Paddy 🧸 - An Autumn Leaf

I padded across the cool floorboards toward the terrace door, drawn by a faint rustling outside. Resting right on the sunlit stone threshold was a fallen maple leaf, curled and glowing like warm amber. I knelt on both knees and nudged its slender stem with one paw. It spun across the rough flagstone with a dry, papery whisper before settling against my foot. Scooping it up carefully with both paws, I tilted it toward the light to trace its tiny veins, listening to the quiet breeze outside.