Autumn in Adelaide : North Terrace

"Autumn is the time for dying, not spring. Autumn encourages macabre thoughts, invites the ghoulish imagination, tempts the death with with sere and withered evidence of decay. Autumn is poetic as hell, brief, succinct, stinking of mold and ashes. People die a lot in autumn. Everything dies a lot in autumn." - Ed McBam

 

One have so many reasons to end up in Adelaide during the Easter break. I may seem to have a lot of reasons too. But I guess I just want to be with my friends, know my friends are at a closer range than when in Brisbane. Or to run away from assignments left undone. I can never keep true to my words to finish my assignments on said times. I jinx it every time I say it. I believe in jinxes too religiously.

I went to Adelaide for four days. I went. And I fell in love.

I have not seen all of Adelaide to judge. But North Terrace was the prettiest when I saw it. I have never seen red/orange/yellow maple leaves in real life. It was breathtaking. I could have cried. The colours blended with the buildings so perfectly they were meant to be. Husband and wife. They got married and had babies. Students from the University of Adelaide and University of Southern Australia have something to brag about. Especially those studying in the very campuses.

The entire stretch of North Terrace is the University of Adelaide City West campus, Univeristy of Southern Australia City West campus, the Adelaide state library and the Art Gallery of Southern Australia. The Royal Adelaide Hospital is just down the block. I may have left out some buildings in between but how can you blame me? I was only there for a day.

I do admit it was a fucking long stretch. But hey, the scenery was beautiful. The weather a little too cold for someone from Brisbane like me but I would rather put up with a freezing weather than a scorching one. I could barely feel my hands as I pivot at every turn and kneel on every sidewalk trying to find a perfect shot.

There is something familiar. I can feel it when I walk down the cold pavement. I never did figure out where the familiarity lies in the life I have trod past. It is impossible that I have been here before; I am from Malaysia. Maybe from a dream. You know, one of those deja vu ones. You dream of something that has yet to come. You wake up not remembering much of it. But when it happens in real life, your head pauses and you remember out of all the things you are not meant to remember in life. And you can only think to yourself wow, I saw the future. Once upon a time, I saw a future that I am standing in now. If you tell the person next to you, either he will laugh with/at you (even though it was not even a joke to begin with) or look at you funny or ignore you. Or maybe I have seen too many shows on silver screens and television screens. Or pictures. I hang out at Getty Images quite often when I was stuck in yesterday's mere rain and too much sun, fantasising of spring, summer, autumn and winter that I thought I will never see. Now. I see it. And it looks so familiar. Something I can relate to when really, it is none of my fucking business.

You know one of those surveys you forward to your friends via email. They ask what is your favourite season. Or an either-or: summer or winter. I have always loved autumn. Everything ends and begins simultaneously in this season. I doubt I will be able to see this in Brisbane. He is more of a fan of summer, in my opinion. Look at Adelaide, she has gone to autumn with maple leaves turning red and nearing death. Brisbane, he is still basking in a brownish summer glow, living in denial that no, no, no, autumn is not here yet. Summer is not over. But you know it is over; the temperature has dropped.

I did myself a favour and took a final stroll down North Terrace before I leave. I was done with my shopping in Rundle Mall and satisfied with the bags I carry. I will not be meeting my friends for an early dinner that soon yet. So to kill time, I did what I did. I purposedly forget about my jumper and leave it in my bag. I wore only clothes I brought from home, which seem fit only for hotter weathers. The only cold weather garment I had on was a scarf that is not even mine. My hands were freezing, my lips were chapped, my skin craved for any hint of dying sunshine peeking through. Oh gawd, I am so poetic. I would write a song out of this if I can. Alas, I am no lyricist or musician. Good for you; you do not need to suffer my corniness.

There is a sense of belonging in something you love. This sense of satisfaction blossoming inside of you. A smile you cannot help put on seeing what you see. You want to capture everything. Darn it that you are not where she is. When is life ever fair? But this is all that you have been given. Take it. Take it all. Keep her in your heart and mind, where nobody can reach in and steal it. Do not let anybody steal it. It is yours. Nobody will understand. That is why it is yours. You understand.

I went to Adelaide and fell in love. Did you see this dark beauty before you decided to leave for a worse?