ROMANIE´s world and WOX - Literary Contest / Short Story titled "The last leaf"

Hi @romanie, thank you very much for the great idea of this contest, your amazing art work and a lot of inspiration!

I'm not the first one choosing your painting #5, but here are my thoughts on it...:

The last leaf

I hold on with my last strength. It won't be long before I, too, have to quit. All the others have long since given up.

It all started so beautifully in the spring. I was born on a warm day in April as a tender green leaf together with many brothers and sisters. Around me, the entire tree was radiant with sunshine. A little later, thousands of bees were buzzing around looking for nectar in the young blossoms. I quickly grew to a stately size.

As was to be seen later, siblings at higher altitudes were disadvantaged both by strong winds and by the drought in summer. I had therefore not done badly at all with my lower position. Through a small gap I even had a clear view of the road. Most people - especially during the flowering season - looked up at us very kindly.

One day, some winged insect laid a sticky little egg on me. Despite all my efforts, I could not shake it off. And lo and behold, one morning a small voracious caterpillar hatched from the egg. It immediately set about destroying my green dress. But I was lucky - a hungry titmouse put an end to the feeding attack just in time. Later, the hole in my dress proved to be quite useful, as it significantly reduced wind resistance.

More and more red cherries were ripening around us. This not only attracted many blackbirds, starlings and jackdaws, but also people were now looking at the tree with a whole new interest. A man in a straw hat dragged a long ladder up and began to harvest the fruit. Many of my brothers and sisters lost their footing in the process, no doubt unintentionally. I was lucky once again. I could get over the small torn tip.

However, a strong summer thunderstorm hit us hard. Many brothers and sisters were battered or taken on an uncertain journey by the wind. I was able to hold on to my sheltered spot, but I was badly hurt by large hailstones that beat down on me like hammer blows.

Then autumn began. More and more brothers and sisters turned yellow, then brown, and staggered to the ground. I, too, gradually lost my strong green colour. This made it more and more difficult for me to breathe and I felt my strength weaken.

But I was not yet willing to give up. My brothers and sisters were already forming a thick carpet on the ground. The man with the straw hat, but now wearing a warm bobble hat, came with a terribly loud monster and blew them all into a corner. Then he stuffed them into blue bags and stowed the blue bags in a blue trailer. One by one, all my brothers and sisters disappeared without me knowing where they were going.

That is another reason why I am struggling now. In vain. Suddenly I feel very light. I sail into an unknown future. There remains only the hope of rebirth next year...