The Allure Of Autumn

A girl is tempted by the sensuality of autumn Part of the #BePositiveWriteNow project - The First Sentence

Where scarlet autumn leaves pillow the hilltop, a girl looks out into the coloured woodland beyond her.

It had an aura of mystery that spoke to her in tones she couldn’t quite understand, but it intrigued sheer.  The shady brown trees that cradled the hilltop seem to wave to her as their branches swayed in the wind.  The golden hue before her seemed to get brighter the more she looked, enticing her with warm, open arms that promised safety and peace.

She was wandering to the edge of the woods, the girl’s billowing white shawl mixed with the rough mix of ruby red leaves that danced around her in the wind.  She reached out and caught one, and was immediately filled with guilt.  It felt like she had found a wild animal and was holding it against its will.  As soon as she let it go, it bounded once more with the freedom and grace she yearned for.  Her heart was as wild as the leaves she caressed but was as trapped as the leaf she had just caught.

Skirting the woods rather than entering them, she felt like she was walking in a comfortable painting she had painted, with warm colours splashed lazily around, the undeniably blue crisp sky providing a backdrop for her artistic canvas.  She could hear the wind saunter between each tree, tickling the leaves as it went by.  Petrichor filled her nose and mind’s eye, creating illusions of life-giving nature.

The outlines of the trees were stretched like the fingers of wiser beings, pointing into the limitless sky.  As she followed the edge of the woodland, the fear of the unknown, both intoxicating in its allure, and frightening in its sensual overload, pulled at her heart.  She glanced back towards the path home, free of colour and leaves, bland in more ways than one.  Looking at the woods with its shadowy corners with browning tones of light flickering here and there, she made her decision. 

She disappeared into the wood, and let her heart join the leaves in their freedom.

Author's Note

The first sentence is chosen by an instagrammer as part of my #BePositiveWriteNow project that encourages positivity online and writers to write - no excuses!