Gazing out my window on a bright morning and soaking in the wonders of spring. Taking in the beauty that Mother Nature had provided with the flowers abloom and the trees full of life, I spotted two leaves at the end of a long branch. For whatever reason, these two leaves were isolated from the rest of the leaves on this tree. I was drawn to these two leaves. Even as I continued to look around at the world outside my window, my attention kept turning back to these two leaves. I watched them for what seemed like an eternity. Wondering why they were the only two at the end of that branch. Were they meant to be there together? Did they have some connection or bond that was different from the other leaves? They looked like all the other leaves and yet they were somehow different.
Each morning before I started my day I would check up on the two leaves. I would watch them as they danced in the breeze or sat silently in the still of the morning. Sometimes they moved in unison as though they were one, while other times they seemed at odds… arguing perhaps. I tried to imaging what these two leaves would have to argue about. Were they competing for the attention of the sunlight? Maybe their harmony was in the way they bickered. Maybe that was the way they kept each other alive and grateful for their ability to dance in the wind. Whatever their mood seemed to be at a given time it was clear these two were a special pair, in sync with each other and the world around them.
Spring heated up into summer and I would spend a few moments of my day looking in on the two leaves. They seemed even more alive now and even more determined to out dance each other. Swaying back and forth in the wind, colliding now and again and then just like that they were back in sync with their movement. What a joy it is to watch these two leaves. To know that life can sustain the chaos of the world around and still provide peaceful moments of co-existence. I catch myself straining to hear what they may be saying. What topics were they discussing today?
All too quickly the days begin to cool and summer steps aside for autumn to take its place. The two leaves seem older, wiser, slower. They still sway when the wind gives them the energy to do so or perhaps when they get annoyed enough with each other, either way their movement is more controlled. Paced more at a trot than the gallop they used to display so long ago. Their appearance has changed as well; more seasoned I suppose is as good a way to describe it as any. I get a sense of contentment now rather than the feistiness they used to show.
One very chilly morning I awoke earlier than normal. It was far too cold to sleep. Looking out I could see a touch of frost on the tree and an eerie calm to the world outside my window. It was then that I noticed there was only one leaf on the branch. I felt a quick panic, wondering if I was dreaming or if my eyes hadn’t adjusted to the day yet. Sadly it was neither. One of the leaves had fallen. I had been so focused on my two leaves, I didn’t notice that winter had set in and the tree was bare except for the one remaining leaf. That last leaf was ever so slightly bent over as if it were searching the ground below for its companion. I too looked down hoping to spot the fallen leaf, but it was just one of the many leaves now calling the ground home.
A feeling of grief came over me. I felt sad. I felt sad that I would have no more mornings with these two leaves. I felt sad that the remaining leaf had to dance alone. I felt sad knowing that in time, the remaining leaf would fall as well. Oh how I wished I could have stopped time when these two leaves were at their best. Just then a crisp breeze blew through the tree and that lone leaf shivered. A goodbye wave to the fallen leaf I figured.
A final thought crossed my mind as I moved on with my life. How fortunate I was to have experienced the two leaves.