The air of fall nipped at the trees, rustling each remaining leaf with little mercy. A pile of them were blown across the sidewalk of a public park, causing the insides of an unnoticed boy to erupt with pain. His shaggy, sun-lightened hair hid his face from the world, his tan jacket protecting him from the elements. A hollow stare concooned itself over his decaying face, taking away all of the bursts of color that had once clouded his life so happily. August had torn him apart just a few years ago. It had taken her, his beloved Aspen, and blown her away with all of the other leaves. It had only been two years, but her memory was fading away with the rest of life. Today was just another day to wash away her memory, another life to forget about, just like him. All she was now was another body left to decay, another mind left to rot, and another soul to be thrown back into the shadows. She was another flame that had been blown out by the wind. No matter how many tears he cried or how many songs he wrote for Aspen, she would never be there to experience them. One mistake had taken her away, one patch on an icy road and she was gone, never to return again.
The world still turned though, and the wind still continued to blow. Each leaf fell to the ground, floating down with such grace that it was hard to believe that such beauty could be destroyed with just a single mistake, one flame. Sebastian wondered if the stars, so high and bright in the sky, ever shined for him like they had for Aspen, or if the leaves changed colors whenever he had became bored with them, as they had for Aspen.
Sebastian wondered why the world hadn't stopped when she left, why it hadn't fallen to the ground like all of the leaves in autumn. They still danced around him, still nipped at whatever sliver of happiness he had managed to hang onto. They were still swarming like the birds that sang for Aspen. Animals such as squirrels and chipmunks scurried through piles of them every few seconds, but Sebastian never once turned to look at them. The trees were painted brown, the same chestnut shade that hers had been. Colors of orange, red, and yellow were scattered across the ground. Her hair had been the canvas for the color orange, highlights of the color twisting around every few strands. Orange had been her favorite color. She had worn the color almost every day, just as the leaves did. Despite it though, a stream continued to flow in the distance, washing away just as she had. Tears swelled in his eyes once again, but he had wiped them away with shaking hands. She wouldn't have wanted him to cry over Aspen. She would have wanted him to sit back and enjoy what he still had, but that's just how she was.
Bark on the trees felt rough against his back as he slid down it, coming to a stop once he had hit the ground. The scent of dying grass blasted itself upon his face with the rest of the wind. Sebastian breathed it in, wishing that she was there to smell it with him. His eyes closed in another attempt to stop themselves from erupting when he felt something land on his face. Two crystal blue eyes uncovered themselves to see a single leaf on the bridge of his sniffling nose. There were no splotches of decay blurring its beauty, no ripped areas or misporportioned dips or ridges. It was perfect to him, just like she had been. The stem grew out of it, curving slightly near the crease of his chin. Coldness hadn't surrounded it like he had expected it to from all of the wind. Oddly enough, there was a strange, comforting warmth wrapped around its form. Its coat was spritzed with the most vibrant orange that he had seen ever since she left. It reminded him of Aspen, just like everything else did. This was a different memory though and, for the first time since she had been taken from his life, he didn't feel like crying because he finally knew that the world hadn't forgotten about Aspen. This time, he let it out. He let the tears fall, let his mind remember Aspen and all of the leaves in autumn. Just like the leaves, he would see her again. With that, the wind whispered her last words. Sebastian smiled for the first time in two years, finally understanding that they had not been meant as a poetic lyric, but rather a promise.
One day, we will live forever.