Let me attempt to draw the images.
Racing down the hill on a broken down bike. Dancing. Right before the bend I remember what happens to people not using the brakes nor hearing the traffic around and I do, slow down the flight. Through the alleys of exotic trees, overtaking a few slow cars. The roundabout spits me out and down I rattle into a narrow cobblestone street.
One more turn and I slalom through a lot of other people walking along the lake. Eyes wide with admiration for all the plants and trees glowing in the low, golden autumn sunshine. The lake is covered in a million crystals blinding my eyes. I turn around and look at the reason I came here for. Covered in orange fruits, the lake’s dancing reflections on the green leaves, a few birds jumping between the branches. The Kaki tree.
I am completely absorbed by my mission on how to get down one or another fruit. Stepping from one stone to the other, poking into the tree with a long stick, engineering how to snap the fruits down without them falling on to the stones. Catching one, losing the next. Sunken into my little game I don’t notice him standing next to me, for I don’t know how long. “What are those fruits?” he asks. And after I explain who they are and that they have a lovely aftertaste of vanilla, he reaches up, picks one and hands it to me. “Here you go.” A big smile.
He’ll never know how happy just that little gesture made me. It’s like the tree reached down to pass me one of its fruits. No bouquet of flowers would have impressed me more. It’s just life getting in touch, whispering: “The seasons are changing and I am still having your back.”
That Kaki is now lying, to ripen, on the chest of drawers in my room.
The wild is everywhere. Always a way to reach it. In the midst of a city. Along a dolled-up lakeside promenade. But I don’t mind, I also like the decadence of exotic flowers in autumn, pretending winter isn’t coming. Meanwhile, what really gets me are the orange colors of all the trees saying goodbye to the sun. Starting to turn inwards. Winter around the corner, but not yet here. Impossible to grasp. A quick hello. One futile moment. A shared smile for one instant.
Impossible to hold on to.
PS: As usual, words and photos written and taken by myself. Hope you enjoyed:)