Story-A-Day #4: October Country

OCTOBER COUNTRY

We stepped off the rutted dirt track and into a world of gold. Her soft hand was clasped gently in mine, and as much as I wanted to squeeze it to make sure this was real, I didn’t for fear that it might shatter the illusion. I could hear her breathing next to me; an soft, even flow that seemed to be falling into rhythm with my own short breaths.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

I exhaled slowly, suddenly aware that my breathing had stopped. “It is.”

It was all I could muster, betrayed as I was by awkward adolescent self-awareness. She slid her hand from mine, and with a subtle nod gave me a reassuring glance that everything was fine. Her smile lingered from the corner of her soft pink lips, to her wide, innocent eyes. Her chestnut hair fluttered gently in a soft breeze that rustled the golden leaves around us.

“I never want to leave,” she continued. “I could stay here forever.”

In that moment, I wished that we could. I yearned for this moment in time to stretch out into eternity, a perfect capsule of promise, hope, and all our potential fulfilled.

With a burst of musical laughter, she ran off down the trail, her feet sliding wildly on the blanket of leaves as she careened recklessly into the distance. I gave her a small head start, then set out after her, sliding along the trail as it wove through the golden October Country, past trees, over small hills, and down through narrow valleys.

Her laughter filled the forest and as I gained on her, I almost felt like my feet would leave the ground; like I would take flight and soar high above. Instead, I lurched forward and clasped the shoulder of her grey wool sweater.

We tumbled to the ground, rolling gently down a small, slippery hill before coming to rest in a heap of yellow maple leaves. Laughing, she pulled a leaf from her hair. I pulled a second leaf from just behind her ear, and as I moved to pull away, her soft lips brushed against mine.

We didn’t need to speak the words. In that brief moment, lying in the golden heart of the forest, we had said all that we could, and those unspoken words would be with us forever.