Autumn Leaves -A short story-

It was a cool Autumn evening and Janelle lay spread out on her favorite thick plaid blanket, under her favorite broad oak tree. Feeling a breeze drift through the air, she looked up at the tree, as orange and red leaves began descending down toward her. Closing her book, she picked one up and examined it in the palm of her hand. Poking the center of the orange colored leaf she listened as pieces of it crunched and watched as they fell a part drifting away with the next cool breeze. She tossed the rest of the leaf to the ground and quickly after wrapped her jacket closer to her body as she felt a chill move down her spine and goose bumps begin to rise on her skin. Reaching for her mug of hot cocoa lounging in a pile of leaves, she slowly lifted it to her mouth, as her hands trembled due to the cool winds. As she lifted the mug to her lips she felt the warmth of the cocoa reach her skin. As she drank she felt the hot liquid slide down her throat and warm her entire body. With a sigh she pulled her coat, yet again, in tighter and settled cozily into her blanket, reopening her book.

"The Desire's of a Young Woman's Heart" was the title of her book. Janelle had yet to finish it, although she had been sitting under the tremendously large oak tree all afternoon long, with a few trips back to her small country home to get another 2-3 mugs of hot cocoa of course. She hoped for some peace, it had been hard to come by lately for Janelle, yet many would wonder who would have to seek for peace in a beautiful landscape as this. The small white 1930's home lay in the woods, with a long drive leading to the nearest country road. The closest town lay more than 20 minutes drive away, that is if you were driving at a legal speed which most people do in this part of the country. Yet of course, a few high school joy riders would come baralling through at night strewing beer cans in the ditch, but the local sheriff's office usually was able to find and locate the hooligans. Janelle had spent too long a time sitting on her porch swing, sipping a glass of cool ice tea, and glancing down her gravel drive, waiting for someone who would not be returning. An escape is what she needed. She found it in her books. The drive, the porch, the house, all brought back too  fond of memories for her, but engaging in a book, in someone else's life, in their own world, made her forget the mess of her's.

Janelle looked up from her book after being long engaged in the story to find her self face to face with a huge pink slobbering tongue and a fluffy coal black furry mug.

"Jack!" She shouted as she hugged her favorite dog tightly around the neck. He jumped onto her licking her entire face, knocking her book out of her hand and spilling her cocoa all over her blanket, until she cried, laughed and pleaded pushing him away. Jack snuggled into her, laying his head in her lap like a young child snuggles up to their mother tired, and late at night. Janelle smiled painfully at this expression of love and loyalty as she pressed her head against his, " I still have you Jack. I still have you." She whispered quietly into his warm fluffy ears. She snuggled her favorite and only companion tightly until the sun went down. Gently waking up her friend she picked up her blanket, cocoa, book, and lantern as she trudged back to her home. Jack stayed close protecting his owner whom he loved so much.

Janelle began to ponder what life would be like without Jack as he walked along side her glancing up at his owner in a way that seemed to say 'Are you okay?'

 'How lonely I would be' she thought to herself. 'Not only do I have no friends, but to lose him would be to lose everything. I don't know how I could go on.' Janelle hated the thought of the loss of her best friend. 'One loss is enough in a year.' Janelle thought. "We're home Jack.." Janelle sighed painfully as she slipped her key in the lock and let them both inside. Jack ran to the kitchen almost sliding across the hard wood floors as he eagerly lapped up some cool refreshing water. Janelle placed her keys on the laminate kitchen counter tops and made her way to the brand new chrome fridge. "What should we have for supper Jack?" She asked picking through her freezer. "How do chicken strips and some frozen beans sound?" Jack cocked his head at her. "That's what I thought," Janelle mumbled, "I'm tired of frozen food too Jack." She threw the chicken on a pan and into her stainless steel oven and the beans in a pot as she lit the stove top.