The Leaves (6) : With the changing seasons, there are piles of leaves all around Destiny City. It’s a difficult job to try and keep up with them all, and sometimes the allure of these leaf piles is impossible to ignore. Who doesn’t want to relive the childish joys of their youth? And no one’s around to see, right? So why not jump into a pile of leaves? Oh–because, when you do, you jump through one pile and come out of another somewhere else across the city. The leaves all seem ordinary, but there’s a few odd seconds between when you jump into the leaves and when you jump out; it feels like falling, tumbling, somersaulting through the air. It’s not scary, just odd. You see walls of leaves–brown and orange and yellow and red–and they crunch magnificently. Overall, it doesn’t seem menacing, just a bit of trickster fun. If you try to jump in a pile of leaves again, you might wind up somewhere else entirely–or right back where you started.



Demetrius had been so busy with school that he had forgotten to have a life. Constantly throughout the semesters of college people were telling I'm he needed to get out and have some fun but he refused. That was until the other day he heard all his other classmates talk about how beautiful it was outside and how the festival for Halloween had been amazing. This had piqued his curiosity, well that and his text from his friend Andrew telling him about everything going on. Sadly that was the most interaction they had had in a while. This made him a little upset since he knew he had let his school life overtake him, and he needed to remember to breathe.

So today he was going to do just that, as he woke up, cleaned up his desk, put on his backpack, and headed out his dorm door. Luckily he lived alone, so he didn't have to worry about anyone getting into his stuff. He was fortunate in that instance but his parents were insistent that he not have any disruptions. At least in the letters he read, they were anyways. Now his parents were so busy these days that he hardly spoke to them, but he knew they only had his best interest at heart. After all, he knew they loved him in their own way.

So as he went outside he saw the beautiful scenery around him, the weather felt amazing. He could feel the cool breeze on his face and the fresh air was so fresh. Nothing like the stale air in all his classrooms on campus. It was like he was opening his eyes to a whole new world, not one with his head stuck in his books or laptop. That was when he felt something crunch below his feet, as he looked down he noticed a brownish leave crumbling below his boot. When he looked around for what it came from he noticed there were piles and piles of leaves. Which was a little odd since didn't they normally bag up the leaves at this time of year. He decided it was time to investigate so he went to the first pile of leaves. They were all different colors of leaves, from different types of trees, but this pile looked way too neat with the wind blowing around right now. It was as if something was keeping it neat and untouched by the watering elements. Now he knew if something seemed off it probably was after all there were things in the world he knew existed that others did not like the chaos and order. This though didn't seem like a trick either of them would use in her eyes, it was too neat and orderly. Plus all the piles in this street looked the same, and to him, it looked like there were over twenty perfect piles.

Then all of a sudden while he stared at the piles trying to figure out what they were. This sense of joy and all these childish thoughts flooded his body. He felt like he was a kid again, and for some reason, he really wanted to jump in those piles of leaves. Even the thought in his head excited him, so without a second thought, he stepped back a few feet and ran as fast as he could toward the pile of leaves. Then he leaped high in the air, landing straight in the middle of the leaves. He could feel the leaves hit his body and he smiled. Though then it all changed, instead of the leaves spreading, he was sucked into the pile of leaves. He could feel his whole body being transported somewhere other than the street he was on.

So he closed his eyes slowly but surely. Then he thought of the beautiful park nearby his parent's home. The park where he studied, listened to music and watched law shows. This part was a huge part of where he became himself and where when he had no one he never once felt alone but at peace. He thought of the place he wished to go, hoping his desire would reach whatever was transporting him. He could feel himself falling and flipping in the air as it took him wherever it wanted to take him.

Then as he felt like it was ending. He opened his eyes and could see walls of leaves–brown and orange and yellow and red–and they crunch magnificently around him. It was a sight like nothing he had ever seen before, like something in a fairytale. That was when he saw the light it looked like sunlight, as he felt leaves touching his body, he was thrown out of a different pile of leaves. They had different colors still were beautiful leaves, he watched as they passed his face and he was thrown onto a grassy area. At first, he didn't feel anything and he just smiled childishly just like a kid who fell and didn't want to stop playing. Then it all hit him like a rock, the pain in his back and legs was a lot to hit a person at once.

"Owww..." he thought as he stood up and tried to shake it off. "Those are definitely not normal leaves," he said as tried to stretch his legs and then took a look around. He realized while he was all intact he wasn't in the same place he started and instead he was at the park he had thought about. He was home, and he had a pile of leaves to thank for that. Who would have thought he would get his wish, and all it took was jumping in a pile of leaves? He smiled and instead of continuing his investigation decided it was a blessing and sometimes those need to be left alone. With that, he head in the direction of the nearest table so he could do his work and get some fresh air. Then he texted his parents and said, "mind if I come over for dinner?"

All in all that pile of leaves had helped him get his life back again and he would always be thankful for them.

Word count: 1037