Our time together was like an autumn day. A campus full of 1500 or so odd creatures, brought together by a combination of talent, desire, and mostly, luck.
We created worlds. Whole experiences built from sheer want, from unfettered imaginations. Ninjas roaming through classrooms, nerf gun battles overtaking old buildings, young adults on broomsticks shouting with glee: these unreal realities were the backdrop of this strange land.
We were like a pile of leaves. Brought together by an unplanned, unexpected gust of wind. For a moment, we were a single entity, a community, a beautiful random mishmash of fragile leaves. And in the next gust, we were blown apart again, never to return to that precise configuration. Each of us was formed by one another, defined by the leaves and colors next to us. We grew stronger with each other, because of each other, layered into an unlikely wall against the world. And yet we were delicate, easily destroyed by the random forces around us. The gusts of wind, small and large, sent us on separate paths. There were also careless things roaming around, creatures that might step directly onto our delicate home.
Crunch crunch you hear leaves collapsing under the weight of our friend's death. It comes out of the clear blue sky, and we are never the same. Those in the center, clustered around the heel and sole of the impact, are momentarily pulverized. It’s as if there is nothing left to hold the identity of the leaf together. Those on the outskirts are damaged, half whole half gone. We on the edges of tragedy find ourselves pulled in both directions, trying to comfort the ones in the epicenter, and trying to find comfort from the ones still intact. And the outer ring of leaves crowd inward, wanting to help and protect, but feeling the powerlessness of their position.
Eventually, even the leaves in the center regain themselves. In microscopic increments, the crushed leaf begins to move again. Slowly at first, it shivers, readjusting to this new reality. Then it notices that despite it all, it still exists. Some of the leaves lose crumbs, or sections, or are even split in two. But all inevitably detach from the ground and continue their random path, leaving behind the parts of themselves that no longer fit.
In the end, the pile of leaves are scattered, but the scars and the strength remains.
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