“Hey, Rose, look at this!” My grandpa calls to me. I am 7, and in my grandparents’ hometown for the day. My grandma walks to the park with us too, and we venture to the small zoo near their house in New Jersey. I turn to my grandpa, the autumn leaves crunch beneath my feet. He holds up an abnormally large leaf that had been on the ground. 

“Wow!” I gasp. “We should name him Larry the Leaf,” my grandpa jokes. I giggle. He holds the leaf in his hand as we continue towards the zoo.

2 years later, I am 9; sitting next to my grandpa on his couch. It is a windy autumn day, and orange and yellow leaves gently blow at the windows. I watch as he seems to be slightly hunched over, and his arms are dangling from his sides. My grandma helps him up as they walk into another room. I think about how he used to dance with me when I was younger. I wonder, Is he okay? Will we ever do that again? He hasn’t acted like this before. This year, he was diagnosed with ALS. He became unable to move his arms and had been struggling constantly. My grandpa, unable to do much but sit, had to be helped by my grandma continuously. 

Another 2 years later, and I am 11. It is a crisp October afternoon, and I open the door to my grandparents’ house, greeting them happily. I hug my grandma and she hugs me back. I hug my grandpa, and he smiles warmly. “Happy Birthday, Rose!” they both say. I smile, and they bring me to their living room to give me their presents. I open all of them and happily thank them. My grandma leaves the room to get the cake and I am left alone with my grandpa. I excitedly show him my presents and he looks at me, full of love. 

 A while later, I say goodbye to my grandparents. “Goodbye! Thank you for everything!” I say to them. My grandma waves and my grandpa smiles warmly as he wishes me a happy birthday. Little did I know, though, that would be the last time I would see him. It begins to become a little windy, so my mom and I rush to the car. The fallen leaves litter the ground, and are pushed upwards by the wind, blowing in the breeze.

A month later, I wake up excitedly. It is a November morning; a cold wind blows and more leaves fall from the trees. My parents and I planned to go to DisneyWorld and we were going to leave soon. I jump out of my bed and run downstairs. I see my dad sitting on the couch. He greets me and we begin to prepare to leave. 

“Where's Mom?” I ask. He sighs and sits me down on the couch next to him. “Well... Rose, Mom isn’t here right now because she is visiting your grandpa in the hospital.” 

I become confused. “Why? Is he okay?”

“He fell last night down the stairs and hit his head hard; Mom left to visit him as quickly as she could. So did your aunts and uncles.”

I become worried quickly.“Oh no! I hope he will be okay…” I bet he will be fine, though! He has been to the hospital before and turned out fine in the end. I reassured myself. We soon get in the car and drive to the airport. Leaves crunch under the car’s wheels as we drive down the highway. On the plane, it feels weird to me not having my mom there, but I attempt to push the thoughts of my grandpa and my mom to the back of my mind, since I am trying to think more about the DisneyWorld trip I am going on. I look out the window; the only treetops that I see now are green, and full of life.

After getting off the plane, we soon arrive at the resort, and my dad calls my mom. I can hear her voice, and she sounds very worried and unhappy. My dad comforts her as I sit in the large lobby of the resort. We are at DisneyWorld, a place ‘where magic happens’, but it doesn’t seem like that now… I worry to myself. Then, my dad and I go to Animal Kingdom. We go on multiple rides and explore the park. Thoughts of my grandpa’s condition and my mom being at the hospital swarm like a hive of bees in the back of my mind. As we sit on a park bench, I watch as the green leaves sway in the breeze. To think that back in Connecticut, back in New Jersey, they are still orange. I soon hear over the phone that my mom will be arriving at the resort later that night. “Yay! I can’t wait!” I excitedly say. 

Later that night, my mom arrives at our hotel room and I hug her. Soon, the realization of the situation comes to me. Sure, mom may be here now, but grandpa is still hurt… Will he get better? I reassured myself once more. Of course he will! He will be fine. After a while, I turn off the hotel light and go to sleep. That night, I toss and turn under the hotel sheets. The wind causes the leaves to batter the windows. The commotion outside feels like it is in my stomach as well. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. I drift into sleep from tiredness of the day. The next day, I wake up and greet my parents. I text my friend until they both call me over, then I sit at the hotel bed beside theirs. 

“Rose, grandpa passed away last night in his sleep,” my mom tells me, tears in her eyes. 

My dad is quiet, grief silencing him. The thoughts in the back of my mind suddenly buzz with a strength of emotions. They swarm violently in my head, causing tears to stream down my face.

It is 4 years later, and I stand in my grandma’s house. Pictures of my grandpa are on every table in the house. I look out one of the windows, and see a familiar autumn leaf that had been stuck to the side of the window by him; Larry the Leaf. I smile and laugh a little. Then I sit down on the couch, next to the spot he had always sat in. Even if he is no longer with me, I can still feel him here; his memories. I am glad I had the honor to have known him when he was alive. A gust of wind hits the leaf, causing it to blow away. I stand up, walking towards the window quickly, but then I sit back down, calming. It is a spring day, and all the autumn leaves have blown away. They will return, sooner than you think; but until then, I will wait.