Fall is here. El otoño, as I learnt in Spanish. The leaves are a blend of red, orange and yellow, leaves littered around the ground. Every step caused a crunch, a satisfying sound that fit in perfectly with the soothing breeze and trees swaying about. My mother exchanged the blue and yellow pillow covers for white and brown ones and configured the whole house decor to match with the pillows, to welcome in the new season and let go of the old. My mother does this every year for each season. But during autumn, she removes the old decorations as soon as possible and delays taking them down. My mother eagerly takes out her box of seasonal decor and asks ‘which room first?' and asks me for my opinion on a certain layout and Rya would say "Your house looks amazing!" and my mom smiles in a way that can warm you up no matter how cold the season is.  
     A crunch came from behind me. Two little girls dressed in matching sweaters and scarves were playing among the leaves. One was running, stomping, and throwing the leaves with little bubbly giggles. But the other bent down and started collecting them. Picking them up like little flowers off the stem  
     "Mommy? Can I take these home? I wanna keep them! They're so pretty!" 
     Nostalgia joined the chilly winds and flew through my whole body. 
     I was surrounded by pink. Swirls of endless pink everywhere; above me, in the air, on the ground. They quietly slid down to Earth, leaving a lovely trail of scent behind them. I jumped and danced and twirled around, the delicate cherry blossoms flying around made me a fairy who came out to make sure all the flowers were blooming as they should be or a princess in the woods riding an elegant carriage of pixie dust and flowers. If these trees weren't magic, then I don't know what is. I just wish that Rya was here to see it with me.  
     "Ooh, maybe I should take these home with me. That way I can show Rya! She'd looove these if she were here!"  
     I grabbed as many cherry blossom petals as I could, I scooped them up from the ground and caught them flying in the air and put them all in my pockets. Then I went back to playing, running, and laughing. In the cherry blossom garden.  
     At home, I tried to show Rya my little collection, but when I pulled the petals out of my pockets, they had wilted. Wrinkly and brown replaced the baby pink and smooth, soft surface. I was devastated and started crying and wouldn't stop until my mom said ‘Ashlynn, don't worry, I'll show her the photos we took.' Rya said the photos looked amazing and that it was like she was right there with me to make me feel better. But I was still sad because she wasn't there and couldn't experience the magic with me. And then she said one day we can go together. She promised. My mother said she'd love to take us. But we never did. It's not their fault. Jobs and chores and events and deadlines like to come out try to bring people down, and visiting a garden can't be a priority, no matter how much I wish it was.  
     If I was given a choice, I would've stayed there, playing in the cherry blossom garden, collecting petals until the end of my time and never even thought about leaving. But that was impossible, even if I tried. Cherry blossoms only bloom for a short, short time in the spring. And then they're gone. 
      I looked back at the girls playing in the leaves and thought back to my mother at home excitedly preparing for autumn. 
     I should join them, happily skip into the new season. But all I can think about is those cherry blossoms and how I'll never see them ever again.