Leaves of auburn, marigold and crimson dripped down the ancient oak trees. Drowning, the leaves receive the heavy burden of the rain crashing upon them, their tales end in the miserable embrace of death, as they are stripped of a life, like it never meant to begin. A swift death for a life that wasn’t supposed to exist. Watching in silent grief as the wind echos the unspoken promises of a life that had only just started. Their existence ends in a betrayal as ironic as Poe: a manslaughter by the very entity that fed them life, nature. Their tale ends here.

While theirs has only just started to grow. 

A girl with golden hair sits by a boy whose eyes mirror a delicate dream coated in emerald. Their eyes lock on the silent promise of forever, an unspoken vow of eternity. Her eyes do not reflect the emerald haze of his: hers are the kind of blue one wouldn’t mind drowning in, and you can see that she has caught him in her siren song as his gaze lingers for a second longer than it should, as if turning away for a moment will erase the memory, as if the intimate moment will be forever erased. He doesn’t want that, neither does she. The heavy rain does not kill them in the same slow, agonizing way as the delicate leaf. For yes, their hearts are as delicate, but their souls are so intertwined at this moment the world would end, and they would not feel an aberrant thing.

Their hands touch and sparks soar through their veins as if they have touched a live wire: the matter may not be as dangerous, but it is as risky. If they fall in love, they will never regain the piece of themselves they had with the other. That part of their soul would forever lie in the grave of a memory. A feeling. 

But they believe in love. 

She asks him to dance with her, as the rain watches sullenly, it is angry it could not extinguish their passion. But to them, the rain is not a bloodless killer, it’s an artist painting the flowers in their tears of diamonds. So they, as the wind, dance in an endless rhythm. Her laughs carry across the atmosphere and the melodious sound brings nothing but joy to him. For the sight before him could not be more beautiful. Then, as fast as lightning strikes, sparks engulf the couple as a kiss is initiated by the boy. As if he had made a solemn promise to never give up on them, to cherish her every day. Gratefully, she reciprocates the pledge. Joyful tears slide gracefully down her face, but do nothing to extinguish her spirit. As the wind and trees applaud in a mellifluous song, they carry it into the sky, a reminder to themselves to keep on living to one day feel a fraction of the love the couple shares. To keep on striving to live on the adrenaline in the small moments. Even if they cannot, they may smell the sweet aroma of love adored like a crown on their lips. In the hope they may live vicariously though them. They will be happy, they think. A woefully sweet tear escapes the cracks of its rough bark. After a while, the couple leaves together. Their hands are intertwined in the way their destinies are not. They leave together, but take different paths. It was not just an experience for them, nor was it just a feeling. It was everything. They don’t ever cross paths again. The universe has made sure of this, they have learnt all the lessons they will learn from each other: pain, love, loss. They had something they will never have with someone else. Whether that be a person or a feeling, but they will not meet again.

The trees smile weakly, their time has come. They do not know that the couple's vows will forever grieve the fact they never made it down the aisle.