English 325 - Lesson Twelve

The color red had finally arrived in San Arturo, blanketing its streets and driveways with last year’s leaves. Fall had come and gone with a spell of cold fronts stretched thin but the majority of the foliage had stayed suspended in a green brown weave until now blocking out the slowly lowering sun. Windshield wiper blades that once ushered off hurricane rains and layers of ice within weeks of each other now simply tossed the dry scraps from side to side in a lazy Sunday manner. Above the red blanket and through the now bare trees a new sun showed barely through a morning haze. The blue that did show was vibrant. The whole range of color that peeked through the clouds for the rest of the day remained muffled though in comparison to the leaves.

Autumn had been happening all along, however. It took this day off after New Years celebrations for the people to realize it. Their cars were parked outside of treeless garages and their drivers too were taking the day off. In groups they walked outside to church or up from hangovers and together breathed in the late blooming fall air. Like most of the world they were filled with resolutions, but no one knew the reality. San Arturo would never really change.