Warmth

A tree with a single orange leaf among a sea of verdant fellows rustled in the wind. The orange leaf reminded me that life was short.

Everything has a season, everything has its dusk.

The cold crisp air howled through the forest and crept up along my exposed neck. I readjusted my thick black coat and blew warm breath into my frozen hands. The smell of wet earth and leaves rekindled the memories of last fall. This is when and where I met her.

I fought back the tears as I grabbed a match from my coat pocket. My hands trembled under a combination of fear and cold. The smell of sulfur ran to my nose as I struck the match. Heat caressed the surface of my face as the tree began to burn. 

Flames reached the top of the tree, skewering the sky. The tree was somehow still untouched; the green leaves remained with one orange leaf. The flames tapered wildly, the way her red hair blew in the wind. This last thought breathed life into the tree. The flames played with the shadows and created her face on the burning tree.

“Forever yours,” the winds echoed her words. Words she had carved on the tree.

“YOU LIED!” I quickly shot back, forgiving the delusion. “You never loved me. I was a fool.”

The fire spread and all the trees around me caught on fire. The crackling sound soon resembled the sound of failing rain and it took me back to the day of her funeral. It was raining then too. It was then I met her husband and son. Our love had been a lie.

“Forever yours,” the winds kept on.

“STOP IT!”

I lunged at the tree with my pocket knife. I stabbed and scratched out the words she carved. I tore at the bark and embers. Smoke and soot rose until I could taste it. I clawed at the carving with my bare hands like an animal, until they bled. It was then I realized my hands were also burning. The burning pain was offset by the dead cold feeling in my heart. I could not take it anymore.

I surrendered to the tree that was now engulfed in flames. The green leaves now joined the once solitary orange leaf as they all burned.



Word Count: 388