The Leaf (unfinished)

Just three dark nights to go and it will be the start of another year. Here comes 2006. Like a leaf, my 2005 just withered, yellowed by time and become fragile. So fragile that it can be seized by just a soft kiss of the wind to the branch that nurtured it. Every leaf has its turn to leave its nurturing branch, join the wind to its never-ending journey and again embrace and nourish the earth so that it can give life to a new leaf.

I am a leaf. Nevertheless, I refuse to go and therefore become a confused leaf. My mind refuses to give me the answer on whether I am a leaf still attached to branch, a leaf that is sailing with the wind going on nowhere or a leaf waiting to be consumed by earth. 2005 was really a hard and barren year.

Today, three more tiring days to go before 2006, I left home for work before the sun rises to the Mt. of Montalban. As I walked deep in thought on what to expect next year, I caught a glimpse of scattered lazy fog moving smoothly, praying for the sun not to rise.

Fog reminds me of death.

I love fogs.

Suddenly I noticed a man walking at other side of the street. We are the only people on the street that early morning and he is going on where I am going. He looks tired and sad. He keeps on walking, slowly as if he is the only human being left on the planet after a terrible plague and war. He keep his head bowed as if stripped of all the human dignity & pride and continued walking like a blind that memorized a path after a million times of passing it….

And then, slowly, he lift up his head and stared at me.

I was so shocked because the man on the other side of the street is ME!
I don’t know if it was because of the fog. I looked again and blink. But my eyes was playing tricks on me.
I am looking at myself on the other side of the street. My mind refuse to believe it because it is impossible.
But I am there on the other side and between me and my other self was a thin fog….