Wind In The Willows

Submitted into Contest #248 in response to: Write a story titled 'The Wind in the Willows'.... view prompt

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Sad Coming of Age

The wind in the willows,

Listen as it blows,

The wind in the willows,

The cause of which, no one knows.

Sway does all the trees,

In the soothing autumn breeze,

Deep in the shivers of night,

When the moon shows no light.

The willow tree shivers,

Along with the harsh gusts,

The old oak leisurely withers,

While the willow stands tall and robust.

A chill runs down my spine,

As I watch the river flows by,

Shapely designed,

Its words a sacred lie.

A doe runs fast, yet silent,

An owl screeches into the night,

The wind bangs against my ear, defiant,

The owl, this evening, takes flight.

I pull the blanket closer to me,

As I huddle closer against the tree,

My fingers tremble,

The water brings some pebbles.

My mind peopled with imaginary friends,

The bird's song has come to an end,

Will us withstand,

These cruel demands?

A hedgehog nuzzles its way through,

Its spiky back parting the tall leaves,

Will I ever see you?

Or will we part with our different beliefs?

The silence around me is deafening,

My heart ever beating,

Your soul's evergreen,

A kinder person I have never seen.

My heart aches with longing,

As the clock ticks excruciatingly slow,

The sun slowly makes its dawning,

And it taught me how to let go.

The red, hot ball called the sun,

Had to part with the sky,

Whenever evening had come,

And he said, ''Goodbye.''

The moon parts the clouds,

Sharing a glimmering light in the heavens,

Fallen leaves in the surround,

Taught me something in mere seconds.

My frail hands touch your delicate face,

Stuck in a glass picture frame,

Every human has each's phase,

And each's heart to tame.

Through the world I have wondered,

Asked questions about the right way,

Many storm clouds have thundered,

So long, Daisy May!

Back to the present,

The trees remind me,

That nothings lasts while pleasant,

So I have to let the things be.

Oh, forever farewell, my old friend,

The hummingbird chirps, alarming the coming dawn,

These sad wounds I tend,

As I rise with a yawn.

(not rhyming anymore)

My feet trudged through the copper leaves,

My body rid of tiresome sleep,

My hands pull the blanket closer,

As I spot my house in the distance.

Silent tears fell on the moist ground,

As I sniffed away the remains of my old love,

A tender sorrow I hold in my heart,

As the sun said hello.

An everlasting glow,

You had created in my life,

And never will I forget,

The memories etch in my mind.

I reach my front porch,

And I subtly walk up the steps,

My right, fragile hand found the door knob,

Slowly turning it open.

The door swung open,

The scent of cinnamon and chocolate chip cookies filling my nose,

Mother, I am home,

I announce, with a voice barely above a whisper.

My mother greeted me,

With wide-spread arms and a charming smile,

With those soft, brown eyes that never seem to fail,

To warm my heart, soul and mine.

I melt in her embrace,

Sobbing into her shoulder,

As I tell her the story,

Of a not-so-happy ending friendship.

Many years have gone,

Woe forebode me to talk about it,

But that warm, summer night,

Had warmed my heart with the coming dawn.

My eyes look into the dull eyes stuck in the picture frame,

I mutter a hasty prayer,

Before going out for the day,

Never to come back home.

The heavy pack weighs against my back and pulls down my shoulders,

But for you, I would have done anything,

You said that too, if you haven't forgot,

It's just that, I kept that promise and you didn't.

Years and tears have flown by,

I am now an adult,

Without you by my side,

The world always seems at fault.

I hate this universe for ruining me in ways cannot be explained,

I hate the world for deciding fate wasn't ours,

I hate the pain of longing and the ache in my heart whenever I laid in my bed at night,

I hate everything that reminded me of you and your, sweet, sweet smile.

I reminded myself that I needed to move on,

But I kept saying that to myself,

Repeating word after word,

Wouldn't stop me from thinking of you.

You're stuck in my mind,

Like a fly is to a spider-web,

Like butter is to bread,

Like paper stuck to glue.

When will you leave?

I keep knocking on heaven's door,

Many time have I heave,

A breath to think of you no more.

But then again,

You're stuck, aren't you,

And I'll bet you'll forever be there,

Etched in the pages of my mind, haunting me at night.

I remember us climbing the trees,

Having worthy talks,

Riding the wild horses,

Picking the wildflowers in the field.

I remember laughing, joking, drinking tea and playing tag,

I was smitten at how kind you were,

Even though we had only met,

"Sunshine" you had called me.

I still read our texts, even though your number is dead,

I still listen to recordings of us calling,

As the snow is falling,

And the trees withered.

A doe had approached me then,

Told me everything will be fine,

I almost believed her.

Almost.

I guess, after all this time,

All I can do is say thank you,

Thank you for accompanying me through the hardest hardships of life,

Thank you for being there for me when I was stuck in my darkest times.

Thank you for having existed, though brief, in my life,

Thank you for being the person I needed,

Thank you for embracing me as rain fell,

Thank you for everything you've ever told.

I miss you, that's true,

But what else can I do?

Without you I am broken,

But more I might be if I'm actually with you.

Goodbye, my dearest friend,

The one who had not stuck with me until the very end,

The one who ruined me, heart and soul,

The one who taught me love, without giving it.

Goodbye, my dearest friend,

The one who had put a daisy in my ear,

The one who had brewed me a mug of chocolate,

The one who had taught me that the sun always greets us, always greets me.

I have to move on,

Trudge on the torturous path called life,

Without you,

Of course.

The copper leaves fall,

As the winter fades and autumn greets me with warm cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies,

The copper leaves fall,

As you fade and a new person came into my life, ready to protect and love me no matter what, no matter how.

Unlike you.

April 29, 2024 10:58

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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