The Sorrow Remains

The days grow shorter, but feel longer for their heaviness and his sorrow. Surmising that there is no hope in sight, he can’t help but ask himself, “What’s the point?”

As he wanders aimlessly, a cold wind tears the last of Autumn’s leaves off Winter’s branches. He watches one as it drifts away, and finds himself following it like a will-o'-wisp in the night—and the world has dimmed around him.

Drawn to it, the man kneels down to lift the dead leaf as it comes to rest in a grassy cradle, and suddenly realizes the world around him has changed.

A kaleidoscope of wonder and delight surrounds him. Reeling, he dances lame pirouettes, while bright streaks of light and color dart and burst and fizzle in every direction across a cerulean sky.

As he ponders the twinkling stars and laughing clouds, he remembers the leaf, and crouches once more to pick it up. But at his first touch, the leaf crumbles, disintegrating into a fine powder that is quickly carried away by a zephyr of sorrow.

Looking up from his lightly dusted, weather-worn hand, he recognizes the moment has passed. And yet, despite this, something – something deep inside him – is forever changed.

The sorrow remains, but his next footsteps are not taken without hope. And so he continues on his long walk of life, towards destinations unknown, but no longer unwelcome.
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Special thanks to @flat.io_earther, @beauw, and @groovy for all their patience and feedback. Additional thanks to @bluemoonoffiial for his percussion advice.

Thanks to @megacheese, @bc_mix_music, @the_gib, @amadocaio4ever, @patrick_benyak, @quantumjoss, @seangett9654, and even @andymillikan for their listening ears.

And, finally, thank you @corentin, for making us all sound better than we expect.