Till Death Do Us Part
an excerpt

Rita was Maybel’s Psychologist. She was a nice enough lady, a bit out there, but still kind and helpful. Maybel didn’t mind her appointments with Rita, but lately they seemed to be less and less helpful. Maybel didn’t have as many issues anymore as she did back when she was 15, which was when her last boyfriend, Armen, died. Maybel was looking forward to this appointment though because she actually had something she wanted Rita’s advice on. This is why Maybel was so surprised when she up and left before her appointment even started. Her hands and the steering wheel had a mind of their own as Maybel’s car sped along main roads and back roads alike. She was on a road to nowhere fast and loving every minute of it. The radio blared through her car speakers to the point where people actually began honking at her. For all she knew people could be calling the police because of noise control, but she didn’t care.

Fall was all around. It was a change that had noticeably began to take place in the past few days. The leaves were turning radiant reds, brilliant oranges and yellows, and even breath taking browns. Maybel hadn’t been aware that browns had the capability of being breath taking until this drive. She drove for so long that she had escaped the city area and bypassed all the buildings. The fields and roads had taken on the colors and feel of fall even more than the scenery in her city had. The combination of fall and the steadily setting sun made everything even more majestic and mystical than they had been before. One tree in particular caught her attention, so much so that she pulled over off the dirt road to admire it. It was a tall maple with some of the most brilliant red leaves Maybel had ever seen in her life.

Fall had always been Maybel’s least favorite season; it depressed her. Everything had seemed to be slowly dying and being drained of all its hope and life. This tree was different; it was dying in a beautiful way. A way that made Maybel want to cry and laugh at the exact same time. As she slowly approached the tree fallen leaves crunched and crumbled beneath her feet. She could see through the broken limbs and the blood red leaves up to the fading blue gray sky above. Reaching her hand up, she grabbed one of the leaves and ran it through her fingers. The sky was growing golden now as the sun continued it’s decent. She didn’t have a very clear view of it from where her feet were planted to the ground, so she climbed. And climbed. And climbed. Tree climbing was an activity Maybel hadn’t participated in since her childhood days. Her limbs remembered how almost instantly, as if they had woken up from a long hibernation during the winter of her adolescence. Her feet found their footing on branches that her mind never would have thought to tread upon, and this is how she made her way to the top. Everything had been timed out perfectly; she had reached the top just as the sunset was at its most beautiful peak. Maybel watched in silence as she witnessed another beautiful death and then watched stars slowly come to life.