It’s been a moment since I’ve done a Friday flash fiction prompt. I don’t really have any reason why I stopped, just fell out of the habit. Anyways, this week’s photo prompt was too hard to turn down. It finally feels like fall here in Texas after a hot October, and there’s no better season than autumn.
The first brisk day of fall had rolled in that morning. The air had dropped from shorts and tee’s weather just the day before to jeans and jacket weather. Although the leaves had been fading from green to orange for quite some time now, and the Autumn equinox had come and gone, to the people of the small Texas town today was the first day of fall. Many residents of the town retrieved their jackets from their coat closets, which had remained unopened since their doors were last shut in early March like a tomb. Cool weather was always welcome in the south, it meant no more absurd electric bills and weather worth going out in. Emily Jane was one of those residents.
The young accountant called in sick that morning when she stepped out into the chilly air. For the first time in months she shivered, her lips curled into a delighted grin. Without hesitation, she emailed her boss telling him that she was “under the weather” and went inside for a nice hot cup of tea.
After the sun had come up she changed into her favorite fall sweater, a yellow hoodie, and hopped on her bike with a bag full of books. Letting the cool air fill her lungs as she peddled down J Street to Main, then taking the roundabout at 15th, she turned towards Centennial Park. When she arrived she nestled under a nice big tree and disappeared into a book. Above her the leaves drifted through their air, swishing back and forth within the cool autumn breeze.
