My Octobers

October, two years ago…
It was the first time
you brought me to this place.
The air was painted beauty,
brimming with the season of changing leaves.
A cold wind brushed past,
grazing against my skin,
but inside the warmth of your embrace,
the chill could never touch me.
Beneath that maple tree…
you whispered sweet words,
breathing love into my ear.

October, last year…
We returned to this place together.
White snow had begun to crown the mountain tops,
leaves bleeding into shades of orange and red.
It lasted only a fraction of a second—
that fleeting spark of joy in the air.
Yet the biting winter wind that swept through
was nothing compared to the coldness in your eyes that day.
Beneath that maple tree…
you said your last goodbye.

October, this year…
I came back to this place once more.
Inhaling the crisp, cold air as it hits my face.
Ice has begun to glaze the blades of grass
and cling to the branches of the trees.
The leaves still change their colors,
turning orange and red, just as they always have.
No matter how many years pass…
the same maple tree stays right there, never moving.
It is only I who have walked out,
leaving the heavy weight of the past behind.

And on the day I found my strength,
everything around me bloomed with color again.
It is as if the world is smiling back,
asking gently if I am doing fine.
I offer a tender smile,
my heart light, untethered, and free.

I let the past go,
leaving it to be
just another story that has run its course.