I had been on a camping trip, as evidenced by the tent, pack, and cooler that currently resided in my back seat and trunk, but it had just been a weekend to get away from it all. I had a job, bills to pay, and a girlfriend to take out to dinner the following night. As my cat left the rural countryside and more buildings began to rise up around me, I found the odd old woman and her magic leaves slowly drift from my mind. I looked out the window. I hummed along to some old Supremes song that had come on the radio. I planned on where to take Kelsey, my girlfriend, out to dinner.
By the time I was completely back inside my concrete jungle, spires shooting into the night sky around me, I wasn't thinking about those leaves in the slightest. The neon signs, crowds of people, and other car's headlights and breaklights all lulled into a haze of light that washes over me like a wave. I found myself almost nodding off a few times before jolting in my seat.
My apartment building came into view. Nothing special, only ten stories tall and about the blocks form what the tourists called "the heart of the city", whatever that was supposed to mean. But it was my home and had been for the past seven years.
After I had parked in the garage below the building, I didn't even realize I was grabbing the old woman's bag. It was next or my pack on the passenger's seat. After I took the elevator to my ninth-floor apartment, I sighed, admiring the fireplace, exposed brick, and wide windows looking down on the he city below. Bliss.
After I had dropped my pack off in my bedroom and returned to the living room, all memories of the bag, the old woman, and her strange instructions came rushing back. Snatching the bag from the kitchen, I opened the bag, stared at the lilac-colored leave inside, and thought . "Become who you truly are" she had said. As far as I knew, I had everything I wanted in life. What else could these leaves give me?
Well, if there was nothing else to do. Skeptical at best, I started a fire in the fireplace and tossed a quarter of the leave onto it. Almost instantly, they cracked and blackened into glowing red cinders and ash. Then, the smoke turned from black to a reddish color. I watched in amazement as the tendrils of red smoke wafted around the room, flowing past my body and up around my head. When a large quantity went up my nose, I smelt deep, dark.wood and burning leaves. It reminded me of dark autumn evenings when my father used to burn. It was heavenly.
I felt my spirit give away and felt kind of woozy. Swaying slightly with a dumb grin plastered on my face, I collapsed on the push couch, the red smoke flowing like water around the darkening room as I slipped into a vivid dream.