This is my contest submission for "With Hopeful Heart" 3rd annual Valentiny Writing Contest:
A Valentine for Leaf
Leaf had been dangling alone from a branch all winter. He watched his friends get called down to the earth one by one. He trembled in the wind, hoping for his chance. Would the earth ever call him down?
“I can’t believe I’m still up here. I hope Earth wants me at all,” He thought with a frown.
Leaf spotted children on their way to school. They held paper hearts and cards. “Happy Valentine’s Day!” they shouted to the mailman across the street.
“Valentine’s Day? We’re half way through February!” Leaf imagined all the leaves snuggling with the earth, whispering sweet nothings to one another. He was losing hope.
He pitied himself for the next few hours. Suddenly, he felt a breeze. And then a snap! Leaf was floating down. He was being called!
Leaf smiled as he picked a spot to land. “What’s that? A heart? A Valentine just for me!”
Sure enough, there was a gray heart moving across the earth below Leaf. The heart got smaller and smaller until he landed right on top of it.
“Oh, Earth! What a special Valentine you gave me! You do want me after all!” Leaf closed his eyes and nuzzled the Earth in a big hug. “I never gave up hope! Happy Valentine’s Day.”
An interesting twist! I could feel how hopeful Leaf was. Good luck with the contest.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rose - glad you could feel the hope! By the way, Rose is my middle name! <3
DeleteWhat a wonderfully unique perspective. Best Wishes!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Aileen! I appreciate the comment and that you gave this story a read!
Deleteawwww, this is sweet. :) I wish you well with it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the well wishes, Lynn!
DeleteGlad leaf got his wish. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much...I'm sure leaf would have been pushed off in the spring, but thats another story! Hehe! Thanks for reading!
DeleteNice job Stephanie. What a unique POV, and Valentine's story! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kari! Good luck to you too!
DeleteVery well done. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Greg (can I call you Greg?) Means a lot that you read and stopped to comment!
DeleteSweet and sentimental. A lovely Valentine's day story.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Mary Ann! I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.
DeleteLooks good! I think I saw this in an earlier stage and you've done a great job with the final product.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura - this is actually the original, and I posted the slightly beefed up version to the forum. Thanks for taking a look at both of them! <3
DeleteHow cute! I love the POV from Leaf. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Liz! Glad you enjoyed it!
DeleteSo sweet. Interesting that this story reminds me of Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, a story that my son loved when he was small. Not that it's the same story, but Fletcher tries to make that one last leaf stay. Good luck in the contest!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look that one up! Thanks for the well wishes <3
DeleteA lovely story with just the right amount of wistful emotion and hope that is fulfilled. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Carol! Means a lot!
DeleteHi Steph - loved leaf looking for his future and finding it on Valentine's Day - he'll be with us forever more ... and no doubt being free to join us once again ... as Carol Ann says ... wistful ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, Hilary! <3 Enjoy the tail end of winter and lots of luck to you!
DeleteThis is the sweetest story! I love how it's in the perspective of a leaf, how creative and unique! Cute, humorous, and a feel-good ending. I just loved it!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Debbie! Your comments put a big smile on my face! Lots of luck to you.
DeleteWhat a wonderfully unique perspective, Stephanie! You did a lovely job making leaf feel hopeful, and I have to ask - did I understand correctly that the little gray heart he floated toward was his own shadow? So clever! Thanks so much for joining in the contest fun!
ReplyDeleteYes, Susanna - this happens to be one of those neat heart-shaped leaves that are so fun to spot. So glad you liked the story. I've gussied it up quite a bit and I hope maybe this will be "the one" if ya know what I mean! This contest was a ball, thanks so much for hosting it! Thanks also for the very kind words.
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