Fall

"The leaves crunch, the leaves crunch!", Sarah ran into the kitchen yelling. The rest of the family rolled their eyes and went back to what they were doing.  With a frown Sarah ran back outside. It was already October but there was no trace of fall, even the air was unwilling to let go of the warm scent of summer. The earth was in a state of denial and clear blue skies and 80 degree weather dominated the forecasts.  Finally some of the leaves changed. The trees stubbornly resisted the pressure from the lackadaisical earth and began their transformation.  Sarah's favorite season was fall. She loved the way the trees would dress up in a fiery splendor before becoming cold and bare. She wanted to spend all day out side watching the leaves change before her eyes.
      Sarah's  eyes adjusted to the change in light as she stepped into the woods.  The darkness was spotted with polka-dots of light peeking through the breaks in the leaves. A barely discernable path was underfoot, it winded and weaved trying to escape from the grasps of the branches and shrubbery.  She walked on the path enjoying the scenery until she realized that the sun was beginning to set, it's red purple color poured through the leaves to the west of the forest. Sarah sat on a log and sighed taking note of her surroundings. She was completely lost.
  Though the high ceilings had green stain glass windows blocking the sunlight and several brown buttresses and beams zigzagged over head, it was not a lavish place. It was actually quite humble, the carpet was neatly worn so that a path was created among the clutter. In this serenity someone must have sat upon this very branch that bent at the strain of weight almost touching the ground. The path in front of her was not her original path, this one was too well worn and looked like it went in circle. She needed to find the path she was on before, the one that zigzagged through the woods leading her back to her home.
    Emerging into the forest was an old lady, Sarah jumped, scared by the human presence. The wrinkles on the woman's face moved as she spoke, "I used to sit just where you are when I was your age, I loved being here in the winter when the snow would line itself along the tree branches". She chuckled at her private memories and sat down on the branch next to Sarah. Sarah's small body tensed as the old woman looked around at her old hiding place. "I am lost" Sarah whispered, it seemed as though this woman once knew her way around this forest. "Is that so" chuckled the old woman as she stood up. "Come along then I will help you find your way back, did you know the leaves are finally beginning to crunch?" The old lady took Sarah's hand and they walked together through the forest crunching the leaves.