The Last Autumn Leaf Falls

Niles has built a library no one visits and a glade of trees he speaks to instead of people, filling his days with quiet routines that barely mask how isolated he has become.

Then a message appears on an autumn leaf, and the stranger who wrote it—Orren—notices Niles with a clarity he has not felt in years.

Orren draws him into a world where trees hold memory and loneliness no longer has to be hidden behind purpose, yet he remains bound to the turning of the seasons.

When the last leaf falls, Orren disappears.

Niles learns that the path back is not a spell but a harder task: making a home that can hold another person, and finally letting someone in.