Main Character: I am Her

A love letter to autumn

By Vishalli Alagappan

I look out my window into the night sky that resembles the calm, dark depths of the ocean. I snooze my alarm one last time just to snuggle with my stuffed polar bear under a warm, heavy comforter. Slow autumn mornings are so easy to romanticize; I feel like a character in a Wes Anderson movie.

A sepia filter rolls in as I stretch my arms out, followed by the necessary yawn. I leave my bed undone and neatly place a vinyl onto a record player. “Gotta Get Up” by Harry Nillson plays in the background as I walk expressionlessly to the bathroom, still half-asleep. I brush my teeth fervently, spit out the bitter toothpaste, and smile maniacally to inspect my teeth. The camera then pans to the kitchen where I reach for the top shelf to get the loose leaf tea. Then, it shifts to a birds-eye-view shot of the mug with hot water, waiting for the stainless steel ball infuser with the aromatic Darjeeling tea to steep. I leave the frame as the water changes from clear to a rich, velvety brown. Meanwhile, I water my dying plants and give each a little kiss and quick words of affirmation to get them through the cold. The fridge door then opens, flooding the room with mellow yellow light. I pour the milk into a disfigured handmade mug and place it in the microwave. The camera returns to that birds-eye-view to capture the muted white of the milk swirl into the rich brown tea.

The song ends as I remove the record and replace it with another that plays “Fly Me To The Moon” by Frank Sinatra and Count Bassie. I dress in the quintessential outfit of cream sweater, flared burnt umber corduroy pants, and square toed green boots. I stack an array of necklaces on top of the mockneck and finish off with a pair of stud earrings. The camera follows me into the kitchen as I grab the tea and bring it out to the porch. The frame zooms out as I look up at the hints of orange creeping into the night sky. The last few leaves finally let go and float to the ground: oh, how I love autumn.