That fall Paul started walking the mile home from work instead of driving.
His best friend, Carl, dying of a heart attack flipped a switch,
made him think about his own mortality.
As he strolled, a fiery red leaf tumbled from a now leafless tree.
Paul’s spring and summer had passed.
Soon, autumn would, too.
He neared his house and saw his family had decorated it for Halloween.
This made him smile, until he saw the gravestones.
His own, his wife’s, his two children.
He lowered himself to the curb and silently wept.
