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lost semester, Contrast literary Magazine held a Fall-writing contest. Two winners were selected from each category, prose and poetry. The winning pieces are published below. Contrast is now accepting submissions for the spring magazine at contrastlitmag@gmail.com. A Choir of Perceptions A Naked Forest Writren by: Seth Marple Wricrcn by: Clark Johnson ~It's OK.~ Andrewseld. Jack took a deep breath and his broth- er warched him closely "I'm thinking about moving back here. Back home." If the fall were diffracted into its phases, it'd be quite simple: stand- ~I knew the west was roo much for you to handle." ing,falling.fell. November was a good time rc go walk.ing through the woods. ~That'snotit." He liked to walk when the trees were naked and the ground was ~Thenwhatis?" dying with brown and orange leaves decaying into the soil. He liked The leaves are green. I swear they were green. They were green yester- rc walk when the sky was full of douds and it was cold enough to "I'm not sure yet. Maybe I'm tOO much llke you." Andrew day. l swore rhey seerned they'd look green tomorrow, but rhey'reyel- put on an extra shirt underneath a duUy colored field jacket. Be- sm~ed but did not laugh. "What is that supposed to .mean?" low- all bright, shiny, and, well, yellow. Ir was so quick: summer was "Ibac maybe50me things really don't change." Andrew stopped JUSt he..£Cwith green grass and warm sunlight. Wimer is just too cold'. fore he went walking he would find a bottle of half-drunken Irish wilking and looked sternly at his brother. Something was not right whiskey from somewhere in the house and pour half a glass. Then with him, he thought. he would go to a bookshelf and pull down a well worn copy of Looking OUt the window, I see only leaves being plucked from their short stories he. had bought many years ago, and he would rake the 'AAyouaU right?" he asked Jack. tree. How beautiful they rnusr've been yesterday, hanging upon That "I'm fine." tree. The bright yellow leaves seem to me little jewels dancing across book to the desk o'Verlooking the orchard outside and drink me "No yeu're nor." the sky, Hnle stars shooting from a falling ccnsrellarlon. If only that whiskey while he read The Three-Day Blow or The End of Some- "Iam.~ didn't mean tomorrow will be so dark. thing. Whell he had drunk his whiskey and finished his Story he "What did she do?" would put on his jacket, lace up his boors, and call his dog, who "Shelefi:." would come trotting Out from in from of the fire if there was one, The brisk wind whips me, Strips me, Rags me; my beauty is torn ofT. and wait to go outside. "Did she have a good reason?" One, !;'NO, three, four: they all are thrown ofT me and case away, as "She did." They were both looking at each other now, and wrack along the shore. The douds spit on me, the chills deepen. Ig- Today, he felr like a long walk. So, he decided to go alongside down by the swamp Andrew's dog was barking and above them the nore. Forget -,The snow comes. I sleep. the swamp. There was a good forest there and the ground was sure tress moaned in the wind. Andrew sighed heavily. to be dying. He walked out the bac.kdoor and as won as he had ~lcan'tsayJ'm50rry." • shut it he heard a car coming in his driveway and saw his brother You like the leafy crunch under your feet. It's sadsfying. Luckily they "You shouldn't be." Jack looked away and Started walking all fell yesterday, apparently. The trees were bright and orangey: now park and get OUtof it. He had nor expecred his brother but he didn't . again. They did nor speak until mey reached the swamp where they're bare, !;'Niggy,like giam hands reaching up towards the sky, mind. Maybe he was in the mood to go walking too. they found a long fillen tree and sat down. They were silent a lit- empryand outstretched. All in a day, fall fell. "Hello Andrew;" his brother said. tle while more and Andrew reached into his jacket and pulled out "Helle Jack," Andrew Miller replied. "J was about to go walk- ing by the swamp." • a pack of cigarettes and they both began smoking. They gazed out The screams of a falling leaf at the vast swamp in front of them for a very long time, thinking "That sounds fine," his brother answered. So they PUt their rhe groans of a naked tree: hands in their peekers and followed Andrews's dog towards the aboutthesarnething. repetition breeds naked foresl creaklng in the wind. "wok at that," Andrew finally said. He pointed to a dead tree human deafness. sticking up in the middle of a dump of cattails where a small black Must we be crunched? The MO brothers were great friends and always had been for bird was perched. At the base of the tree was a polecat, brown and Must they be stripped? the most parr. The got along very well and acted enough alike bur black, slowly climbing up the base of the tree. HalfWay up, the tree few people apart from themselves knew how very different they and when the polecat reached it. the bird PaineveryfaU; were. There were things Jack would never be able to understand. split off into a v-shape Joy in standing up. took flight and was gone. But the pain, and things Andrew would never be able to do, bur rhey never got "He was never going to get him," said Jack. He took a very The misery! far enough to let that interfere with their friendship long drag from his cigarette and exhaled through his nostrils. They They walked in silence across the wet field, long since mowed See another way; down forwiotcr, pas< the looesom" apple " ..". aod into a corner heard the dog barking somewhere near and Ancin:w whisded loudly. see in[olifc·sdiff..,I<: