Autumn Leaves: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry

By H L Richardson

Autumn Leaves is a short story about an elderly gentleman who has had to give up his home and independence and what that means for him. It follows his ramblings from memories of days gone by to the difficulties he faces on a day to day basis and addresses the treatment he suffers from those around him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jun 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490720753

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© Copyright 2014 H L Richardson.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-2074-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-2076-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-2075-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013922309

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expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

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Contents

Preconceived Ideas

I’m Tired

Waiting

Contradiction

Confusion

Autumn Leaves – short story

Questions of My Mind

Why the Pain?

The Journey – short story

The Lessons

The End of the World

Sitting Here Watching the World Go By

Stealing Time

Inside of Me

What Is This?

Saying Goodbye

The Veil

The Desires Of Life

I Contemplate

What The Hell Have I Done? – short story

Releasing the Chains

Moving Forward

Wishing On a Star

Make The Choice!

The Day the World Changed For Me

True Friends

The Carrot

This Insignificant Gadget

Turning Things Around

Bring Solace to My Heart

The Getaway – short story

Change

Cradled In Love

The Love of My Life

In My Heart I Am Still Young

Warmth of the Sun

The True Essence Of Life

An Oasis of Calm

The Voice

Into Innocence – short story

This Beautiful Tree

My Prayer for the Beautiful, Happy Couple

The Joining Of Hands

Our Little Bundle of Joy

Second Chances – short story

Life Is What You Make It

The Beautiful Golden Orb

Communal Love

Find Your Magic

Wielding the Magic

In My Greatness

Universal Love

Sovereign Goddess

This book is dedicated to the elderly who often feel isolated from their communities and lost to society and it is hoped that people realise that life does not stop when you pass middle-age and that there is still lots to experience and explore in life.

All names and places mentioned in this book are purely fictional and bear no resemblance or connection to any of those of the same name in reality.

PRECONCEIVED IDEAS

I’m Tired

I’m tired!

I’m tired of trying to talk,

I‘m tired of being there to listen,

I‘m tired of being the one to hold out my hand

To show I am willing to let bygones be bygones

And push the hurt to one side.

Although very difficult I have to try

To hopefully chip away the ice.

To release them as they were before

And bring them back from the dead!

I love them and will always love them,

I am in no doubt about that.

I need them to meet me half way though

Or I can only sort things out in my head.

It won’t be sorted between us,

Which would be the best way I’m sure,

But I have to leave it up to God

To bring us together,

To cure us from the negative emotions

Floating between us throughout.

Time to address things and work towards

A beautiful reunion and start

Of a newness in the relationship,

A recognition of each other through and through,

A beautiful reunion filled with emotion

And love and respect anew.

Waiting

Waiting is excruciating,

It sends you into insecurity,

Anxiety and panic.

If they don’t turn up what does that say about you?

Should it say something about you?

Who knows!

Contradiction

When you look at me I fall,

When you laugh at me I hurt.

When you dismiss me my world ends.

When you hold me in your arms I melt into your soul.

Confusion

Confusion begins with lack of communication,

Either none, or conflicting.

Confusion begins with emotions array,

So frustrating, annoying and opposing.

What can we all do to prevent such a void?

Why not be true and honest,

Open, understanding, truthful and loving?

Not much physically but emotionally it is a test

So huge emotionally, it can open a ‘bee’s nest’.

Sweet, smooth, golden and luscious,

Honey-coloured, runny and clear,

Such goodness, energy-giving and so natural.

Nothing much to admonish or fear.

Discussion face to face, so important but ignored,

Should not be deferred or put off,

It should be the answer to the issues

To ensure love and care are at the top.

The agenda can be painful,

It can be so wrong,

But patience and commitment

Will carry things on

To better communication

And better response,

But time is the healer

And communication the lance.

Autumn Leaves – short story

A SHORT STORY

Chapter 1   Losing My Independence

Here I am sitting where I have sat for the last five years. Watching, waiting, and praying. I look out onto a beautiful garden full of shrubs, trees and an abundance of colourful, bright flowers in the spring and summer. Beautiful arrays of golden yellow chrysanthemums, dahlias of red, yellow and orange, lilies of different varieties and such gorgeous variations of green foliage. Wonderful scents from the old roses, jasmines and honeysuckles too. In summer it is wonderful place to sit, so peaceful and quite a suntrap too. Even in winter there is colour and perfume although now I can’t spend much time outside in the cold weather. Yes, I’ve watched the seasons come and go. Last year was such a terrible winter. The ground was covered with snow for weeks and no-one could go out, so the snow remained pristine for all that time except when the birds were occasionally seen hopping about near the bird table. I enjoy watching them and trying to spot the different species of birds visiting at different times of the year, although my knowledge of birds is minimal. My knowledge of plants has only been built up over the last few years too. I never had much time to spend in the garden before I came here. I was either busy working or had other interests on the go such as travel and music.

We often get some of the woodpeckers coming into the garden from the woods beyond, you can hear them tapping the trees sometimes when it is quiet. I often contemplate where the birds go when they fly off, flying free, the Infinite destinations, and sometimes we see a whole group of birds flying overhead when it is time for their migration, huge flocks of them. I wish I could migrate for the winter. The weather plays havoc with my legs. I can’t walk so well these days and it’s so depressing knowing that I can no longer get up to walk in the woods or hills, take myself to the bathroom or even turn the television channel over. I know, I’ve lost the remote again! It will been here somewhere but I haven’t the faintest idea where. I once spent two weeks trying to use the mobile phone to change channels. Still, why not, no one rings me now or very occasionally I hear from Michael in Australia. Even then he doesn’t stay on the line for long as he says it is expensive. It’s usually ‘Hello, dad, how are you?’, a quick resume of what has been happening out in Oz and then a ‘Got to go, dad, look after yourself’ and he’s gone. I miss the chats we used to