Summer had just passed on the Island of Sodor. Now Autumn had come again. The green trees were changing to reds, oranges, golds and browns. The green meadows were slowly turning golden brown too. This gave the Island of Sodor a different look than usual. The different colours gave off an old, aged feeling as well as unique and beautiful.
One morning, the sun rose over Tidmouth Sheds and Thomas and Emily woke up together to a cool feeling in the air. This was a refreshing feel for both of them. It was a nice change to have cooler weather and somewhat more tolerable temperatures than on hot days in the summer. Thomas was wondering how the day would go when he heard his angel speak up.
"A little chilly, isn't it, Tommy?" said Emily.
"It's Autumn, Emily," said Thomas. "One of my favourite times of year."
"Mine too," replied his angel. "I wonder what we'll see or do today."
Then the engines saw a recognizable blue car stop nearby. Out came the Fat Controller. He sent Gordon and Henry off with passenger duties, Percy to the quarry and Edward and James on goods trains. Then he turned to Thomas and Emily.
"Thomas, you must go and gather loads of honey from the Vicarage Orchard to deliver to the stations," said the Fat Controller.
"Yes, sir," said Thomas.
"Emily," said the Fat Controller. "You must go to the Maron Station and collect sweaters to deliver to the stations along with Thomas."
"Of course, sir," smiled Emily.
Thomas blew his whistle and let the turntable turn him to the right track.
"Coming, sweetie?" he asked. Emily giggled and came out to the line beside Thomas.
"Of course, cutie," she replied. "Let's start the work early so we can enjoy the Autumn around us."
Thomas agreed. He and Emily huffed side-by-side into the yards. They then collected their trucks and went onto the main line. As they huffed along, they looked all around themselves. The atmosphere was indeed different compared to what they mostly saw through Spring and Summer.
"Oh, Thomas…look at the trees. Lovely reds, oranges and browns," breathed Emily. Thomas was just as enthralled as Emily. Whenever this time of year came before, it changed how he thought about the island. Different colours had different feelings and emotions to Thomas. Green and yellow were both bright exciting colours to see in the first two seasons, but Autumn colours were slightly cooler and calmer with the trees changing colour.
Soon, they arrived at Maron Station where Emily was to gather the sweaters from the laundry lady. The lady came by with a cart full of bags with the sweaters Emily had to deliver along the line. She was pleased to see Emily come early. Some assistants came by with more carts full of sweaters to load into Emily's trucks. Emily fondly remembered when she helped the Sodor United Team by delivering their uniforms in time for the game. Soon her trucks were loaded with all the sweaters.
"You're ready, Emily," said the laundry lady. "Help keep us warm."
Emily smiled. "I will, laundry lady," she replied.
Thomas smiled too. "Now, I must head for the Vicarage Orchard, Emily. We'll deliver our loads together."
The two engines whistled and set off again. When they came to the orchard, Emily saw something she found a little unusual. She believed the Autumn was the time for plants to start wilting and hibernating for winter, but she could see perfectly ripe, red apples in the trees.
"Thomas…" she asked. "Isn't Autumn when all the plants begin to hibernate? Look at those apples."
Thomas looked up, then he explained. "Autumn may be a cool season, Emily, but many crops actually ripen for the harvest. A few weeks later, yes, they will start to hibernate. Right now, the farmers just have to gather their crops and prepare them."
"I see. Autumn is more than I expected," said Emily. Just then, a slight buzz could be heard in the air.
"What's that noise?" she asked.
"It's the bees," replied Thomas. "They must be gathering pollen from any last flowers for the winter." Emily looked out at the field. Indeed, she could see several bees checking for any last flowers they could pollenate so they'd have enough honey to last the winter.
"I remember the day you and I saw that lovely sunrise," said Emily. "I remember seeing the bees at one of the hills where I delivered soil so more flowers could be planted."
"What did you think?" asked Thomas.
"I don't find them scary. They're part of nature. And one little bee seemed to like me," said Emily. She told Thomas about her little encounter with that bee. Thomas thought it was very cute.
"If they like you, that's a very lovely sign…unlike James' escapade with bees," he smirked.
"James?" asked Emily.
"…A bee stung him once," Thomas said, trying not to laugh. "He was about to take the express when the porter had a beehive on his baggage trolley. But because he was hurrying, the beehive fell off the trolley and split open."
Emily gasped. "Oh dear!" she exclaimed. "Were the passengers hurt?"
"Thankfully, no," said Thomas. "They all ran off the platform in a flash. The bees weren't angry though. The open air made them feel cold, so they hoped James' fireman would mend their hive, but he thought he would get stung. The driver didn't understand either. The bees all swarmed onto James' boiler to warm up again."
"Hmm," said Emily. "That could work. I'd be happy to keep bees warm with my boiler if they wished."
"But you must stay calm if you do," said Thomas. "When James got angry, his boiler fizzed even hotter and one bee burnt his feet. He thought James burnt him on purpose…and then…" Thomas paused for a moment.
"What?" asked Emily.
Thomas spoke again. "It stung James back…right on the nose. 'EEEEHH!' whistled James. He'd had enough."
Emily squeezed her eyes tight at that thought. "Ooh!" she exclaimed. "It comes to show how careful you need to be around them." Just then a cool gust of wind blew through the air. Thomas and Emily shuddered lightly from the cool air, when suddenly, Thomas heard the buzzing get louder and closer. He looked carefully and couldn't believe his eyes. A cluster of bees were coming towards him and Emily. He watched them…then he smiled. The bees swarmed happily around Emily's boiler, looking for warmth.
Emily looked back in surprise and was about to ask Thomas what to do.
"Stay calm," he said gently. "They're happy that you're keeping them warm."
So Emily breathed in and sighed happily as she let the bees enjoy her warmth against the wind.
"I remember when I worked with bees," said Thomas. "I had to deliver a flatbed of their beehives to Farmer Trotter. Hiro told me to go through the forest track, but I saw a field full of flowers and sunlight. I thought the bees would like that better, but I ended up losing them as they kept flying around the field. I thought of gathering a flatbed of flowers from Farmer McColl's to bring them back."
"What happened?" asked Emily.
"They buzzed all around me. Luckily they weren't angry, but they wouldn't go away either. I decided to leave the flowers to the bees while I could escape. But after Hiro told me Trotter was waiting, I regathered the flowers and returned to the field with the hives. The bees followed me all the way to Farmer Trotter's and so I finally made my delivery."
"Most interesting, Thomas," smiled Emily.
Just then, the Vicar came by on Trevor. "You're here early, Thomas. Very good," he said. Then he saw the bees on Emily's boiler. "Come here, my little friends," he called. The bees swarmed off Emily's boiler and into their hive. Trevor had a wagon full of crates attached to him.
"Is that the honey I'm to deliver, sir?" asked Thomas.
"Yes indeed, Thomas," said the Vicar. Some workmen arrived and loaded the crates into Thomas' trucks. When Thomas' trucks were loaded and ready, he and Emily set off to make their deliveries.
As they huffed along the line, Emily saw some bright red leaves floating in the air.
"Look at those leaves, Tommy," she said. Thomas saw the leaves too. "Amazing," he murmured. Soon, they came to the first station to deliver some of the sweaters and honey. While they were waiting to go again, Thomas and Emily took a little time to look at more Autumn features.
In a nearby field, a moss-covered log caught Thomas' eye. "Emily…look at that log," he said.
"All that moss…it looks like a little bush around the log," smiled Emily. "Nature is indeed very intriguing."
Thomas smiled at his love as they continued to look at the beautiful colours all around them. Eventually though, the guard's whistle blew, signaling them to move on.
"On we go, Emily," said Thomas as they set off for the next station. "Thank you, Thomas and Emily!" called the stationmaster. "Everyone will love these sweaters!"
On the line, another sound reached Thomas and Emily. A rustling sound, followed by children's laughter.
"Sounds like some children are having fun," said Thomas. Sure enough, they saw some children jumping and wrestling in a large pile of leaves. They looked very happy. They waved at Thomas and Emily as they whistled hello. Seeing that Autumn could bring fun to youngsters made Thomas and Emily happy, but just seeing all the unique colours around them was even better. Whenever they stopped at a station for a delivery, they kept admiring the orange and red coloured trees, the cool, relaxing air and the sound of laughing children right until their deliveries were finished.
The two engines returned to Tidmouth Sheds after their work was done.
"That was fun," said Thomas. "What to do now?"
"Come with me, Tommy," said Emily. "Let's find a quiet place to enjoy ourselves and the atmosphere."
"Of course…as soon as I turn around," said Thomas. He turned round on the turntable to face Emily then they set off together to find the right place for their time together.
Eventually, Emily found a siding that looked nice and private with some bushes and shade all around it. She and Thomas huffed into it and then idled together.
"This is a perfect place to enjoy this beautiful season, Thomas," Emily whispered as she gave his cheek a kiss.
"I love your ideas, Emily," Thomas blushed as he kissed her cheek too. The two friends then spent nearly an hour, looking all around at the lovely colours. As they looked above themselves, they watched intently as the sun shone gently through all the little crevices between the red leaves, causing a lovely sparkle of little beams of light to shine on both engines. Sometimes, they looked into the depths of the woods, looking between the trees and occasionally seeing rabbits and squirrels. The silence was eventually broken by the angel's voice.
"The Autumn colours are absolutely gorgeous," smiled Emily. "It's like we're in a different world, Thomas."
"…Remember that night of silence we shared?" asked Thomas. "When we looked into each other's eyes…I think nature has a similar feel. When you spend a lot of time looking more intently at nature, you can see so much that most don't see."
"Oh, that night was magical," whispered Emily. "This atmosphere feels magical too. I wish we could just stay here…just you and me right here."
"Or at Black Loch?" smiled Thomas, gently kissing her lips.
"Oh, of course," said Emily. "But as long as you're with me, I'll always be happy, Thomas." Then she puckered up and softly kissed his lips.
"Let's go home," she whispered. Thomas agreed and they both returned to Tidmouth Sheds. After they backed into their berths, they spoke again.
"So, how was this day of Autumn, Emily?" asked Thomas.
"It was so lovely, Thomas," smiled Emily. "I can tell we're going to have an absolutely wonderful time this season."
"We certainly will, angel. I love you, Emily," said Thomas.
"I love you too, Thomas," said Emily as she smooched her lips at Thomas and blew him a kiss. And the two friends continued to watch the beautiful Autumn sky throughout the evening, feeling very happy and full of beauty.
OK, so until November my stories will probably all be set in Autumn, that said I'm not sure what story is coming next, it could even be a Luke and Millie story for all I know. So what did you all think of this one? Tell me in your reviews and see you all next time.