Perfect Autumn Leaf Frozen in Time

As I sit here in my room, looking out my window at the falling autumn leaves and the gathering clouds above, I think about all the wonderful things that must be happening at this very moment.  Someone may be getting married, someone else getting engaged.  A baby might be taking it's first breaths of air or taking it's first steps.  Someone could be falling in love, or finding their soul mate.  My hand goes up to my neck and touchs something light hanging from the chain of my necklace.  I pick it up off of my skin and feel the warmth that it had been sharing with my body.  For the first time today, I examined it.  A small autumn leaf, golden orange, frozen in time.  I wondered where this leaf had come from.  I thought back to when my mother had given it to me.  I remember telling me the story behind the leaf.  It was my grandmother's, and she loved it dearly.  When my mother had told me the story, I remember thinking what a special leaf it was and that ever autumn, I would wear it as much as possible.1

A long time ago.  Before I was born, or even my mother had been thought of, my grandmother, Mary went on a vacation with her family from their state of Arizona to Colorado.  It was mid October, and the leaves on the trees had changed colors, so the family had decided to take a vacation to see the autumn leaves.  Mary loved the fall.  She always had, and being in a place where the leaves changed colors enhanced the experience.  She liked to take long walks, thinking about all the beauty around her and dreaming about her soulmate, whom she still had not found, but she figured that as soon as she saw him then she would know.  Well, it was early evening, and Mary was out on one of her walks, thinking about a poem she could write about the peacfullness of autumn.  Well, Mary took her normal path, down the dirt road, then off through the colorful little wood, not too far from where they were staying.  When Mary had reached where she usually sat to write, on a large tree that had fallen over years ago, she decided to keep going.  She wanted to find a new place for new material.  She kept walking and entered into a small clearing, surrounded by the most bright and colorful trees she had ever seen.  Not too far from her was a large boulder, comfortable enough to sit on for a while.  Mary walked toward it and sat down, getting comfortable in her spot.  She had not been there more then five minutes when a large gray hunting dog came bounding through the bushes toward her.  She looked up and watched as a handsome young man walked out behind the dog with a camera slung around his neck.  The man stopped and picked up his camera, snapping a picture of Mary sitting on the boulder, with her hair blowing in the wind, and the leaves tumbling around her.  He approched her and stood there, both not saying a word.  Mary didn't know what to say.  All she could think about was her soulmate.  She had found him.  This man, who's name she later found out was Larry, reached up and plucked a perfect leaf out of her dark hair.  He stuck the leaf in his pocket neatly, silently staring at Mary, and thinking how beautiful she was and how one day they would be married.  He just knew it.2

Years later, on their wedding day, Larry gave Mary a jewelry box.  She looked at it, and smiled and thanked him, but he told her to open it.  Mary opened the lid of the ceder box and inside was a necklace.  A beautiful metal chain and hanging from this chain, frozen in time was that leaf.  That perfect golden orange leaf covored in a sort of plastic coating.  The same leaf that Larry had kept on the day they had met.  Larry took the necklace out and clasped it around Mary's neck.  Mary then vowed never to take it off.  So, everyday she wore this perfect leaf clasped around her neck and loved it until the day she died.3