Long time ago, in a country far away, lived a princess, who loved to stroll on red dry leaves. In an autumn evening, while the sun was setting down, she, along with her fading shadow, would enjoy listening to the crackling of leaves under her tender feet. In the yellowish sunlight her face glittered like a diamond, her eyes shone like dewdrops, her lips bloomed like petals and her hair waved like a bucket of flowers swinging in the hands of a pretty little girl.

She would hum for a few moments along with the music of crushing leaves. Her audience was calm and obedient. The clouds only making the air clearer, the air only stirring up the leaves on the trees, the trees only peeping at their reflection in the pellucid water of the rivulet, the rivulet running silently along with dirty passage covered with dry leaves making its way alongside the cornfield, the cornfield swinging to and fro joyfully; all listened attentively to the wordless song in her closed lips.

While sauntering on the leafed passage, she would deliberately step only at spots where the leaves laid in abundance. Those soft pads of dry leaves made a hard cracking sound and she loved it. But sometimes she would standstill and would try to listen something in the vast surroundings of silence. At that moment every moving creature would hold its breath and wonder why she stopped. May be she is thinking about what happens to those leaves that fall from trees to roll on the ground but instead fall into the little stream that runs along. " They become the victims of a timeless journey", she must be thinking.

But no, she is looking down the passage, towards the hills. Her eyes are still, heart silent, and ears trying to listen to the sound of horse's hoof. " Is she waiting for someone? ", the trees asked the wind. "Yes", the wind answers,

" She is waiting for a prince, don't you know?" A tiny little leaf flies in the air to look down the dusty road, " Did he go that way?" " No, but he'll come that way."

"Have you seen him?" a fluffy white cloud gets interested. "No, and neither has she, but she feels it in her bones that he will come, riding a horse and wearing a princely dress. He will look at her, fall in love, express his love, and then fly her away on his horse to a misty kingdom of dreams."

" How sweet, how dreamy" exclaims a leaf dancing on the road, "when he comes all of us leaves will join the tramps of his horse, it will be a great music."

" And I will sing songs to him" the wind promises.

" And I will swing the whole place around" the cornfield is prepared. " And we will welcome him, falling over him all the way" the refractory leaves on the branches make a bond.

"And we will dance on your tunes" the trees also get excited.

" And I will provide him with the swiftest passage he ever traveled upon" the dusty road couldn't do better.

"And we will rain all over this" the clouds give the final touch.

"This is going to be perfect. I can't wait to see it happen" the wind whirls around.

" And then what will they say to each other?" a tiny leaf is really anxious to know.

" He will tell her that he loves her and no one else" the wind seems to know everything.

" And then she would also tell him that she loves him too and no one else" the tiny leaf jumps a step ahead.

" No you stupid" the wind rebukes politely, "she is not going to believe him at once."

"But hasn't she been waiting for him" none of the leaves seemed to have understood that.

The wind explains it to them," Yes, she has waited for him for so long that she will ask him to make her believe him first. I tell you how they are going to converse. The prince will come closer to her, taking her hand in his hand, looking deep into her eyes, will whisper into her heart," I love you." And the princess politely and slowly taking her hand out of his, settling her heartbeat, pressing her smile, and hiding the pleasant shine in her eyes, she will slowly close her eyes and would ask him, " Why?" The prince would say," I love you not for a reason." And she, believing in her heart, would still make him untrusted, " But you like something in me, don't you?" The prince would then say," I like everything in you."

" Like what?"

"Like everything."

"All right, how does my face look?"

" Your face is like a fresh bloomed white rose."

"And my eyes?"

" Like two dewdrops on that rose."

"And how do I smile?"

"Like sun peeps through clouds just after the rain."

"How do I walk?"

"Like cool breeze blowing through the willows in hot summer noon."

"You know how I look at you?"

"Like a fairy that touches my heart with her eyes."

"And what if I do touch you?"

"It will be like wind blowing though my soul."

"What if I am gone?"

"You'll still walk in my eyes and laugh in my thoughts."

"What do I mean to you?"

"Because of you I enjoy the sunshine when its raining."

"Where I lookÂ…Â…Â…."

"Flowers grow there."

"Where I goÂ…Â…Â…."

"Moon goes there."

"Where I stayÂ…Â…Â…."

"Spring stays there."

"When I say nothingÂ…"

"Your eyes tell your dream."

"And when there is nothingÂ…"

"You turn nothingness into beauty."

The wind kept on telling them stories of unknown, and everything held its breath and listened carefully. They were so absorbed that they never came to know when the sun went down and she went home. The prince didn't come, but one day I went strolling down the hill, onto the dirty passage. I had a farmhouse on the other side of the hill and I was living happily there, alone. I never had the time to wonder what existed on the other side of the hill; I was too busy doing my job. The rivulet made its passage through the hill and traveled beside my farm for a length and then to an endless journey. I always watched the faded boats of leaves accompanying the shining water and only wondered if I could ever get a chance to watch those leaves falling.

Then one day I put all the work aside and went down the other side. The dirty passage looked at me, hesitated for a while to let me step on it, and then asked the wind," Here is a man who has come down from the hill; is he the prince?" The wind whispered with uncertainty, "I don't know, he is not riding a horse." One of the leaves gets anxious and cries impatiently, "Who is he, I want to see him." The wind whirls and swings the leaves upwards. They all look at me. The clouds start gathering, the rivulet slows down, the trees stand still, the cornfield remains silent and the air doesn't whisper anymore. But the leaves were making noises, getting crushed under my feet.

"Do you think he is a prince?"Â… "I don't see his horse no where."Â… "May be his horse couldn't make it through the hills."Â… "A prince should have a healthy horse."Â… "May be he himself didn't bring his horse."Â… "But how do we know."Â… " Let the princess come."Â… " Yes, you are right; she is the one who should know."Â… All right then, we wait for her." And they too laid down silently.

And then the princess came. She walked leisurely on dry leaves, and I came crushing them from the other end.

I looked at her, she was a real princess. She was more than that, she was a mab. (Mab is a fairy that brings dreams.) She was my mab. For me she brought herself. She was my dream, and I had started dreaming her already. She looked at me and asked," Who are you?" " I am a farmer from the other side of the hill", I replied pointing towards the hill, " I have come here to see the leaves falling from the trees."

" Do you like watching them fall?"

" Yes, a lot."

" Have you ever strolled on the leaves that fall from the trees and get dried?"

" No, not exactly on dry leaves."

" It feels great. Come, have a walk with me and then you will know it." And that's how I started walking with her. Everything around was looking suspiciously at me; " Now we know he is not a prince. He is just a farmer from the other side of the hill.", concluded the wind. " But why is he walking with her like this?" " Yes it should be a prince walking beside her." "But why should we object if the princess is willing to be with him." "Lets just wait and see what end comes to this."

And I, regardless of what others thought, kept on dreaming. I enjoyed crushing leaves and listening to her wordless songs. Then she sat down on a patch of grass and I just stood there.

" Come on and sit with me", she said.

"No I am all right here."

"But you are standing right in front of me, it doesn't look good, come and sit here."

"But then I won't be able to see your face."

She remained silent; I think she didn't like it so I apologized.

" I am sorry."

"Don't you want to sit near me?"

"No."

She was silent again, so I spoke up,

"Yes, it is not a problem still I don't want to be near you but close to you. I want to be your close friend."

"And that doesn't include sitting near?"

"No."

"Why? Friends do sit near. My friends do."

"That's it, I don't want to be like them."

"And what if they don't?"

"Then I will."

"What makes you think you can be my close friend?"

"Because of the way I think of you."

"And how do you think of me?"

"With too much respect."

"Too much respect separates people, it takes them apart." "I don't believe so."

And we kept on talking. She was comfortable to talk to. I told her things that I thought were meant only to stay in my heart. I emptied my heart in front of her. It was the same thing as telling those things again to myself. She listened, understood and felt, nothing more I could ask for. During all this, the door of uncertainty remained open. " The sun sets and she goes", I had told myself. But I had plans. " I won't let her go, I'll take her with me before sunset."

But then all of a sudden, she stood up and told me she was leaving. " But it is quite some time left to sunset, the night isn't falling yet. You can stay", I tried to stop her. " No", she said, "I am waited for back home." "But there is timeÂ….."

"No, the time may be here, with you, but till I get back home it'll get dark."

"All right then lets go to my home."

" Your home! I can't go there." she was surprised. " Why not, it's a peaceful place, you'll be happy there and we can reach there before sunset." " No there is that hill that I have to cross, that you have to climb, and you don't have a horse. It'll take a lot of time; it'll be sunset. And anyway I am happy here also."

" But you'll be more happy there."

"How do you know?"

"I know, I'll be there to keep you happy."

" You are making a mistake if you think you alone can keep me happy. Do you have this cornfield, this dirty passage and the dry leaves there?" she asked a very selfish and cruel question.

" No, but I can make that place like thisÂ… we can make that place like this."

"I told you it'll take so much time and I can't wait."

" I am not asking you to wait, I want you to trust me."

"But why do it for me?"

" Because I Â…..", I wanted to say to her what the prince would have said but then I realized it'll not be appropriate. " Because I just want to do it for you", I changed my words.

" No, I am sorry, I have to leave. Good bye." She started to walk away. " But what aboutÂ….", I think I didn't want to say that. " What about what?", she asked curiously.

" What about our stroll on the leaves?"

" I have always walked alone and I can walk alone." She considered me out of this and turned away.

" And one last thing," I said," I'll be here walking alone. I can't leave, I'll always be here."

" Don't wait for me." She looked at me for a while. She wanted to listen to my answer. I remained silent; she walked away.

The sun was about to set. All the birds were coming back home. I didn't know whether to welcome them or say good-bye. I watched her walking down the other side of the dirty passage. That was my dream, just walked out of my heart. And then it just came out of my eyes.

The wind patted me, the leaves started wandering all around me and the cornfield started swinging. They were not against me anymore. The air was too much misty and my eyes too. A tiny drop of water came out of my eye and strolled on my cheek. It started raining, it always does. The rain kissed my tears away and I abstained from letting the rest to spout.

She had gone far away and I was no way near her. I wanted to be with her, sit near her but I only had got closer. And now I was too close to be near. I looked down the road where she disappeared, and said, "I will".

I always knew the answer.

The End