I Cannot Save Them

there goes an oak leaf said faerie, giving it a chase. she plants her feet on it, but falls, nearly landing on her face. that one’s a maple! She says, with heartfelt glad glee. she floats down past it, and tries to put it back on the tree. she is young, her mother explains, watching her go. faerie is now sobbing on a leaf pile, way down below. she knows she can fly though? Right I ask her mother. who knows? Replies a boy, who I think might be her brother. i zoom down to see how she is doing, this autumn leaf faerie. i cannot save them! She cries out. Her name is Miss Mary. you don’t have to I tell her. They grow back each year! she rewards me with a face-splitting smile that is rather dear.