A Chorus of Falling Leaves: An Apocalyptic Fairytale, #6

By Serena Walken

"In a chorus of falling leaves, two beings from different worlds will bring an end to everything."

People of the trees shouldn't mingle with people on the ground, but true love's chorus can't help but interfere.

 

Stars. Moon. Sun. Melina has heard the terms but she lives on the ground where she can't see them. Rescued from her own dimension at such a young age, she doesn't remember these things. Her interest leads her to Middle Ground, a college that is for both people on the ground, and the ones who live in trees. She had hoped to meet one.

 

She didn't expect one to fall for her after she practiced her sheet music.

Neither did she expect that relationship to either start or stop an oncoming apocalypse.
 

*A short story from the world of An Apocalyptic Fairytale. Read this story in any order you like.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Serena Walken
• Release date: Apr 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201599607

Serena Walken

Serena Walken likes to write fantasy, sometimes whimsical or sometimes dark. She lives in Kansas with her wonderful daughter. She enjoys writing stories for a more broad-based audience and it's usually romantic but not always. https://www.patreon.com/serenawalken is where you can find more exclusive books and writing of hers. You can also find her on several other sites like Tumblr, Wattpad, Webnovel, and more writing for free and for paid.

Book preview

In A Chorus of Falling Leaves

Copyright 2022 Melanie Ray

Written by Serena Walken

Originally published under Melanie Ray in 2013, this story and series has been changed/updated to be more broad based for younger audiences.

Melina reached into her pocket and pulled out a five in her new world's currency for her favorite bar. Well, it wasn't exactly new. She'd lived there almost her whole life but she was treated like new by any of that town's original residents. She was so young when her family moved there, she couldn't even remember what her other dimension had been like.

Her parents said that was a blessing and never discussed it. They weren't the only ones who found a new home, and she'd heard around to know she was blessed not to live through it too.

The ending. There was no other word for it, her dimension came to an end, and now she lived there.

They were treated nice and things could have been worse, but many underlings believed they weren't treated the same. They claimed that everything for an underling was outrageous in cost. Yet, hardly anyone could substantiate it because the overlings didn't live there.

The underlings lived beneath the overlings. Melina was considered an underling. No, the overlings lived in the most enchanting place she could imagine.

In the trees. Their entire world was in the trees. Oh, to be able to see.

That was why there was room for underlings to stay. They were good for an extra economy boost. Where else could people go when their dimension's time had come?  The trees were such magnificent specimens. According to her mom and dad, their old dimension had trees too, but even the largest recorded tree there was no match for the smallest tree.

All anyone could ever see were some of the leaves if they looked very hard. There was no way a person could ever climb it to even it's first branch. Underlings lived under the trunks of the tree while the overlings enjoyed the top.

It made sense to Melina why they chose to have their civilization up high. Down where she lived, there were wild predators. They had massive gates and security to keep them out. At an extra cost, of course. The overlings were supposed to look like her. Two feet, two arms and a head. If one wandered around down where she lived, no one would ever know if they didn't say anything. They had strange sticky textures though all over their hands and feet that helped them grip. Not to mention, they were supposed to be fast. Faster than any human ever could be. They could be said to race up the tree a good distance before gravity even knew they were there.

While those were fascinating facts about them though, there was something that Melina thought was even more beautiful than that. It was how they found the one they loved.  Through music. It was said that when a woman sang, the beauty of her voice trumped even the ugliest looks. Attraction was through song.

Melina had always wanted to meet one and this year she might. Her parents had moved and she was close enough to attend Middle Ground. Middle Ground was a University for overlings and underlings. It was created three years ago in hope that converging with each other might bring down some misguided hatred.

Melina held her bar tight as she packed her books for her first day. She wouldn't be anywhere near the top of the trees, but she would be having class partway up the trunk, high above ground. She couldn't wait to see how she could do that. Bye, mom.

Are you sure you don't want me or your dad to take you? she asked me.

Having her parents there walking with her to drop her off on her first day of college? No thanks. Later, mom.

It's a distance through the forest. Be careful.

Melina knew she would be fine. Middle Ground was a ways out of the community and it would take half an hour to walk there. It was fall so she watched the leaves making their way to the ground as she moved through them. The crunching beneath her feet made her even more excited to go to school. It was a distance and it felt even longer than half an hour, but the trip everyday would be worth it.

She saw some people up high on a hill but no one around her. There was supposed to be a bridge that led to the roots around there somewhere. She imagined the school must be gigantic if she had to climb up just to get to the exposed roots.

The bridge though that was supposed to be there could not be found. Melina looked all around her but where was it supposed to be? She spotted plenty of bridges stringing across her, but none low enough for her to climb.

Lost?

Melina turned around and saw a new fellow she never met before. Yes, she admitted as she gestured to the bridges. I can't find the bridge to go up into Middle Ground.

You are in Middle Ground, he said. Classes start in ten minutes, just head straight between those trees.

I thought we had to cross a bridge to get to the roots first? she asked him, unenthused.

Not this year. There was too much . . .tension. He answered, but Melina could tell he wasn't telling her everything. Just don't go near the only bridge around.

We aren't allowed?

No, he said, just don't. It's safer here on the ground. He held out his hand. Thomas.

Melina, she said as she shook his hand. So, on the ground?

Just like every other school. Don't worry, you'll probably go the whole year without seeing an overling as long as you stay away from the bridge. He flashed a smile as he tugged me away to another tree.

There wouldn't be anything special about this school at all. She could have gone to another college that had been five minutes away if she knew that. Half an hour everyday just for the same thing?

When she arrived in the class, she saw many new faces. Her family was still quite new to the area. Melina set her bag down