More Memories To Make

*This is an entry for the May Blog Of The Month competition.

I walked through the rusty leaves
Each crackled under my feet
Like every past memory
That drifted away
I listened closely to the leaves
There was one that caught my eye
This one told a story close to my heart
A child playing on a swing
The swift breeze caressing her hair
Her laughter echoing into the distance
A tear rolled down my cheek
As I stomped on that leaf
I knew in my heart
The lauging child had been lost
In the midst of a tragedy
Which we so dearly call LIFE
My feet didn't stop
Another leaf I encountered on my path
Did this one tell another story ?
I stooped down to listen
Like a whisper I could hear something
A little girl crying on the bench
Sitting all alone in her school uniform
Her mother was nowhere to be found
School can be frightening sometimes
And then she felt the warmth of an embrace
And for a moment she forgot all her sadness
All was right in the world
For her mother was by her side
I stopped and pondered
Where did that little girl go?
Whose sadness could go away so easily?
Why her tears didn't matter anymore?
Pushing that thought away,I strode on
Came across another one
This one was fresh green
I wondered why it fell with the other leaves
I picked it up and brought it closer to my ear
Let's hear your story, I said under my breath
And so I listened
The sound of applause startled me
A trophy in her hand
And a smile spread across her face
She looked radiant
Her parents seemed proud of their little girl
I let out a sigh, the leaf was fresh
For it held a beautiful moment
Little did I know, those could be rare
Autumn was the season of life
Yet, I moved on
Curious as to what other secrets the leaves held
I stepped on one particularly rusty one
And the story it told was like its appearance
That little girl was now grown up
A paintbrush in her hand
And the wall of her room was the canvas
She painted so fondly
A dark night sky full of stars
Was she aware that her own life would turn into a dark night sky?
No, not at that moment
But the next day the wall had been whitewashed
The paints she adored and the brush she loved
All Gone
All she was left with were tears
And a storm of them
Society was hard to keep up with
Nobody came to wipe her tears this time
I now remembered
The tears, the frustration, the emptiness
How can I forget that?
A sigh escaped my mouth
Still moving forward I found another leaf
Just lying around the corner
What story did it tell?
I wanted to know
As the girl entered her room
It lit up
Like the new year's eve
Party poppers went off
And a chant could be heard
*Happy Birthday to You*
Her friends holding the cake
Maybe being 18 had its perks
That night she felt more alive than ever
She laughed wholeheartedly
And talked like never before
Maybe life had its happy moments
And this was the happiest for her
Unfortunately time passes
And so I moved onto my next stop
I picked out a leaf obscured by a tree branch
And listened to it closely
Being 20 is hard
She scribbled furiously in her journal
Her mind, a mess of jumbled thoughts
Was she sad? Or just angry?
And then she started writing something
*I walk on the path
Formed by my broken wings
I wanted to fly
But the sky seems too far*
And she kept writing
Maybe that was her depression pill
Nobody knew about that side of hers
She didn't want others to ruin it
Ruin the one part of hers that was pure
And not tainted by society's stereotypes
Atleast some part of her was still real
I knew that I had to keep it that way
Did life get any better?
Maybe it did
And so I came across another leaf
It was time for another story to recall
Entitled as the best adventure of her life
She roamed the forests
And climbed the cliffs
And sat under the starry sky
She felt the warmth of fire in a cold night
And sipped coffee to fight the cold
She enjoyed the raindrops on her face
And jumped in puddles of water
She played with little kids in the streets
And ate fruits with bare hands
She watched the birds flying to their nests
And watched the sun in all its glory
The moon was always her favourite
And she sat hours seeing the moon
Appreciating its beauty
It was true as they say
Sometimes its the little things that make life worth it
I knew it was the best adventure of my life
The hint of a smile was visible on my face
As I reminisced about that moment
Suddenly , on impulse
I grabbed a bunch of leaves in my hands
And let them fall free on my head
I could hear laughs, cries, shouts, whispers, sighs..
Her dad giving her the keys to her new car
She getting the award for best student
Her friends cheering her up for the binge jumping
She strolling the empty streets at night
She crying as she moved to the new house
Her joy on meeting her old friends
She painting on pages which she later threw away
She writing poetry on her textbooks in class
She screaming her heart out in her class party
She watching her favourite movie a billionth time
Her happiness on her graduation day
It was all a blur
Yet I could feel a million pieces of my heart
Shatter and reunite at the same time
Those were the bittersweet moments of my life
I brushed the leaves off of me
And moved forward
The trip to my memory lane had come to an end
Memories, the black and white
And the colourful
Some haunting my present
Others bringing light to my dark days
And so I moved on
The rusty leaves behind me
Autumn won't stay forever
And the hint of spring was already giving hope
For I had more days to live
And more memories to make.

- Maryam Batool (Class of 2021)