Lost Memories of the Nature Preserve

A Latte, A Pastry, A Little Box

Autumn bloomed fast and burned quickly with leaves only momentarily chartreuse and gold. Mornings brought frost and afternoons carried windy days and sunshine. When evening arrived early, crisp nights, bonfire smoke, and bright moons were in toe.

It was the best time of the year.

Every Sunday, Sean would get excited by the new autumn-themed desserts at the coffee shops, and Maggie often would buy him one just to see his smile. Of course, she had to order something in the spirit of fall and would often walk out with a cinnamon latte or a pumpkin pastry. Sean's growing hands would almost wrap around Maggie's, but not long ago they used to only fit around her index finger. They walked across the street, waving a 'thank you' to a yielding car, and entered the nature preserve. Sean knew that once they set foot on the trail, he was allowed to run and jump around so long as his mom could see him.

This Sunday was even better. Excitement brewed in Maggie's heart as she let go of Sean's hand and sipped her creamy latte. Sean skipped and hopped along the trail, and Maggie smiled. Sean's elementary school had Monday off this week, but he didn't know it yet. She did her best to hold in the secret, knowing that it would be best to tell him during her surprise pizza and movie night. They would get a cheese pizza, extra cheese, and big glasses filled with ice cream and rootbeer. She already picked out a dinosaur movie that she knew Sean would not only love but also not get nightmares from.

"Mom," Sean called as he stood atop a fallen tree whose branches touched the path, "look at this! The lightning from the big, crazy storm last night must've hit it!"

"Oh wow, look at that," Maggie said admiring the tree. There was a tinge of sadness that crept into the back of her mind. It was an oak tree, and by the looks of it, at least fifty years old. It predated her by ten years, which meant that it was around before her parents met.

'And here I am, watching my son pluck off its last leaves. How many children have you shaded in your time?' she thought, purposefully sticking to the unpleasant feeling.

"You should write a poem about this!" Sean sang as he jumped over a branch. "The oak tree was tall until it fall-ed in the fall!"

"Until it fell in the fall," Maggie corrected unconsciously.

"Yeah, but then it doesn't rhyme," he said.

"Come on, let's see how many fallen trees we can count!" Maggie said.

"Yeah! I already saw two on the way in. But one of them wasn't completely fallen over yet," Sean said as he continued down the trail with his eyes peeled.

Maggie's latte was cooling off by the time they made it to the bench where they always sat and stared out over the rolling landscape. The trees were fiery and danced in the breeze, growing grayer as they met the horizon.

"Thirteen trees and counting," Sean sang as he plopped down beside Maggie.

"That is a ton of trees!" Maggie said.

"Yep!" Sean agreed, kicking his toes at the sand beneath the bench.

Maggie watched as jet plane clouds bent and dissipated in the blue sky. She leaned back and watched the leaves above her sift the sunlight and shiver and wave.

'This time of the year, people were meant to stop traveling. It is like the world is telling us, 'Hey! It's getting colder out here! Time to hunker down!'' She contemplated.

'Summer is the time for travel and exploration. Spring is the time to finally get out of your house and start warming up your bones. Winter is cozy cocoa and blankets with occasional outings with snowmen. But fall, fall is the time to enjoy the last drops of warmth and cuddle inside like a cat.'

"Mom, look at this!" Sean said, having left the bench seconds after he sat.

"What is it?" Maggie asked as she stared back at the shapeshifting clouds.

'What would the seasons be if they were household pets? Autumn might be rather a dog, sniffing the last bits of soft ground before sitting by a warm fireside...'

"I don't know..." Sean said, chipping away at the ground with a stone.

'Spring would be a cat, stretching out and enjoying its first sun bath in months.'

"Mom! You've got to come see this!" Sean said as he wiped his dirty hands on his pants.

"Yeah? Did you find a cool bug or something?" Maggie asked, slowly standing up and staring out at the sky for a moment longer.

"It's a box or something," Sean said.

Maggie glanced over at her son, who was holding a little box in his hand.