The world looks like it is about to take its last breath.

I looked up and saw the clouds turning gray as if the sky was about to cry. Even the cold morning mist and the silent rhythm of the wind seem to whisper goodbye.

From the twigs, I watched the leaves fall like a gentle rain, dancing and twirling in the air before they kiss the ground. The pavements are covered with saturated orange foliage as if it was ready for a long slumber. One step, and I could hear the sharp crackle of them shattering underfoot.

I looked around and saw that the trees that were once clothed in vibrant green leaves are now losing their hues, turning brittle and lifeless. They have become empty trunks, stripped bare, left with nothing but their skeletal limbs and branches.

"When I was young, my mother used to tell me the story about the last leaf. It is about Johnsy who is suffering from pneumonia and believes she will die when the last leaf falls from a vine outside her window." I told him while staring at the leaf wiggling because of the wind.

I turned to him when I felt him pluck something out of my hair. "But despite how strong the storm is, the leaf remains clinging to the vine, which gives Johnsy some hope. It turns out that the old artist, Behrman, painted the leaf on the wall to save her life."

"How did it end?" he asked, curious.

I pursed my lips as I stared at the nearby tree. I could still hear the sharp screech of the car before it crashed into it. The leaves tumbled to the ground and were soon stained with blood. "Behrman died."

"That was... sad."

"You wouldn't let go of me, right?" I asked suddenly, feeling a little scared that he'd leave me alone too.

Change. I've never been particularly fond of it. It serves as a constant reminder that even the most wonderful things eventually... come to an end.

"I'll stay." He assured. "No matter how strong the wind is."

Lies.

"Even if the leaves turn orange?"

"Even if I'm left with nothing."

I shouldn't have believed his words. In all of those promises he muttered.

"You told me that you'd stay! That you'll never leave!"

He laughed dryly as if he was tired of all of this. "But you're the storm yourself, Kala. You're the one who made me let go. So how could I stay?"

He gave up.

Just like how the leaves fall every autumn.