Darkness

I took down my tree last night and plunged my apartment into darkness. Every year i cut down my tree in the northwoods of Wisconsin over Thanksgiving. As soon as I get home, it goes up and gets covered in lights, 300 of them this year. I never realize how bright the tree is at this time. The shortest day of the year is still a few weeks away. I set my timer to turn the lights on and off as the sun sets and rises. Then once January first has passed, it's time for the tree to come down. The Christmas season is over. I take off the ornaments first. I'm a bit paranoid about throwing out an ornament with the tree so have to examine it carefully from all angles before the lights come off. One by one i unwrap the strands, unplugging each one as i wrap it up. In the middle of the second stand, i found a silver bell that i missed. This morning on my way to work, I took the tree with me. It was still so fresh that there was no trail of needles left behind me as i took it out of the building. Tonight when i get home I'll be greeted with a dark empty corner, one once so illuminating that it made me smile each time i walked into my apartment.