Fall Leaves

i always liked the picture. i always did. since the first time i saw it. you. not only because of the richness of the fall leaves. not only because of the bittersweet shades. not only because of the never ending amusing sidewalk. also because i enjoyed imagining you, laying on the ground, hiding before your camera, your passion then, looking for the pristine shot. i still smile.

i liked when you gave it to me. i liked you waited. i liked the black and white frame you chose to enhance it. i placed it in my bedroom then. where it has always been. time. one thing i never did was open it.

i just moved again after two subleases. one here. one there. now in pleasant street. while sketching my bedroom and splashing it with memories from the past, yours came along. your picture dressed in black and white. the frame was dirty. so was the glass.

one of your favorite things in the world. you wrote. in the hidden back of the picture. i enjoy them. as you hoped. we will not share falls. anymore. my heart wrinkled. my stomach creased. my eyes shivered. resigned sadness. tic tac. all the rational sandcastles i built were swept away. no room for reason. no room for logic. i have learned something today. time later. something that probably would not have changed the substance. something that would indeed have changed the form. paradox. something that makes you strong. something that makes me weak.

thank you.