taking in the scene that humans deem as the atrophy of nature, i sit on a park bench after school, hugging my jacket close to me. i watch the leaves of the aspen tree (they've turned orange not too long ago) litter the concrete ground, i listen to the faint rustling of those remaining on the branches as cool zephyrs blow. i've wrapped an extra layer over me today, it gets chillier.

fall is coming.

some call it a pathetic fallacy but this was the time of the semester where everything seemed to be wasting away the same way the trees shed their leaves. i've stopped relaxing at the park and decided now to sink under piles and piles of assignments, even the weight of my pen anchors me down. my hands have lost their faculty of writing - how many more words do i have to write before i heave a sigh of relief?

at least, at least 6000 more, for 3 more darned essays. getting a b- on a previous assignment does no one any good to their ego and their standing in their cohort. it breaks my heart a little (yes i have to analogize my desolation to a heartbreak because that assignment was worth 40% of my module, and i need the same luck heracles had when he managed to fulfill all 12 labours. then again, i'm no son, no, scrap that, i'm no daughter of zeus.) nonetheless i accept this wretched fate of mine and chain myself to the library, working (diligently, or trying to be) on the remaining assignments.

all was going by pretty well, it had been 4-5 days of working on the first 2 essays and i was finally done with my second essay. taking a much deserved break, i finally looked up from the sea of monotonous scrawling of words that was my essay, glanced around the library filled with my academic rivals. or not, because my eyes halted its glancing and fell prey to perhaps the single most beautiful girl i've ever met.

well, an eyecandy for me today. i mentally pat myself on my back and grin, all the while still staring at her somewhere between that of a lovestruck fool and a ravenous wolf awaiting dinner.

darn, i hope none of my friends ever sees me like this.

the girl must have felt all kinds of ersion creeping up on her and suddenly turned towards me. she sees me staring, and catches me red handed. well, technically, she's not my friend.

my face has now distorted into a half smile half grin that should probably freak the girl out in many ways. not excluding the fact that my friends think my eyebrows can do some real tricks in adding value to my facial expressions, i must have looked a real deal then and there. here goes nothing, i thought, so i give a little wave.

surprisingly, the girl smiles back. wait, what? she's coming over. wait, what? and in that few seconds, i was reduced to a silent, meek, hunched over fool as she stood gloriously over me, her smooth palms grazing my desk.

"wendy, right? you're from my twentieth century literature module class?"

well this was weird, how did i not notice a goddess in my class. then again, that could be answered by a really easy justification of me being late for classes and rushing off after because of back to back classes. she probably heard my name when i was unluckily picked on by the professor to answer some question. i was in literature, anyway, who the heck makes friends in literature where projects were literally non-existing and individual essays were all the professors care about.

thank you goddess for noticing me i will love you for the rest of my life. really.

"y-yeah. you are...?"

"irene," she didn't seem to take much offense that i didn't know her. (see, it was a general consensus between the cohort that we never know each other because we would never need each other. yet my gut was wrenching with a feeling that i was going to be proven wrong.) she looked briefly at the stack of my notes and smiled at me, "doing the essay?"

"well kind of. i just finished two from my other modules, gonna attempt the twentieth century module one when i am less braindead"

she giggles and i wonder if was really that funny or was she simply trying to fill the impending awkward silence. but we were in the library. not that i was complaining, she had a really adorable giggle.

"is it ok if i join you? it kinda working on an essay alone."

"y-yeah, we could uh suffer together or something."

she giggles again. seriously, i was not that funny. (but i really wanted to be.)

in all honesty, i began to appreciate irene as the intellectual and amiable person that she was. her beauty was a bonus, but i started to treasure the aspects of her that made her a wonderful classmate, and friend. yep, that was what we were now.

after class we would sit with our shoulders touching in the library, writing out our essays, letting one another edit it so we could improve on them. irene is a tease for a friend. i always remember going home and seeing random post-its stuffed in my bag.

"daily haiku for / you, you are amazing so / don't let them break you"

"today will be good / so chin up and smile widely / write your essay please!"

"we are almost done / keep pushing and don't give up / i am here for you"

i never knew how she saw through my insecurities and the lack of confidence. while feeling vulnerable that she could see through me like glass, i was grateful for someone knew despite my strong and independent veneer, i still wanted (secretly) to fall back on someone. her words of encouragement never failed to draw the widest smile across my face.

taking in the scene that humans deem as the atrophy of nature (again), i left the library for a bit to sit at a park nearby, hugging my jacket close to me. i watch the leaves of the aspen tree (they've turned orange not too long ago) litter the concrete ground, i listen to the faint rustling of those remaining on the branches as cool zephyrs blow. i've wrapped an extra layer over me today, it gets chillier.

i remember turning to my left in the library a few moments before, and saw the lashes of irene's eyes graze the upper parts of her cheeks as she blinked. her eyes, focused and determined, her lips pursed together as she transferred her thoughts onto paper with ink. a grin crept up my face and i looked at the picturesque scene in front of me. she suddenly turned towards me and furrowed her eyebrows.

"wendy, stop looking at me & do your work!"

so i look at the leaves falling to the ground - so light, going where the wind blows, with no resistance, trusting the wind to carry them safely. they always fall so gently.

the leaves are not the only one.

fall has come.