Autumn

When the Summer air took its first chill, She walked out to her mother’s fields, brushing her fingers across corn and grain that was ready for a final harvest. The cool air whipped about the hem of her dress and rubbed against her legs like a cat looking for attention.
From the fields She took to the orchards. The apple trees were heavy, their bought laden with fruit waiting to be picked. If She closed her eyes, she could taste her mother’s sweet apple pie on her tongue, even smell the spices in the air. She wrapped her arms around herself in an embrace, in an effort to hold the warm feeling to her chest. The moment gone, she opened her eyes and continued her walk. She wove her steps between each of the trees, farther and farther from the path as they became more sparse. This was the old growth, which would be culled to make room for new saplings soon.
There was no fruit on the branches here, just rotting husks of ruined fruit around the roots. To feed the soil. And the Maggots. And the Worms. A flash of color other than brown at eye level surprised her. She smiled at the color of the fruit’s flesh; not an apple’s ruby red but blushing purple-pink.
She held the perfectly round fruit in both of her hands after she plucked it free. She turned her thumbs inward and pushed them against the skin, digging and pressing with the tips. A soft grunt and She ripped it in two, letting one half of the fruit to tumble to the ground. To join the feast.
Seeds like buried gems gathered in clusters together, the juice from on top of them, causing them to glisten in the morning’s light. She tipped her head and pressed her lips to them with a reverent sigh. Her lips were smudged and stained, the juice that did not dry dripping from them as she lifted her head after a moment
Autumn had come. And soon she would be Home.