A Leaf From Above

As I stand under the falling leaves, I remember the times when I was a lot younger, that I believed in magic and spells. How I used to pretend to put spells on my teddies and dolls, and turn them into different toys. I watched the pack of cards change before my eyes, and didn’t know there was a way to do it. It was magic and I loved it. I loved that time of childhood - anything could happen and I could make anything happen, I could change the world, my little world. But today, I was standing under a tall beech tree, its leaves falling and gently coating the ground with a soft brown carpet. I bend down to touch it, and I realise actually the leaves were not falling from the tree I am under. The leaves were falling from the sky. I look around, no one else is here, it’s just me. Are the leaves falling just around me or are they falling everywhere?  I step out from under the tree, and gaze upwards. It’s a clear day, blue sky, but it’s cold. There is no wind. This is strange. There is no wind, yet the leaves are flowing from the sky and gently floating in all directions. I make a start on my walk home. It’s only up the garden path, but I’m intrigued as to where or not the leaves are falling nearer the house, or just at the bottom of the garden. The gate has swollen in the recent rain so I give it a kick, not enough to hurt its feelings, but enough to nudge it into life. The leaves are still falling. I jump up the steps to the back door and call out to the house. ‘’Heyyy, I’m back!’’ I hear the footsteps of my husband, he walks ‘’heavy’’ my mother used to say. ‘’Hey, how was the tree, did you reminisce nice memories?’’ 

As we look out of the kitchen window, coffee in hand to warm up, we are both stunned to silence that the leaves continue to fall. So it wasn’t just around me at the bottom of the garden, it’s everywhere. ‘’Just another abnormal thing to happen in our abnormal life!’’ my husband joyfully shares. I glare at him, I hate it when he says our life is ‘abnormal’, what is ‘normal’ anyway? Surely the fact that we are all different, some compatible with others, is what makes the world go round. ‘’Sorry’’ he says, biting his bottom lip. ‘’I just wonder why the leaves are falling’’ I quietly pondered out loud. ‘’Does it matter?’’ my husband responded. Does it? Well maybe not, but I am still wondering. 

I notice a shadow cross the garden, I quickly look up to my husband who doesn’t look alarmed in any way. ‘’Did you see that?’’ I ask impatiently. ‘’See what, all I see are leaves, leaves and leaves.’’ I look back at the garden, maybe I imagined it. Then I notice that there is a path of leaves cleared across the lawn. ‘’Look, there is a path cleared of leaves, how has that happened?’’ My husband averts his gaze from sky to the lawn and then raises an eyebrow, he’s noticed it. I watch the leaves fall, yet, they don’t land on the clear path, they just float over it or away from it. ‘This is strange, something strange is happening or something strange is about to happen.’’ I start to panic, these thoughts are whirling around my head at the speed of light. ‘’What do we do?’’ I question my husband. ‘’What do you mean what do we do?’’ he distantly replies, still stunned about the falling leaves, not considering what it means or could mean. ‘’I mean, there is something strange happening or something strange is about to happen, the leaves are a sign, I’m sure, and the clear path shows there is something, ghost like in our garden!’’ My words rush out and I feel like I have no control. ‘’Woah’’ he raises his hands, ‘’There is probably nothing about to happen, or in fact happening right now, it’s just a new freak of nature once in a lifetime occurrence, and as we haven't seen it before, it’s odd to us, but it may not be odd to the planet. The path though, I’m not sure.’’ My husband seems confident in his answer but I’m not sure I believe him. I head towards the back door, and step outside. The breeze has picked up, but the leaves are not falling any differently to earlier when there was no breeze. I duck back inside. I ring Kate, a good friend, who hopefully won’t think I’m mad, but will say she sees the leaves too. 

‘’Yes, yes, it’s crazy, but it really is quite beautiful’’ she gently says, Kate has always been optimistic and would rarely find a negative in any given situation. I try again, ‘’look, I’m not sure on this, I don’t think it’s right, I think it’s a sign that something strange is already happening or is about to happen.’’ I try to sound calm and collected, but really I sound like a small girl. My mind flicks back to those childhood days, calmly playing with my toys, putting spells on them and watching magic. As I gaze outside, the leaves are no longer falling to the ground, they’re hovering a couple of metres above it. ‘’Are the leaves falling to the ground with you?’’ I slowly question Kate. My husband has left us ladies on the phone to put the world right and gone back to the study. ‘’No, they are not. Well, wait, they were, because there are some on the ground’’ Kate is clearly trying to think why this is happening, I’m more concerned about what is about to happen. ‘’Have you got a clear path of leaves in view?’’ Kate queries. ‘’Yes!’’ I almost sound delighted as I reply, and I finally feel believed and think ‘at least this isn’t just me’.