever.  I don’t know how long I had been sitting there when I realized I wasn’t alone. I heard the rustling of feet in the leaves and a small laugh.

“I thought I would find you here,” Marlene said softly. “When I woke up and found you missing from your room, I knew where you had gotten off to.”

“It had been such a long time since I was able to walk our old stomping grounds,” I said with a smile, and before she could get a word in edgewise I said, “I know, I know. You’ve been trying to get me back here for a visit. I’m just glad that I was able to get here to see this place again.”

“I’m glad that you finally took time to come home,” Marlene answered.

I stood up, brushing the dust off myself as I said, “I’m the last one. My family left here years ago and never came back. If you hadn’t found me on Facebook, I would probably have never returned for a visit, much less our 35th high school reunion.”

“It was meant to be,” Marlene answered. “Now we need to get back. There’s lots to do and there’s a surprise waiting for you at the house.”

Marlene hooked her arm in mine and we started to walk back to her house. All of a sudden it was déjà vu, like when we were teenagers, walking back from the pond to meet the rest of the gang to prepare for a day of fun.

“What are you up to?” I asked.  She laughed and said, “You’ll see” as we continued down the path towards her home.

Word Count: 630