A Tale of Autumn

Whew, made it just in time for the first day of autumn. I much prefer 'autumn' to 'fall', by the way.


She waded through the tall grass of the field, catching wandering scents and glimmers of light from the sun setting behind the trees. She thought about the long summer, and all the fun she had had playing with child and adult alike. They had all grown so much in recent years. The children were becoming adults, and the adults were becoming wiser. She smiled as she thought of them, and wondered what they thought of her when she reappeared every spring and left at the end of every summer. She hadn't told them, of course. She had tried once long ago, but it had only complicated things. Instead, she told the people of this village that she was a simple noblewoman who liked to escape her estate and duties for part of the year. They seemed to like that, actually. Whenever other visitors came into the village, she sometimes overheard them bragging about the Lady that had fallen for their home.

Leaving was always bittersweet. Not that she minded. She lived for poignency and for the flow of strong emotion. She was riding the current now as she stepped into the woods and her sadness melted away. As she walked, the trees made their obediences to her with waving branches. The pines shook their lower limbs until the ground stretching in front of her was carpeted with needles that had never gotten enough light. She bowed her head in thanks and walked deeper in the shadows of her domain.

The fading sun was finding it more and more difficult to reach her as she traveled deeper into the forest. Fireflies began to gather around her until her way was lit by thousands of tiny lights. She walked her timeless path while other animals gathered around her, careful not to block her way. Some of the larger ones moved aside fallen trees or broken branches to make sure she didn't have to slow her pace. She smiled and petted the heads of a few young and excited foxes. She knew these creatures had been waiting anxiously for her, and even the most stately among them had to contain their pleasure. Everytime she went out into the human world, she would ask them not to greet her like this if she ever came into the forest. Humans liked to ask questions, and a crowd of wolves or bears vying for a chance to lick her face would raise quite a few.

She noticed someone approaching her from the shadows. She knew who it was even before she saw the high collar, the calm face, and the stately walk. He came up to her and walked at her side.

"Greetings to you, Temperance," she said brightly.

"My Lady," he said softly with a bow of his head, "How fare the mortals?"

"Very well. As full of life and wonder as with worry and sorrow, and ever fascinating. You usually meet me at the edge of the wood. Did you just now wake?" she said with a merry giggle.

"Hardly, My Lady," he responded, allowing a small smirk to her comment, "I spent most of the day at the celebration. I needed some air, so I went for a walk when evening came. A long walk. They are still partying, you know."

She laughed, "As to be expected from the Merry Siblings. I suppose that explains why the animals seem more excited than normal to see me. It has been a long, hot summer, hasn't it?"

"Indeed," he answered.

As they walked onward, the sounds of singing and music came floating through the trees. The fireflies flew off to join the unearthly glow ahead of them while the trees were swaying with the music. They came to a wall of hedges that parted before them and they walked into the heart of the celebration.

"Sister!" cried a capering girl in brilliant clothes who skipped over to greet the new arrivals. She glowed with excitement and mirth. "We've been waiting for you! Oh, this is such a day! Yes! A special party for today, oh yes! Come! Come! You must join me in a dance!"

She agreed to only one dance, which the girl would hear nothing of. When she bowed out, though, she wondered if the girl even noticed with the fun she was having. She noticed her brother, on the edge of the party and alone. Just how he liked it. He saw her, as well, and affected a weak smile. It was a warm gesture, as he only smiled for her and the girl she had just left. "He must feel awkward without his veil," she thought. Well, this wasn't his party, after all. She waved back, which freed him to continue brooding.

She headed towards a large tree where a man in a bright but stately suit stood, talking happily with smaller figures as others flew about the surrounding trees. She felt very giddy as she approached, which everyone felt when they drew near to him. For her, though, there was much more.

"Hale, Lord Spring," she said with a curtsy and a grin.

The man under the tree looked up at her and his face glowed with joy. He grinned back at her and bowed. "And to you, Fair Lady," he replied, "My sister's celebrations are wonderful affairs, but the elegance and grace you bring make them gatherings of timeless value."

Still grinning, she walked closer. "Do you think you shall ever speak plainly to me?" she asked playfully.

"I speak true," he said defensively, "And even if you prefer simpler words, I still think you deserve grander speech."

"And what I would have," she said forcefully, the two of them still grinning, "is for you to tell me your mind without unnecessary thoughts between us."

After staring at each other for a few moments, the two of them began to laugh. "I think it would do me well to spend some time among humans as you do. Each time we meet, you seem a little changed by them," he managed to say at last.

"If you do, I have a house you can stay in," she said in a low voice.

The two now shared a forceful gaze. The other partygoers had left, leaving them alone under the tree. The man had opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the voice of the younger girl. She had gathered every attendee around her, and was signaling for silence.

"Friends, both essence and creature alike! Our celebration has been long and joyous, but now it is time for me to stand aside so that your new queen may once again take her duly appointed throne!" the girl announced.

With a nod and bow to the man beside her, the lady who had arrived walked up to the girl in the center of the throng. The girl took a fine, golden crown from her head. It began to shine in her hands as the lady lowered herself to one knee. The girl slowly placed the crown atop her head, and it returned to normal. A cool wind rushed over them as the lady stood, now the source of the ethereal light, to receive again her ancient and immortal title.

"The Crown of Autumn!" the girl cried. A pulse of power spread through the glade and the woods, leaving all silent and gaping in its wake.

Then, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, but a gasp at the edge of the glade silenced them again. A child, eyes wide in wonder and shock, was hiding behind a tree. The lady, now crowned, knew the child from the village. He had always wanted to follow her wherever she went, always talking about how kind and beautiful she was. Now, though, he seemed terrified.

She motioned for everyone to back away from the child so that she was standing directly in front of him. She began to approach him. She paused after each step, but he didn't run. Soon, she stood mere feet from him, and kneeled.

"Hello," she said simply.

"L-Lady?" the child asked, sounding afraid and confused.

"Yes, it is me. You are the first to see me as I really am," she said gently. "But I'm the same person you know from your village. You have nothing to fear."

The child nodded nervously and stepped from behind the tree.

"You followed me?" she asked.

He nodded again.

She smiled down at him. She was very fond of the child, but she couldn't let him remember what he had seen. There was no rule about humans seeing this ceremony, since none ever had, but this would weigh on his soul. Even if he forgot the particulars, he would be haunted for the rest of his life by something he could not name. If he couldn't forget, though, maybe she could leave him something good.

"Listen to me," she began gently, "I am going to put you to sleep so that you don't remember what you saw, all right? No, you didn't do anything wrong. But this isn't something you should have seen. When you wake up, you'll be in your bed and everything will be normal. And don't worry, you'll see me again."

She patted his head affectionately and the world faded away. The next thing he knew, he was in his bed. He thought he had had a strange dream, but he couldn't remember anything about it. He put his concerns out of his mind as he rose to do his chores.

Autumn came that year, and winter. Everything moved on as it always did, but something about him had changed. He had a new fascination with sunsets, and often went wandering through the woods in the evening. Whenever adults asked him about it, he said he felt like was dreaming, but awake at the same time. Childhood nonsense most said, and went on their way.

Then, on the first day of Spring, the Lady returned, riding bareback into the village as she always did. And, as always, he was among the first to greet her. She received the usual compliments from the adults and comments about how she never aged, but the boy thought, somehow, that she looked taller and more beautiful.

When the first day of Summer came, the Lady came back arm-in-arm with a new visitor, a tall, handsome man. She said he was her husband, but the boy thought there was more to it. When the two of them were walking through a field one evening, he asked the Lady about it. She smiled at him in a strange but familiar way, then leaned down to whisper in his ear, "People can be like sunsets; sometimes they're simple, and sometimes they're more than you could ever put into words."

Meh.


Twilight out.

The Pirate in us all

Today I went to a landfill. I had trash to dump, of course, but that was only half of my goal. After doing my disposal duty, I drove on over to where they piled up the heavy stuff, because I had a mission. Scavaging.

The idea of roaming around in a junkyard or a landfill and taking workable pieces from otherwise trashed objects has a certain appeal to me. I'm attracted to the idea of refurbishing, though I've little actual experience with it. I felt the particular urge to rummage through cars and appliances while in Senegal, when I was looking for parts to enact the grand ideas I had for renovating my hut. To my credit, the windmill design was taking shape, although I didn't get far enough to work in the alternator.

So today I found myself walking among discarded refrigerators and broken washing machines across a ground littered with strips of metal and plastic. Some see a wasteland of modern scrap, I see possibilities. Possibilities admittedly hampered by my limited understanding of electronics and contruction techniques, so I wouldn't feel safe with a high voltage power supply even if I found one.

I used to have a habit as a kid. Whenever I was in my grandmother's house, I loved to rifle through her kitchen drawers because she kept so much stuff in them. My mother often told me to stop plundering, as she called it. I guess I never learned. Really, though, can anyone keep a young boy from looking for buried treasure?

So what does that make me now? A thrifty dreamer? A modest pirate? A man who just likes to find potential in things? Whatever. I am who I am, and if my hands get dirty from a little digging, then that just makes the treasure shine brighter when I find it.

Yarr, matey. Yarr.


Twilight out.