honeycomb // autumn [day one]

[hesper hart 🐺 d9f]

AUTUMN ;

I'm not certain why, but the arches made me feel safer, somehow. They lined the pathways, tall and looming. Some were overcome with vines and flowers, others stood sun-bleached and lonesome. I was able to track our movement by how many we'd passed- each time I stepped through one, I silently checked off another number in case we needed to remember which way we'd come from. The maple leaves falling in the wind were crunchy underfoot and formed piles at the base of the various stone bridges which crossed lily pad-covered ponds. I stopped at the top of one, despite the group moving forward, and took time to breathe in the air here. Crisper than back at the garden- not better, but cooler. If the air in the gardens was a tranquil whisper then this air was a frigid breeze. It felt more like when I took in a deep breath with a mint in my mouth.

My eyes caught on a break in surface tension on the water, and I noticed for the first time the many fish swimming below its surface. They were all some mixture of gold and white, with frilly fins and silly, dopey eyes. I wanted to pick up some of the leaves and drop them in to see if the fish were normal or if they were some kind of Capitol trick, but the others were pulling ahead and I did not want to be left behind.

"Oh, lord! Y'all wait up!"

Truthfully, I knew I'd be deader than a doornail if it hadn't been for them. I wondered if they knew it too.

I hoped not.

"Looks like it breaks off into a stream over there," I said once I'd caught up, "Maybe we follow that?"

[autumn collects things]