There is always that lingering sadness when summer ends. It makes you regard the lake with regret knowing you will no longer be able to paddle the kayak, but there is that excitement too when summer transitions to autumn. The air changes and becomes filled with clarity. Then the trees decide to change their outfit into something glorious. Autumn becomes filled with vibrant hues. It causes you to take to the sunny hills and pluck apples that tempt you on its branches.

You can laugh away with abandon as you try jumping to pluck the apples that are out of reach. It can be vexing when you are on the short side. The best ones are always out of reach and desirable. Yet, what does that matter? A bit of an effort could make you reach the apples that would cause even the goddess Aphrodite to become envious. Life can be unfair that you are not tall like a ladder. So, you had prepared and brought a friend who is as good as a ladder. Bear and Chipmunk came along. They are a couple. Yes, they contrast in size, but they are a loving couple. Love is like that; the unlikeliest people get together when the arrows of Cupid strike them. It was a sight to behold when you saw Bear with tiny Chipmunk. Kindly, Chipmunk lent her husband Bear so that the apples that were out-of-reach could be picked.

Chipmunk yelled, “Bear! My friends need you!”

“What now?” growled Bear.

He must wonder sometimes if being tall was a good idea. He was meaning to eat the apples when he was disturbed. Still, it was hard to refuse when Chipmunk smiled up at him with a bright smile. In that smile were love and adoration. He grudgingly reached for the apples that her friends could not reach. They were as small as Chipmunk. One of them was Squirrel Girl. They all looked at him in amazement as he reached for the apples. Both Chipmunk and Squirrel Girl looked up at Bear and the apples that had the rosy hues from the warm autumn sun. Squirrel Girl looked at the apples that were out-of-reach as if they were the stars that studded the night sky. She pondered why people desired more for the ones that could not be attained? Was that why the apples grew on trees so that you could become tempted? Was that why the apples appeared so desirable to Eve in the Garden of Eden?  What is forbidden can be more desirable.

Soon, your bags become full. Of course, you fill the bags more than you needed and curse yourself when it is time to pay for them. However, you think of your neighbor who will be too happy to receive them even if they may not love apples and may wonder too if you were just trying to unload them.

Your neighbor may say later, “Squirrel Girl must have had too much fun picking the apples.”

While picking apples, you may become tempted since you have not eaten breakfast. Thus, you bite into the apple. And of course, you try tempting your friends to do the same. It is more enjoyable when you have someone to share the apples you have picked.

You rub off what dirt there may be and become delighted that it is rosy red and shiny. Without hesitation, you bite into the bounty of nature and taste the labor of the summer sun. The bite into the apple will create a crunchy sound that will match the crisp autumn air. With a satisfactory smile, you look down on the hills and soak up the warm autumn sun that makes your face as rosy as your apples.

Like Eve you offer your apples to tempt your friends and say, “Try, do try. It’s so sweet.”

They will look at you suspiciously as if you had offered the forbidden fruit. Your friends saw that you had not washed the apple. You may have friends who are on the fastidious side. It may be a wonder to them that you just plucked it and took a bite. Yet there will be a smile on their lips as they politely refuse, for they will be equally delighted to share the moment with you as they enjoy the warm autumn sun contrasting with the crisp air. They will pull onto the new cardigans that they were finally able to sport and be glad they had bought them.