The Colours of Autumn

It was the beginning of October, the weather was getting colder and the nature was colorful. I loved autumn, it brought me some coziness. It was not like summer, constantly hot, nor like spring - frequent rains. It was beautiful because of the variety of colors describing an amazing natural picture.

My parents and I went to visit my grandfather in the village. Every year at this time we would gather to pick apples as big as Dad’s fist. And my father was a big man. Arriving there, he greeted us with a rich meal and long conversations. When my mother was cleaning the table and my father was asleep, tired from the road, I was standing with my grandfather in the living room by the burning fireplace.

“This year the apples are less than last year.” - Grandpa said.

“Probably because of climate change.” - I replied.

“No, it’s still the same, but since your grandmother died, they have become less and less each year.” - Grandfather spoke softly and slowly.

“Our garden is huge, we can plant more apple trees!” - I smiled. - “If this will increase their number.”

“Sounds great, my child …”

The next day, Mom and Dad took care of one half, and me and Grandpa took care of the other part of the garden. I held a large basket and followed him. He stopped in front of the largest tree in our garden and stared.

“We planted this tree first when we bought the house thirty years ago. Your grandmother and I adored apples, and that was the symbol of our home.” - He told me. - “I’ll give them to you, and you collect them in the basket, okay?” - He asked, and I nodded in agreement.

He started handing me the apples one by one, and I put each one in the basket, filling it. At one point he handed me a green apple, not yet ripe, so I grabbed it, looked at it and decided to put it on the ground. He turned and picked it up.

“You left it because it was green, didn’t you?” - I nodded again. - “Why is it green, you know?”

“She’s not ripe, we could have left her on the tree a little longer.” - I said.

“If it hasn’t ripened yet, it will never ripen. It is located in a place where sunlight does not reach. It would have rotted if I had left it, it would have been better to eat it.”

“But it won’t be as tasty as the others?”

“That’s right, it won’t be. But all apples have different tastes because they have different degrees of ripening. That doesn’t mean they suck. It is the same with people, everyone has a different character and way of expression, which is built in the way we grow. Your grandmother was antisocial because everyone ignored her before just because she was different. Everyone rejected her because she came from a poor family and could not be like the others. But I was next to her. I liked her no matter how torn her clothes were, no matter how poor she was. We should not judge people by their appearance, because inner beauty is more important. I plucked this apple in the same way. If it weren’t for me, she would rot and be eaten by worms, or nothing would happen to her at all. Just because it hasn’t been exposed to enough light doesn’t mean it tastes bad. Try it.” - He said.

I took a bite and the taste was unique. It was infinitely delicious, though it wasn’t as red as the others.

“Now try this one.” - He handed me a dark red apple.

After I took a bite, the taste was very sour, and the inside was yellow and rotten.

“This apple is overripe. At first glance it is beautiful, very tasty looking, but once you try it it is sour. So it is with people. So was I before I met your grandmother. I came from a wealthy family, I wore expensive clothes and my parents drove brand new cars at the time. I had the most expensive textbooks and notebooks, as well as a cell phone. Everyone was having fun and praising me, and I felt confident that I was the greatest of them all. When I met your grandmother, she told me that I was disgusting, that I was nothing compared to what I was showing. This didn’t bother me at first, but I haven’t stopped thinking about her words since she said them. I’ve changed since then, I didn’t want to be like that anymore. When an apple is exposed to the sun for too long, it begins to overripe and acquires a mushy taste that resembles alcohol.”

He continued to the next tree, which was only with yellow apples. He tore off only one and handed it to me, making me try it again. It was delicious, very sweet and pleasant.

“This one is delicious, what’s wrong with it?” - I asked, not understanding. It was neither green nor red.

“It has to do with her color. The apple variety itself is such that it cannot turn red. We can only judge that it is different in color, but inside it is sweeter than any apple in color. So it is with people. We judge anyone whose skin color is different from ours. My best friend, Jordan, who lives two houses down the street, is of Negroid descent. People constantly judge him by his skin color because he just isn’t white. The woman across the street, Melissa, is of Asian descent. People judge her because of her eyes, because of the color of her skin, because she just isn’t like us. But these are the best people I know, the most honest and good souls I’ve ever met in my life, besides your grandmother. Yellow apples stand out from the rest, but taste better than all.”

He reached into my basket and pulled out a red apple, neither darker nor lighter. This time he wouldn’t let me try it, but took a knife out of his pocket and cut it in two. Inside the apple was white, clean, neither rotten nor unripe.

“This is an apple that has reached medium ripeness. In this state, red apples are the purest. Wonderful in taste and with a great bright color. Look here.” - He showed me the peel of the apple, which was slightly green. - “When I met your grandmother, she taught me to be human, which made me such an apple. When I met your grandmother, she started to be more social than usual and had friends. This turned her from a green to a red apple.” - He said. - “Remember this from me, child, growing up you meet many new and different people. Each of them hides a certain essence, which, depending on the way this person grows, is shown in a different way. You will meet people who have experienced difficulties in their life to grow up, such people are like green apples - they have no choice and grow more slowly mentally and materially than others. You will meet people who have everything, but not happiness, which will eat them from within and turn them into horrible creatures, such are the overripe apples - they get the most things in life and have more opportunities than others. You will meet blacks, yellows and all kinds of people of color, but that will not stop you from being friends with them. Everyone can be bad and good, he chooses this by communicating with the right ones. What I want to tell you and teach you is that you should not judge people by their appearance, whatever it may be - poor or rich, well-dressed or with torn clothes, beautiful or ugly, short or tall, white or black, etc. Be human, give goodness and you will receive goodness!”