Breathe.

Samuel hunched over crumpled study guides in his grandparents' cabin, preparing for three crucial semester exams.

Frustrated, he slammed his fist on the rugged table, struggling to concentrate. Despite being away from his college roommate, persistent friends, and demanding fiancé, Samuel's mind remained preoccupied, teetering to his ill mother whose hope rested on his success: Failure wasn't an option.

Why on earth did he decide to become a lawyer? He got up and swore. Running a hand through his thick hair, he paced around the small kitchenette. As he walked past a wooden counter, Samuel sank into the lazy boy chair, his eyes sheepishly landing on a photo album resting on its arm. He opened it and absentmindedly flipped through the pages.

Seeing snapshots of his mother in her youth and grandparents in their prime brought sharp emotions. Touching the faded photos gingerly, he released a shaky breath. From his siblings' birthdays and clubhouse tents constructed in that very room, made with pillows, and couch cushions, Samuel exhaled sharply.

Laughing in instinctive recollection, he remembered the arguments he and an elder cousin had when building it. It seemed so childish! In spite of, Samuel was certain those were the best years of his life. Longing pierced him in a way unfathomable. A tear quickly escaped down his ashen cheek, exams entirely forgotten. Brushing it roughly away, he smiled seeing his grandma leaned over her rose bed on the next page. He could still smell the garden's pungent odor. Til this day, he hated roses.

Shaking his head, he closed the album and stood, taking it out to the front porch. Sitting on the steps, Samuel finished looking through, heart swelling with tenderness. Lifting his head, he observed the open wild. A river lay a short distance off, trees sheltering its perimeter, the crest of mountains outlined miles away. Eyes resting on a tree ahead just 15 feet, Samuel watched as leaves fell from it in no particular pattern. They cascaded gracefully... Some rushed, racing to get to the ground. Others floated, twirling in spirals with no sense of urgency. For some reason, it intrigued him. Each individual leaf had a common destiny and purpose; to disconnect from a branch and get to the ground. What was uncommon was how they arrived.

Could it be, that people were as such? All destined to partake in common judgement, in mutual fate even?

Samuel thought of his mother: A leaf fluttering quickly to the forest floor. Oh, how busy the world was, with its rushing river and vast mountains, all the while a tree lost is leaves. Each one unique and sacred, yet all gracing a cycle. Where, then, did he fit?

Taking in the hallowed revelation, Samuel smiled. He proceeded to finish his study session. Then he picked up his phone and called his mother.

-jAy P.