He walked through the autumn landscape. He went alone. He was wearing ironed trousers, a nice shirt, a well-fitting suit, polished shoes and a long coat. He looked very well maintained at all. His hair was perfectly groomed, his skin was clean, and he looked happy. But he wasn't happy. In life, at least by his standards, he was quite successful, healthy, had some good friends and had nice relationships with his parents. He didn't have to work too hard, he had a lot of free time and enough money for all his needs. In summer, he sunbathed on the most beautiful beaches, in winter he rode on maintained slopes. He lived in a beautiful apartment near the centre, where he loved to walk, read, listen to music, watch films, talk and showed no idea how he really felt. If his existence could even be described in any word, it would be futile. Even though he laughed and felt good, he felt futile. Absolute and utter futility. He had no purpose in life, and he thought all he really had to do was die. And with that prospect, he could hardly be happy. He often had the opportunity to achieve the things that many people are so yearned for. Sometimes he used it, sometimes he didn't. But he never let go of his sense of futility. Why am I doing this, anyway? There's no point...

He took everything negatively. If he didn't get something he wanted, it seemed to him wrong. When he got it, he was happy for a while, but then he realized the energy he had to put into keeping it, and he was afraid he was going to lose it... and it was wrong again. He talked about living at the moment, but he rarely did it himself. He never admitted it to anyone, perhaps not even to himself, but he felt completely alone. Always and everywhere.

Maybe he even thought about it while he was walking around. He loved autumn nature. Always. Perhaps because autumn nature was a picture of his soul. He reached his favourite place, where he spent hours. He sat down on a bench and looked at one of the city's many panoramas. He was in a state of thought, but suddenly he heard the rustling of leaves. He looked back and saw another visitor. In his apathy, he didn't pay much attention to her. The girl sat down with him without saying a word. He was upset and looked at her for the first time. She was a little smaller than him, probably they were of the same age. She had long hair and brown eyes. It was as if she were the embodiment of autumn, he thought. He turned back to the landscape and began to contemplate again.

Suddenly the girl took his hand and whispered to him words whose meaning he did not understand at first: "I will give you everything you really want. Everything. But I have one condition. You must be happy about it. Not just satisfied, but really happy. To realize the joy of life as soon as you wake up in the morning. A few times a day to realize how great you feel. And I'll give you what you ask for. Property, good relationships and work, experiences..."

He opened his eyes and smooched into the darkness. He looked around him. He was at home in his bed, so he decided he was dreaming. Yet the words of the mystery girl were on his mind. And so he just tried... He did everything he wanted to do. He didn't think about it, he didn't think about the consequences, he just acted. And it paid off. He was happy. He financially secured himself and his elderly parents, founded his own public library, studied a lot from books, taught at university, travelled, helped good people, got married and lived a great life. And all thanks to the girl's inspiring words... He looked at her many times in that place, but never saw her again. Maybe because he didn't need it any more. He was happy... And autumn was still his favourite.