Leaf and Wing
written by: Phyllis Souza
On a cool September afternoon, three-year-old Annie wore a warm knitted sweater over her coveralls. She carried a small pink purse—perhaps meant for coins. Her mother handed it to her and said, “This is for something special.”
Annie’s eyes lit up as she remembered stories about trees and birds. Filled with excitement, she skipped away from the house. As she walked through the backyard, her little feet brushed dew from the grass. She clutched her purse tightly, hoping to find something mystical to put inside it.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the tall maple tree, casting patterns across Annie’s face. She pictured the tree as a large house filled with green leaves, with only one brown one.
It was the first to drop, landing beside a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest.
Annie squatted beside the little bird. She gently stroked its tiny wing and whispered, “It’s okay. I have a magic purse.”
She closed her eyes and let her mind wander, recalling her mother’s bedtime story of a magical tree and a bluebird singing in its branches.
Annie carefully picked up the leaf and the bird from the ground beneath the tree. She put the leaf in her purse and gently set the tiny bird on top. Although she could not make the leaf green or bring the little bird back to life, she believed the purse could, because it was magical.
Eager to show her mother that she had something special in her purse, Annie hurried into the house.
She opened the purse. The bird was still dead, and the leaf was still brown.
“You lied,” she screamed at her mother. Tears slid down Annie’s face.
How could Annie’s mother have known that a single brown leaf would fall and that a baby bird would tumble to the ground?
She cried too.
It was autumn, and leaves always fall, but they return in the spring. Perhaps the little bird will come back, too.
NOTE:
Based on the Prompt – The First Fallen Leaf
- Leaf and Wing - September 29, 2026
- Last Fig Carries a Cost - September 19, 2026
- Breaking the Chain - August 20, 2026
