A Fallen Leaf

Written to meet a 100-word weekend challenge set by Write Academy: A young girl collects Sycamore leaves and brings comfort to her older self in later years.

Mary never cared much for the helicopters which the boys launched high into the air and then watched them spiral down to the floor, yet she would join in the forage under the canopy of the old sycamore tree, eager to find a fallen leaf to join her collection.

Each was safely preserved within her photo album and sported an artistic symmetry that spread out from the stem to each point and fascinated her young mind.

Years later, thin, aged fingers traced those patterns once more and a warm smile broke out upon her time-worn face.
“Old friends,” she whispered.

Author's Note

Written to meet the 100-word challenge and thus devilishly compact to avoid descriptive waffle, but far too short to be considered a 'story' in its own right. It's more a fictive snippet or micro-fiction. In any case, what do you think?