Inktober Day 4
Part 1 of 1. Super sorry this is a day late. I didn’t have much time to finish this one yesterday, but today I do. I was originally gonna do another ‘person walking through the woods’ thing but decided to be a bit more creative than that. It turned out well, I think. Hope you enjoy!
Prompts used: Crescent Moon, Freeze, Wind, Fall Leaves, Pumpkin, Witch
From @phooka-animation‘s list, the official list, whimsical sky list, higginsinks list, @sarispy56‘s list, and @autumnlusts‘ list
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Wind whips across the quiet land. Trees rustle and sway. Acorns land on the ground, one on an unsuspecting passerby. Then a yellow-orange leaf falls from the birch tree that took root next to a babbling brook. It falls down towards the stream, but just before it hits the water the wind picks up again and the leaf flutters up. It flies and twirls above the rolling fields and small cottages. The wind dies down again and the leaf glides farther until it gets caught in a hole of an oak. The sleeping owl within it is startled awake as the leaf hits him in the beak. Agitated, the owl throws it out of his home with his talons and ‘hoo’s at it angrily. The leaf falls down on to a passing truck and tucks itself underneath the windshield wipers. The golden leaf hitches a ride for a while through miles of forest and highway until the wind takes it again. It soars off of the truck and over to a place selling pumpkins. Finally, it falls onto one such pumpkin and remains there, resting after it’s first adventure.
Night falls, and frost begins to creep over the land. It slowly crawls towards the leaf, like a predator stalking its prey, but just before the freezing touch can end the leaf’s adventure the wind grabs it and hoists it to safety. A quick look down shows the frost retreating and the pumpkins huddling together for warmth. The leaf isn’t alarmed, because it knows that the night brings mystical things to light. The wind lifts the leaf higher and higher until it’s among the stars. It glows brighter and joins the stars in their shining array. Soon, the leaf is carried towards the bright crescent moon. The leaf dances around the moon, it’s golden glow reflecting off the shimmering white of the moon to form a yellow tint. It eventually lands upon the hook of it and stays for a moment more. Before anyone takes notice of the moon’s changing, a witch on her sports broomstick rushes by the moon and her cat grabs the leaf gently with his maw. The cat offers it to his owner, and the witch looks at the shining leaf with intrigue. She places it in her bag and travels further through the sea of stars. She arrives at a cloud illuminated with pink and purple lights and pays the cat with the fiddle at the entrance with the leaf. The fiddler accepts and lets her into the gathering. The fiddler then ties it to their bow and continues playing an improvised tune.
When the night ends and the leaf slowly loses its glow, the fiddler unties it, takes it in their hand, and blows it back into the wind. The wind sweeps the leaf back into its path and takes it back through the places it has wandered. As the sun rises, the last of the mystical fades away. The wind drops off and goes back to its natural rhythm, and the leaf is back to its yellow-orange hue. It flutters and falls, spiraling downward and circling a familiar tree before landing in the brook with a little splash. The brook takes it downstream until the leaf stops on the side of the bank to remain there among pebbles and trees. The leaf feels as though it’s journey is finally fulfilled.
