Dawn at Belvedere Castle - Déjà vu

At first, there's barely a sound, barely a speck of color among the shadows of the deceptively old structure. Not anything remarkable about the place, except for its location, perhaps. The air is crisp, the ground is slippery here and there, ice covered in sludge losing the war against the patches of green grass spreading all around.

He's always liked spring. Especially now, when his eyes are closed and his senses are focused outward; every little hint of it is like a peck on the cheek or the ear or the back of his neck - there's a certain smell to the air, a green scent that resonates within him. He remembers the first spring on Earth, and the winter that came before it. He kept imagining the snowflakes were fairies - tiny little darlings dancing in the air only to become it if they ever touched you. Evaporating, melting... It's an end he wouldn't wish on anyone. But spring... Spring is hope. Spring is being born again.

Slowly, softly, color seeps into the world between the cracks. Yellow tones, orange and ocher battling against the dark in an eternal war.

It's beautiful. It gives him hope. The world didn't end tonight. It's just begun anew. Turned a new leaf, if you will.

He opens his eyes, the warmth reflecting in the red of his irises. Maybe today, he can turn a new leaf too. Maybe it isn't too late.

Maybe there's hope for him yet.