The Brown Lady

Back home, Autumn didn’t cover our trees until late in October. When the Brown Lady reached our city, everything slowed down a little. The trees slowly but surely shed their sun-kissed leaves and the streets would crunch under our feet. Nice calm breezes caressed our cheeks on our way to school. And as slow as time, cold would come too, until one day scarves and gloves were very much welcomed and the White Lord was almost upon us. 

Then again, it is appropriate to remind myself that I’m not home anymore. I’m somewhere new, trying to make my life make sense. And here, things are quite different. 

For starters, the last month of Summer was already pretty cold. The Lord of Sunshine didn’t like this island, I knew. He seldom visited, if he even did at all. And then, when October had barely started, trees were already covered by the Brown Lady. The sun shone between crimson and gold and pumpkin leaves. And clouds were always above my head, dyed a glowing pink in the evenings and translucent in the mornings. Temperature dances around, pirouetting through the days and giving me the first cold of the season. Scarves are already welcome, because there are no breezes here, only full-hearted gales that threaten to lift me off my feet. And still I refuse to take them out of my wardrobe in fear of the White Lord and his iced smile. 

It may seem wrong, inhospitable, ugly. But it’s not. This new land is gorgeous and colourful. And colours make my life bright, they give me a sense. They force me to move.