As autumn arrives, it's as if someone is knocking at my door, stirring up a nameless longing. Perhaps it's a longing for someone who's gone, or perhaps it's simply a memory of yesterday: innocent, carefree, never having known the stirrings of emotions I feel now.

Illustration photo: tuoitre.vn

I still vividly remember those autumn days when I was fifteen, wearing my white school uniform. The schoolyard was covered in vibrant red leaves of the Terminalia catappa tree, each step rustling like hastily turned pages of a diary. My best friend and I would often sit on the steps, secretly eating fragrant, crisp guavas, giggling until we forgot about the school bell. At that time, I didn't know that a few years later, under that same tree, I would sit silently, harboring a vague sadness as my best friend transferred schools. Autumn, suddenly, was no longer a time of carefree days, but transformed into a color of memory that soothes my heart every time I think of it.

On a late afternoon during my final year of high school, I rode my old bicycle down a street lined with fragrant osmanthus flowers. The wind tossed my long dress and disheveled my hair, yet my heart fluttered strangely. That was the first time I realized someone's eyes were silently watching me. The feeling was vague and wistful, and even now, whenever I pass that street in autumn, I still feel a pang in my heart, just like that schoolgirl I once was. Some teenage romances don't need names; simply keeping them in your heart like an unfinished melody is beautiful enough.

There are some autumn days that are strangely beautiful, the sunlight golden like honey yet delicate like morning mist. My mother often calls them "sun-drenched misty days." I often take walks on such mornings, feeling a sense of relief, as if cleansed of worries. On such misty sunny days, everything seems to slow down, allowing me to clearly hear the sound of falling leaves, smell the fresh breeze, and feel my youth gently stirring with each step. On such autumn days, simply sitting still makes life seem so lovely and memorable.

Perhaps later, after experiencing many other seasons of wind, I will smile as I remember them, like a golden leaf slowly falling through the air, not needing to know when it will hit the ground, the moment of falling alone is enough to beautify the sky.

And then everyone needs an autumn to remember, to cherish. An autumn of fifteen, of a quiet first love, of the sadness of parting with friends, of unfulfilled youthful dreams. And my twenties also had such an autumn of my own. Who knows, one day, amidst the hustle and bustle of life, I might suddenly encounter myself again in the gentle gaze of a bygone autumn, hearing my heart murmur a familiar whisper: "Ah, so I once had such a beautiful autumn!..."

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/ngay-nang-uom-suong-1011012