The Golden Leaf: Autumn’s Fall – Part V

“Jill?  Jill?”

Jill woke up in her bedroom.  Her mother was standing there near her bed, looking down at her.

“Jill?” she called.  “Are you awake, honey?”

Jill nodded, as she let out a yawn.  She then looked around her room.  What is going on?  Was that all really a dream?

“Mother,” she told her.  “I was in England.  A mysterious man named Freedom took me there!  I think he was an angel.”

Her mother looked at her and smiled.  “Well, that must have been an interesting dream.  What else happened?  I heard you scream.”

“I had this golden leaf,” she told her.  “And it turned me into this evil girl named Autumn.  It was terrible, mother!”  Jill then looked around for the golden leaf.  “Where is it?”

“Where is what, honey?” the mother asked.

“The golden leaf.”

“It was only in your dreams, honey. It is nowhere to be found!”

Jill then sat there and thought for a moment.  “Maybe it was just a dream….”  She then thought of the words that Freedom told her:

“But do not worry.  We will destroy her, and all this will be a distant memory.  For you, it will be like a bad dream.  A bad dream.  Baaaad dreeeeeeamm……”  The memories faded and blurred in her mind.

“That’s it!” Jill shouted.  “Freedom reduced everything that I experienced to a dream, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it ruining my life.”

With that, Jill got ready for the day.  The day was Friday.  The same day that she and Jaime played in the woods, looking for the golden leaf.

After getting ready, Jill went to school.  After a day of school, Jill decided to play with Jaime in the back of her house.

Jill looked at the same pile of leaves as she did before, and she jumped into them.

“Jaime,” she said.  “Have you ever heard of the golden leaf?”

Jaime shook her head.  “The golden leaf? What is that?  Is that some kind of new game?”

“No,” Jill told her.  “It’s something that we could….nevermind.”

“What?” Jaime shouted.  “I want to play this new game!”

Jill sighed.  “Alright.”

While it was a game to Jaime, Jill wanted to see if the golden leaf was still in the forest.  Jill entered the forest and walked over to the very tall tree.  It was very old, with gnarled branches and gnarled roots.  At the base of the tree, Jill dug up every leaf that she could.  The golden leaf was nowhere to be found.

At that, Jill smiled.  Autumn was finally gone.

Before she left the forest, she stared at it, quietly thanking God for appointing someone like Freedom to liberate her from the golden leaf.

Jill, being completely thankful, slowly left the forest, gazing at the sea of autumn foliage.

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©2012  K. L. Walker