Apples only fall on fall

Autumn was never her favourite season, she preferred summer way more. The only thing she could appreciate about autumn, was the litterfall. Even if she knew it wasn’t very hygienic, it was still fun to jump or lay on it. It was curious how a bunch of leafs could feel so comfy. And the sound it made when it crushed? Very satisfying.

However, this time the leaves didn’t crush under her feet. Even when she added more pressure, they didn’t break even a little. They weren't small either, in fact, they were so big she could cover her face with just one of them. Were they really leaves and not some other harder material that had been shaped as a leaf? It was dumb to think someone would have the time to do so many of them only to scatter them everywhere, but anyway, figuring out the reasons of such leaves wasn’t why she came there.

After having a quick look at the area, she couldn’t find what she was searching for. All she could see was a bunch of trees without foliage, so maybe the leaves were natural.

-Are you sure there’s apples here? - She yelled to her companion, turning her head towards him. He was forward by far, because she wanted to keep a reasonable distance from him, still not used to his appearance. He wasn’t hideous, just…peculiar.

He had some very pretty flowers with him…sprouting from his head, and they were as white as the rest of his skin. And he seemed to have some leafs in his wrists, she wasn’t sure if they were all over his arms, as great part of his body was covered in a precarious (and very old fashioned for her taste) plaid poncho. His amber iris seemed to occupy everything in his eyes, not a single white space was visible. Maybe he didn’t have any sclerotic? It didn’t help that his pupil were always contracted, it gave him the look of a snake.

He only nodded in response. Of course. Why she expected a more elaborate answer? In the short amount of time they had knowing each other, he didn’t say anything at all. He only communicated by writing, and yet he didn’t use much sentences. Knowing that it was no use to ask for an explanation, she just followed him in silence, wondering if she made the right choice by trusting him. If those apples weren’t made of gold or tasted like heaven, then she’ll knew that the answer would be a big “no”.

They walked and walked, with the sun slowly disappearing from sky. And yet, the only thing she could find were more and more trees without any leaves. How long until they reached and apple tree? She wouldn’t stay until the night.

Also, the litterfall was going deeper and deeper into her legs. She was sure that it didn’t reached her knee when they just arrived to such a place. And she was taller than the average, how much of someone with a regular height will cover? She regretted wearing a dress, the skirt was basically getting stuffed with leaves, leaves that weren’t exactly soft.

Her companion, however, didn’t seem to have any problem. The way he walked over the litterfall made it seem like it was an actual floor instead of a very unstable surface that acted like quicksand, sucking whoever step on it. When she tried to do the same, she’ll always get absorbed by those hard and rather pointy, she realized after getting some scratches, big leaves.

When the litterfall started to reach her waist and the sun was almost gone, she was done. She wanted to scream a lot of thing to him, but something stole her voice.

Or someone?

It was quite far, so maybe she wasn’t seeing it right. But when she noticed that he was as frozen as her, she knew she was right. That thing that emerged from the litterfall was indeed an arm. He ran towards it, but she stood there, unsure of what to do next. She wanted to leave. But how safe it would be to walk there alone? All she could do was watching how he grabbed the arm and pulled it, dragging…

“Lyesa!” She thought to herself.

So there she was! It was good to know that she was fine, it had been a long time since Lyesa promised to return the money she owed her…

She still owed it!

-LYESA!- She yelled this time.

-Ah, It’s good to see you again!- Lyesa grabbing her saviour’s arm again as soon as he released her.- Hey, don’t release me or I going to fall again!

He growled, clearly not pleased with her touch. Still, he didn’t try to get away from her.

-Where’s my money Lyesa? - She decided to go straight to the point, before Lyesa could change the subject.

-Well, you see, I can’t give it to you right now…

-Really?!- She was already tired of that excuse.

-…because it’s in my house you know! Of course I don’t have it with me right now, and you should be grateful for that, because I would definitely lost it all under this…

-Yeah, whatever. So, when I can go to your house and get this over with?

-Right now.

-Seriously? Are you saying you live near this place? - She believed she was in a forest, but it turned out it was populated?

- Yes, you should come! Visits are always welcomed!- she sounded genuinely excited to have company- It’s getting dark, and I can tell flower boy needs to rest…after carrying me home of course.- she added, looking at him with an awkward smile.

He growled again. Resigned, he crouched down, letting her climb onto his back. For a moment, Lyesa resembled a baby koala in its mother’s back. The though made her chuckle, but when they started to drift away, she realized something not so funny.

-Wait, what about me? I’m drowning on this litterfall.

The baby koala looked at her.

-Don’t worry, my house it’s not too far.

With leaves already surpassing her waist, she struggled to move. They instead, seemed to be totally fine, with him walking as well as before like no extra weight was added.

They quickly were very far away from her, but it seemed like Lyesa didn’t think it would hinder their communication, because she started to yell:

-SO, FLOWER BOY BROUGHT YOU HERE, DIDN’T HE?

“Flower boy” didn’t show any sign of annoyance at her screams, which was pretty admirable, considering that she felt her ears ache despite the distance.

-Yes, he told me about some unique apples here.

-WHAT!? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!

-HE TOLD ME ABOUT SOME APPLES! – She said, finally letting go all her anger towards everything; the damn litterfall, the apples that seemed to be in the other corner of the world, Lyesa’s umpayed debt…

-THE APPLES! I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT! EVERYONE WANTS THEM!

-SO, THEY DO EXIST? BECAUSE I’VE WALKING HERE FOR HOURS TO FIND NOTHING!

-YES, THEY’RE REAL! IN FACT, THEY’RE MINE!

-YOURS?! WHAT…?!

But Lyesa interrupted her.

-AAAANNND…WE ARRIVED!

The sigh of a house comforted her. It was small and it didn’t seem to be very clean, but as soon as she could get out of the litterfall, it was fine.

How good it felt to step on the floor again! She couldn’t contain a relieved sigh as she started to climb the entrance stairs. The door seemed to be already opened, seeing how Lyesa didn’t stop to use keys. They were considerate enough to let the door open for her, and when she walked in, she could see that Lyesa was still on the back of “Flower boy”.

-You can release me now, Flower boy. - As soon as Lyesa said that, she was dropped without any care onto the floor.

-Be careful!

But he ignored her and quickly headed upstairs, as silent as ever.

He was already familiarized with the house?

-You two know each other? - She asked to the fallen Lyesa.

- I was going to do the same question.- she said, getting up- But since you asked first, I’ll answer you first: yes. I’ve known him for a while, sometimes he comes here to help me with the apples. And what about you?

-It may sound strange, but I met him on my garden after watering his head thinking it was one of my flowers.

Lyesa laughed.

-It’s not strange! Of course he would be found in a place like that! So, how he convinced you to get here?

-He told me I could find some very valuable apples here…

-He “told you”? Come on, that’s impossible.

-Well, he handed me a paper with that written on it.

-That’s sounds more like him. He never says anything to me neither. I have no idea of what’s his name, or why he’s here, but…

Lyesa closed the distance between them so much that made her felt uncomfortable. Then, she whispered:

-Don’t say anything about this, but I think he’s running away from something. He seems desperate for a shelter, otherwise I don’t think he would be coming to my house so often.

-Shelter?

-Yes, I let him stay a bit when he helps. And let’s not forget about the upcoming winter. You may not noticed it because of the poncho, but his leaves are quite withered…

-Why are you telling me this?

-You see, I don’t he’ll survive for the next season.

-How I’m supposed to react to that statement? I’m not really fond of him.

Lyesa finally moved away.

-Well. I guess everyone dies. - She didn’t sound that affected either. - Anyways, you want those apples don’t you?

-I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t.

-I don’t blame you. They’re as big as me and the taste is something you wouldn’t be able to feel anywhere. Whatever Flower boy told you, or might I say, write about it, it’s true.

-You say they were yours, didn’t you?

-Of course. And you see, I was thinking…

-What?

-That since you want them so bad, I could pay you with some of them. I mean, just one of this apples is more valuable than the amount I owe you, so think about it!

-I don’t know. - Yes, the fruit seemed valuable, but she still wanted her money back.

-Okay, It doesn’t matter, I was just saying…you could still grab some tomorrow if you.

-And you’ll still pay me?

-I will do it tomorrow. We both need to sleep now, don’t you think? - She let out a exaggerated yawn after that, but maybe she was right. It was late already.

-Tomorrow then.

The next day, Lyesa headed her towards the precious apples as soon as she woke up. They turned out to be exactly how she described them: big, bright, and while she didn’t taste them yet, the outside seemed very tasty to not be delicious on the inside.

But she didn’t expected to see yellow apples instead of red.

-Why they’re yellow?

-Don’t worry, they’ll become an intense red once you cut them off of the branches. They’re not like others apples, I think you already knew that.

-I’m totally going to get one. But, how can I pick such a big fruit?

-Oh, I’ll just give you a ladder and some pruning shears. Then, you grab the apple and began to cut until it falls down.

-Got it.

Soon she was leaning over the biggest apple on the tree. After all, trusting Flower boy was worth it!

Or it was until she touched the apple. Suddenly, her hand seemed glued to it. No matter how much she tried, her hand didn’t move the slightest bit. She turned around to tell Lyesa, but she was nowhere to be seen.

When she looked at the front again, her whole forearm was inside the apple. What was happening? She screamed, but neither Lyesa nor Flower boy showed up. Now all her arm was inside, and in her desperate attempts to get out, the only thing she managed was making the ladder fall. But even without anything to stand on, she still remained on the air, glued to the apple that seemed more and more close to her face…

The screams stopped. Lyesa finally left her house, knowing it was about time.

When she reached the apple tree, she could still a feet outside the apple. However, it quickly got absorbed by the apple too, leaving no evidence of the presence of any person there. And with that, a tasty, red, and big apple fell from the tree.

-Good harvest! - Lyesa celebrated, running towards her prize.

It was so bright! And so big that she could easily climb on it! She could do a lot of tasty things with such a fruit and since it was so big, maybe it would be enough for some months!

Then, he came from the trees, reminding her of something.  

-Hey Flower boy.

Raising his head was all he did to tell her he was listening.

-Next time try to bring someone who doesn’t know me already.

-…

-Okay, I’ll let it pass this time and just because I saved me from my debt. I’ll give you a list of names that are absolutely forbidden, understood?

He nodded.

-Well, with this one they’re two. Bring me one more and we'll see if you could stay here for winter.

But when Lyesa finally but when she got off the apple, her feet quickly began to sink into the leaves. She looked around for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

-Hey, don’t leave yet! Who it’s going to get me out of the litterfall when I fall on it again? And help me with this apple, too!