Autumn in the Garden By Autumn Fields

A/N: This has nothing to do with me. For once, it's autumn as in the season. I believe this is the best one I've written. It's my shot at being romantic as well as descriptive. I think you'll enjoy this one.

Amanda whipped back, extending her legs high into the air and pulling them back, exerting a burst of speed to the swing beneath her. The cool autumn breeze lashed through her reddish brown hair, bringing it to fly up all around her in a spirally mess. A soft smile played upon her lips, giving her a sense of comfort and delight.
Around her the leaves were falling from the huge oak trees, gliding noisily to blanket the brown earth. The colors were spectacular. The orange and brown leaves whipped around her as a sudden wind swept up, getting the beautiful colors tangled in her long autumn hair.
The garden was always beautiful this time of year. The flowers were going into hibernation for the winter, the small animal life retreated to their forest homes to hide, the luscious woods were alive only with color. The stone steps leading down to the tall oak the swing was attached to were covered in its leaves, blowing about in the wind. Amanda closed her eyes, remembering running down the steps, Christopher close behind. She giggled as she tripped, and he jumped the last few steps to catch her in his outstretched arms, and the memory faded.
Amanda sighed, the smile fading as well. She didn't know why she still came here. She dragged her feet on the shifty ground, causing her to teeter back and forth and her pace was slowed. She jumped as the swing slowed to a halt, landing on a slightly decayed piece of wood in front of her. She slowly crossed over the old bridge, as it sagged underneath her weight. Underneath the bridge was nothing more than a shallow three foot trench separating the giant oak from the rest of the garden.
Amanda bent down, picking up her black trench coat and black beret. She pulled some of her flying hair behind her eats and shoved her beret on top of it. It did little to calm the flying mess, and the wind blew harder. She swung her coat around and shoved her arms into it, shrugging it on and pulling her hair from underneath her collar. She made her way toward the stone steps leading up to another part of the garden. As she reached the first step she closed her eyes and sighed, turning around to gaze at the wooden swing. Keeping her eyes closed, she remembered the promise he had made exactly 10 years ago, on November 14th, 1943, when she was 13.

~*~

Amanda, 13, dressed in a gorgeous poofy blue dress, slowly descended the stone staircase. Her long hair was pulled up into puppy-dog ears on either side of her head. She couldn't look more like a young child. Around her eyes was a bright blue bandana, blindfolding her. A bright smile was upon her face as she tried to climb down without falling.
"Christopher!" she called, putting her hands out in front of her to hold her balance.
"Down here, keep coming!" came a male voice down by the oak tree.
Christopher let out a little laugh as she stumbled again and cracked a huge toothy grin. It accented his long brown hair and dark eyes.
Amanda smiled larger and let out a little giggle as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Now what?" she asked excited.
Christopher walked the rest of the way to the slightly less decayed bridge and reached out for her hand. "Take my hand," he said lowly, and she extended her arm into his. He pulled her closer to him and walked forward right near the swing. Christopher stopped, and pulled her to stand in front of him and put his arms around her. He grabbed the back of the sapphire bandana and pulled it over her head, revealing her eyes to the splendid sight.
"Oh 's so beautiful."
They both smiled and Amanda turned around to look at him, still in his arms. They laughed and turned back to look around some more. Christopher took her hand in his and brought her to sit upon the wooden swing. He stood calmly behind her, and pushed her softly. The wind began to blow, the bright leaves around and made them spiral around the two in perfect bliss, wishing only for this moment to last forever. As Christopher gave her another push, he began to sing lowly, under his breath.
"Even if the sun refused to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart
Until the end of time
You're all I need, my love,
My Valentine.

Amanda slowed and allowed herself to be captured in Christopher's arms around her waist and turned her head toward his.
"Blessed are the autumn leaves that fall from this oak. Any who kiss underneath it will have eternal love and happiness," he whispered lovingly. She smiled and pulled him in for a sweet passionate kiss.
The wind blew up around them, and more leaves fell on top of them. The noise of the falling colors sung like magic through the air, pullin in all of the emotions being felt near the swing and twining them into the large oak.

~*~

Christopher and Amanda were sitting on a long bench much deeper into the garden. Amanda's head was buried in Christopher's chest as his hand stroked her hair.
"Do you have to go?" Amanda asked, her eyes closed. Her voice was full of pent-up pain.
Christopher sighed and pulled his head up to watch the trees blow in the wind. "Yes, I must. My father won't let me stay here. But I'll be back."
"How long will you be gone?"
"For a while. Perhaps two or three years."
"Please don't forget me."
Christopher looked down in shock. "Of course I won't. Never forget this. I love you Amanda Taylor. I'll love you forever. Meet me here. Under this tree. On this date. Don't forget. I'll come back for you. I promise."

~*~

Amanda took a deep breath and turned back around. She lifted her coat and made her way up the stairs. She kept her head down, watching her combat boots walk up the long staircase. As she neared the top, she thought to herself, 'Prepare to be disappointed again.'
She reached the top of the stairs and watched her feet stop upon a red rose. She retreated back a step and bent over, grasping it. She stared at it in complete confusion. Nothing was growing here this time of year, especially not roses. Suddenly an excitement grabbed at her heart and her eyes widened. She allowed herself to hope once again. She closed her eyes and silently prayed. She took a deep breath and looked up.
The long bench sat next to a lone maple tree, the sierra brown rust was peeling up on the arms rests, the initials carved on the maple were beginning to wear. No one was there. Again.
Amanda felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, as she did every year. But this time she would not let them overcome her. She swallowed and opened her eyes again. Grasping the rose firmly in her palm so that the thorns cut through her pale skin, she walked through time and age to the long bench.
She sat down and leaned her elbows on her knees. She pulled the rose out of her stinging left hand to expose many small holes where her bright red blood was seeping to the surface. She looked at it for a few seconds, then ran her finger over it, smearing the blood, connecting the dots. She let out a moan of frustration and slowly cast the rose to lie upon the dirty earth.
She curled herself into a ball and began to sob, wishing she could just melt away, wishing it was all over. Wishing she had never fallen in love. The wind rattled in the maple and the leaves descended, their time to die. When was it hers? Glumly, she wished for a knife, for some way out of this pain. But then she heard it. A low voice carrying just over the wind.
"You're all I need, my love, my valentine,"
She sat bolt upright, not daring to believe her ears. Quickly she scanned her surroundings, trying to comb out his familiar face from in between the trees. But again there was no one.
"I've dreamed of this a thousand times before
And in my dreams I couldn't love you more"
It was coming from above her. Hastily she turned her glance upwards, to the branches of the maple. Sitting up there, on a lone maple branch, sat none other than Christopher Chamberlain. Her Chris.
His hair was near his shoulders, a rich cooling brown, matching the earthy tones in his eyes. Oh, his eyes. The love, the pain he had gone through, the waiting, how sorry he was, it was all there. He didn't have to say anything. She knew he was sorry, she knew he had tried and she forgave him on sight. It took him two seconds to communicate all he had felt in the past ten years, and then he had descended onto the bench next to her and took her up into his arms.
They sat there like that, holding one another, barely able to believe that finally, after ten years, they were able to hold each other again. Finally Christopher pulled back and looked into her tearstained eyes.
"I'm sorry I made you wait so long."
Amanda put her finger to his lips. "'t speak. I know." And with that she pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss, the first in exactly ten years, and not the last.