Fall Announcement

'By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were already on fire. Oh, how I wish you could have been here!'

Bright blue eyes stared down at the line she had just written, wondering if it was a decent start. Deciding that it was the perfect way to start her letter, she smiled. Her best friend of fifteen years had promised to be there, but something had come up last minute and she had to miss the event. Marcie, as always, had promised to write her a letter describing everything so that her best friend could feel as if she had actually been there. 

'It was at our house on the lake, I couldn’t have thought of a more perfect setting. The sun setting below the lake, casting the world in an ambient golden light; the clouds above cast in shades of red, pink, orange and gold...it reminded me so much of that oil painting we saw last month at the gallery. The lake! Oh you should have seen it! The water was as still as glass, broken only by the occasional jumping fish, it reflected the world in utter perfection. Do you remember my uncle Arthur? He and my brother, Travis, spent literally ALL day raking the entire property. They were piling up every single leaf they could find into one massive pile right in the middle of the yard! Hues of gold, red, brown, orange, faded green...it was an amazing sight. Don’t worry, I got a picture of it for you. I also took pictures of the sunset and the lake, I know how much you would want to see and words can only do so much.' 

Marcie glanced over to the side, where a stack of pictures sat patiently, waiting to be inserted into the small box. She smiled as she looked over the picture right on top, the one of the mountain of leaves. Her brother was posing right in front of it, a goofy grin on his handsome face. Her uncle stood off to the side, rake still in hand and his eyes alight with the laugh etched into every line of his face. She traced the picture for a moment before her attention turned back to the letter, her hand picking up the pen once more. 

'They set fire to the leaves just as the darkness began to close in around us, I had been inside changing into something a little warmer and watching the scene from my window, so it was a nice sight to see once I returned outside. My dad showed up at that moment with the food in hand. He started up the bar-b-que pit and went into the house to prepare the hamburger patties and hotdogs. My mother helped by preparing the picnic table with the cover, condiments, and plates. My aunt Mary, Arthur’s wife, helped by bringing out the ice chests full of cold beverages; soda and water, Gatorade, beer...the drinks safe for younger folks was all packed in clearly-marked coolers while the beer stayed in a cooler by the house, guarded by my uncle Frank. You remember Frank, don’t you? He was the one that went to jail for that car jacking, but was proven to simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Anyways, I cannot tell you how excited I was, or how anxious. The entire family was getting together for the first time in ten years! I still can't believe everyone agreed to come. Aunt Agatha and aunt Caitlyn could never be in the same space for longer than ten minutes without some kind of argument happening. Cousin Tyler was always trying to best my brother in everything, and that hasn’t stopped just because they graduated and Tyler moved away. My brother rescued two kittens from the middle of a road, well Tyler rescued four from an abandoned building on the verge of collapse. Yeah...it’s insane. I cannot tell you how many times I prayed that this night would go smoothly. '

Marcie paused here, her mouth feeling dry. She made her way downstairs to get a bottle of water from the fridge, her mind turning with the memories of the event just a week ago. As she sipped the water she allowed her eyes to wander to the window, watching the rippling water of the lake. It truly was a peaceful sight, and one she could never get tired of. No matter how hot or cold the season was, she would always want to be near the water...it’s just who she was, and she loved it. With a soft chuckle, she turned to head back up the stairs towards her room and the best view of the house. She walked to the sliding glass door across from her bed and, pushing it open, stepped out onto the balcony. She pulled her jacket a bit closer as the chilly morning air nipped at her body. She stared out over the lake, bathed in the gentle mid-morning light, as she debated on whether or not she should skip the boring events. After a few minutes of debate, she decided it might be best. Besides, she could always feel her friend in on those details during a phone call. One last glance at the water and one long sigh later, Marcie slid the glass door closed once more and made her way back to her desk, intending to finish the letter.

'I’ll spare you the boring details, if you wish to know then I can tell you later over the phone. But for now, I’ll just get to the good part. My father’s burgers, as always, were utterly delicious. They were so juicy and grilled to perfection, paired with the grilled onions...I’m getting hungry again just thinking about them! It was so nice, seeing all my nieces and nephews again. Oh, no...my brother isn’t married, he’s not even interested in women xD. I should explain...my cousins and I are all so close that I call their kids my nieces or nephews. Even my cousins tell their kids to call me ‘auntie’, so I know we’ll have to explain things later in life but for now...let’s continue on, shall we? Little Henry has his first crush, and it’s on a girl in his class! Isn’t that cute? Oh and little Lewis just got his first puppy, he named it Shadow! Apparently that little puppy follows him everywhere, his mom showed me videos of the two sleeping together on the floor, playing together, eating together...it’s so adorable! Even my niece Janet is getting a pet, her parents are getting her a sugar glider! She’s so excited, she’s been researching their diet, how to care for them, what signs are cause for concern...everything. I’ve never seen her taking something so serious before, she even started giving me lessons on everything she’s learned. It was really nice to catch up with the entire family again, I missed them all while I was away in Europe for classes. I can’t tell you how good it is to be back home. As the night continued on things got even more fun. Aunt Martha, the DJ of the family, brought out her portable Bluetooth speaker and began BLASTING all her favorite songs. People began dancing and laughing. Surprise, Tyler challenged my brother to a dance-off and, no surprise, my brother won LOL. It was amusing to watch Tyler slink off in defeat, though I did feel sorry for him...my brother’s always been the better dancer. '

Marcie chuckled softly to herself as she leaned back in the chair, the stack of pictures now in her hand. She looked through it, studying each picture she took. She’d always had a love of photography and it really showed in every picture she owned. That was one reason she had gone to Europe: to study underneath some of the best photographers of the modern age. She smiled at the picture of her brother comforting Tyler after the dance-off. No matter how they always seemed to compete in everything, or how Tyler always had to one-up her brother, it was very clear that the two were insanely close. She had long-since learned that the competitions were their way of staying connected and keeping in touch, and she couldn’t help but admire that about them. She also found a picture of her niece talking to her about the sugar gliders. Chuckling, she set the pictures back down and picked up her pen once more, returning to the letter.

'The reunion went well into the night. Before we knew it, the children were disappearing one by one into the house to fall asleep on the beds we had already set up in the living room for them. We expected this would happen at some point. Before anyone realized it, someone announced that it was two in the morning and we all needed to get some rest, as a good majority of the family had work in a couple hours. Before we decided to put out the fire, however, I decided that now was the time I’d been so anxious for, the reason I had decided to have the reunion now, instead of when I first came home. As I got everyone’s attention, I cannot tell you how bad my nerves were. It was worse than the time I asked Bryan to prom...I was a wreck! Well, I couldn’t go back now. So, I told them...I told them about Adrian. How we had met during my time in Europe and how we connected instantly. I told them about how we started dating and how, after four years, he had proposed. I was in Europe for ten years to study, this really shouldn’t have been as big of a shock as it was. '

'I mean, I know I didn’t post any statuses or anything but I was rarely on the computer...unless it was to use photoshop or post my assignments. I had other things I had to do! But, despite this fact, I could not have expected the reactions I got. Before they could get too upset, I told them the rest of the news. He was moving to the states to be with me, and we were getting married next year. I think the fact that they were all going to get to meet him in person softened things...because I soon found myself being forced to show off the engagement ring and the pictures we took together. I guess the news was too much of a shock, and that shock was masked by anger...but things seemed better after. Once the fire was put out and we all moved into the house so people could gather up their kids and get ready to leave, I was pulled into so many hugs and heard ‘Congrats’ too many times to count. I can’t wait for you to meet him! Oh, didn’t I tell you? I want you to be the first to meet him, before he’s thrust into my insane family. He’ll be here in two months...I can’t wait! Well, you probably have studies of your own to get to and I’ve probably taken up too much of your time so I’ll end this here. I promise, I’ll call you soon and we’ll hang out again. I really miss you.

• Love, Marcie.'

The young woman carefully folded the letter up and placed it neatly into the envelope before she sealed it up. She then placed the pictures back into their own large envelope and placed it in the bottom of the box, before placing the sealed and addressed letter on top. She closed the small box up and wrapped it up before she wrote the addresses on the box. Grabbing her purse, Marcie smiled as she picked the box up and left her house. The bright blue sky overhead seemed to match the feeling in her chest as she drove to the post office to mail the package off. She knew she could have simply dropped it off at her friends house herself, since she just lived on the other side of town, but that wouldn’t have been nearly as fun as mailing it. She chuckled softly, handing the package to the clerk and paying the appropriate fee, as her mind began envisioning her best friend’s reaction. She only hoped the goofball recorded herself and sent her the video, she would love to see the reaction!