Bethany

It was the first day of fall. You could tell because of the leaves that covered the sidewalk, in different shades of orange, green and red. 

There was a house at the end of this cozy neighborhood. In that home, lived a young woman named Bethany but she preferred to be called beth.

 And she loved fall, it was her favorite time of year, mostly because it complimented her features. She had long brown hair and light brown eyes that looked like roasted chestnuts. It was also because she liked her solitude and cuddling up on her favorite reading chair with a nice warm cup of cocoa. 

On every 1st day of fall for the past 5 yrs, she would follow this sort of ritual.

Wake up, go about her day, run her errands but at night is when the real ritual began. She would have a cup of hot cocoa and a slice of pumpkin bread that she got from the bakery in town, then she would get dressed into this exact outfit: messy bun, black tights, and pull on a cream-colored turtleneck sweater, and sit on her reading chair. Then she would put on her favorite record, “Bella Donna” by Stevie nicks. 

As the music started to play in the background, she would check on the wood that burned in her fireplace. Then she would sit back and watch the flames dance and create little shadows and she would feel warm.

However, tonight the ritual would be different. Her cream colored turtleneck wouldn’t be cream, it would be red. Her pumpkin bread and hot cocoa would cover the carpet in different shades of brown and dark orange crumbs. The dancing flames would stop creating shadows and she would feel cold.

I didn’t mean to do it. I just wanted to feel what she felt, to enjoy the first day of fall like she did for the past 5 years, to experience the fall ritual. I wanted to listen to her favorite record, taste the hot cocoa, and eat the pumpkin bread she got from 

my bakery.