Mr Fingerton’s Eyes - Chapter 7

Mr Fingerton’s Eyes

A Novel

By Paul McCann

 Chapter 7

A Seasonal Moment

Autumn came and it was bleak and beautiful in its own way . Mr Fingerton thought it might be a good idea to share and appreciate the season by taking the class out for a walk in the park . After getting permission from the principal, he told the students to put on their coats  as they were going on an Autumn excursion . Then as they all stood in a single line, he marched them along the corridor of the ground floor and then into the main street .

He told them all to take a deep breath and then exhale so they could see how the warmth of their breath turned the crisp morning air into a steamy cloud that disappeared . He walked the class along the road where they saw a group of workmen having a break . They sat around a small steel drum with hot coals burning on an iron grate . They all sipped some warm soup and said hello to all the students as they passed by . Along the way to the park other people passed with coughs and sneezes as they went . The morning sun was hiding behind a blanket of clouds in the sky and in that moment an old man with a horse and cart came along and then he was gone . Just enough time to reflect on what had once been in times past and no one else had seen that vision , no one else needed to adjust to what once and what is going on in the present .

Mr Fingerton thought for a moment about how life changes and how we adapt with the seasons of life . The autumn and winter allow us to feel the cold and see the leaves fall and remind us to wear warm clothes  while spring and summer comes with colour and new life . The lifestyle also permits picnics and lots of outdoor activities in a time and space were clothes and fashions become brighter and lighter and the daylight hours are longer and people seem to become more at ease to enjoy life .

As they arrived at the park Mr Fingerton pointed out the deciduous tress and the evergreen trees and asked  each child to pick a leaf from a tree of their choice . Autumn with its half-light makes us subconsciously feel challenged by change and what we need to do with the winter ahead .

He encouraged all the class to walk silently along the path that was covered in fallen leaves and listen to the silence . He explained how all the birds had flown away to a warmer place until winter would leave . Winter would soon be here and he asked each of the students how they would stay warm in the dormant days ahead when the snow would come . As the children spoke about hot water bottles and the heaters around the house Mr Fingerton told the children to just walk with him and look at how different the trees were in Autumn . He asked them all to observe Ife around them without speaking and appreciate this moment in time .

As they walked through the park some shrouded figures came from nowhere . They were carrying sacks on their backs . Mr Fingerton was the only one who saw them and he thought maybe at one time these people would have come here to collect kindling and wood for their fires in winter  . As soon as these ghosts of the past had gone, he heard a strange humming sound , like a radio frequency that echoed all around and again  he was the only one who heard that sound  . There was a peace that  fell upon him that erased all thoughts from in his mind . He stood there in  state of peace and joy looking at the faces of all the children who seemed to be happy to be there in the park instead of the classroom . .Then he smiled and, in that  moment, he realised how fortunate he was to be able to share this seasonal time  with all his class .

They all walked along and saw there were  still some leaves clinging on to the trees . They had turned from green  into gold while the leaves on the ground had all turned to brown . An autumn breeze cut its way through the park bringing with it a chill that was as cold as ice . Most of the life around the park was now asleep or had left for another place . As the sun came out in the sky , so did the shadows on the ground  appear like a slice of life . The morning mist had gone and the dew as well had left the leaves but not from the gossamers that hung between the bare tree branches like a silky laced garment ,  woven by spiders who dreamt of catching a bug that came blowing in with the wind . All the trees stood , bleak and bare everywhere and the voice of the wind echoed with a rustle on the leaves around the park .

Autumn had called and yet not many had heard the shout ,

“Come out , come out wherever you are and walk among the leaves for now it is time to appreciate the glow before the freezing of winter comes with snow and ice to bring red cheeks and chilblains for the children at play.

The wind continued to blow around the park taking short cuts here and there in an effort to cover as many places as it could in a short time . It blew through the trees and spun around , tossing papers off the ground and into the air . It had a life of its own and as the autumn wind blew the leaves off the trees and ushered them away to the places where people would come and go on the toe path across the bridge to where the shadows fell , until it came to a rest in one direction where it died with its last soft gasp and there on the ground in a moment of grief a leaf sat still where the wind had left it . The leaf too was dead and had nowhere to go . The children and Mr Fingerton walked away from the park and returned to the school with a seasonal memory they could keep for many seasons to come .

End Of Chapter7

link to chapter 8

https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/mr-fingerton%E2%80%99s-eyes-chapter-8

Mr Fingerton’s Eyes 

A Novel

By Paul McCann