Of Ice and Hopitals

Chapter 20

October 10, 1996

The day was gloomy and wet, remnants of pouring rain clinging to the air as translucid water driblets skimmed down thin layers of dying leaves like a champaign fountain until their gentle fall came to an end as they mutely landed on the yellowing grass.

Sprayed asphalt and dampened soil permeated the air, generating the unmistakable earthy petrichor smell that resulted from rainwater drenching the land.

Already, trees were losing their leafy coats as leaves, narrow and short, large and long, orange or yellow, red or brown, had made their final journey on the ground, falling one of top of the other until all we could see was one sweeping multicoloured carpet.

An archetypal fall day.

It was that time of the year where the air was at its freshest, crisp most of the time except for when its habitual showers would thicken the oxygen we breathed in through our nose and our mouth.

That time of the year when the only acceptable clothing was anything wool; wool scarves, wool sweaters, wool socks, wool jackets - wool everything.

If your clothes made you feel like you were hugged by a warm blanket wherever you went, then you were doing it right.

Families and friends went apple and then pumpkin picking and made apple crumble and pumpkin pies with the locally grown produce they enthusiastically harvested.

They would later gather around a large table and share anecdotes and stories from work and school over a comforting meal, the inevitable but necessary dad jokes being thrown around in between mouthfuls of homemade goods, making embarrassed kids roll their eyes and uncles clutch their stomachs in delighted laughter.

Where the temperature was nothing like the grilling heat of summer, a preview of the winter cold, the atmosphere inside people's homes was anything but.

Lisa liked autumn. Loved it.

Her house would unfailingly smell like fresh pastries and bread baking in the oven, her dad incessantly inventing and trying out new recipes for his bakery, always one to incorporate produce in season to his desserts.

Her mom and dad would let her jump into the small mountains of dead leaves they had just finished raking with their old, rusty leaf rakes. They laughed and joined her with childish glee, young at heart, the little family happily throwing piles of leaves into the air and at each other until ALisander and Eleanor had to start the job all over again.

They never minded. Were making their little girl happy.

But today, Lisa was not happy. She was sad, and nothing succeeded in making her smile.

Not the fact that it was Saturday and she had a break from school.

Not her dad's special pancakes that he made just for her.

Not her mom's soft humming as she cleaned the dishes, something that usually made Lisa smile big because her mom's voice was the prettiest.

Nothing.

Her best friend Leslie moved away because her mom was transferred to another military base on the east coast.

She could not stay longer to finish the school year. Had to go right away.

Lisa did not know if she would ever see her friend again. The east coast was so far away from her house.

Her mom tried to comfort her by folding her small body into her arms and told her that she could always use the phone to talk to Leslie if she wanted but Lisa had just shrugged sadly.