Author's Note: After rereading this little one-shot (and wincing several times) I have decided to make a few changes in the hopes of making this a better story (and also to prevent others from wincing). Happy reading! P.S. I own nothing.
I smile as the most beautiful sound I've ever had the pleasure to hear filters through the cracked window of our tiny home set on the edge of the woods.
Walking through the narrow hallway adorned with pictures of our smiling family, I come to a stop in the dining room and take a seat at the table facing the oversized window that looks out into the backyard.
Another beautiful autumn day is nearing its end. The air now has a crisp twinge to it as the sun settles on the horizon. The patch of light pink sky that is nearly lost among the trees of the woods is suddenly blurred by leaves flying in all directions. Some shimmer, not unlike the gold band on the fourth finger of my left hand. Others are a dull, deep red that bear a resemblance to the couches in our old common room at school.
One leaf in particular catches my eye as it falls gracefully from the sky.
I watch as the large, vibrant sheet-like substance slowly comes to a stop on the head of a child with eyes that I'm sure were created to perfectly match what is currently covering nearly his entire face. He lets out a wail to end all wails and I swear that my heart breaks at that very moment. His mother softly chuckles, reaches over to pull the leaf off of her son's head, and dramatically reveals herself, expertly switching the previously terrifying leaf-covering-the-head-incident to a truly amusing game of peek-a-boo for all involved (and those who are secretly watching).
He squeals of delight as her face pops out from behind the leaf that expertly matches her beautiful green orbs also. She laughs her melodious laugh, the one that severely caught me off my guard that first day of our fourth year and still does so to this very day. He responds with his own weapon, the beautiful sound that led me to this scene.
His laughter is like nothing I've ever heard before. It starts as a soft giggle that slowly builds into an all out belly-laugh that will catch your breath and stop your heart so that you may hear it properly, without the distraction of your own bodily noises getting in the way.
I never thought it possible to love something as intangible as a sound.
Part of me wishes that I had a camera, not so that I could look back in ten years and smile as I vaguely remember watching this endearing scene. No, I could never forget this moment for it has been burned into my very soul.
I want the picture to carry with me everywhere to show those in need of a little hope that this is what we are fighting for. Little, everyday moments that pull at your heart, that make you feel. Moments in which you know you could die that very instant and rest assured that you've experienced all there really is to experience in life, love.