Do you really know the functions of a leaf?  

From Source – courses.lumenlearning.com  

The stem of a leaf is called a petiole, characterized by its lengthy thickness. It’s known to serve as the entry and exit route for water, valuable nutrients, and photosynthates between the leaf and the rest of the plant. It inevitably positions the plant in order to enhance photosynthesis. It also allows the leaves to move at an angle to reduce damage from the wind.  

Did you care to know about the functions of a leaf or even the fact that a leaf can move on its own?  

A leaf is almost nonexistent unless it is peculiar to the eye. That’s how Sofie felt. Her existence seemed as small as a leaf no one would care to acknowledge. She believed that not even the littlest details, the veins threading through its stem, and the quiet contrast of its edges could become fascinating unless it was deemed “unique.”  

When Sofie walked into a crowded place, the shadow of her body seemed to breathe into it so deeply that it became suffocating. Her shadow stretched larger and larger until Sofie forgot how to speak. As she tried to escape it, it was already too late. The darkness of her own shadow consumed her entirely. She became unnoticeable and invisible to the point that nobody could see her. The dimness of her own being made her feel so small that even her self-perception diminished the color that once made her bright.  

“Dark leaf,” she whispered to herself. Without knowing what the phrase meant, she understood completely.  

Sofie compared herself to a dark leaf, too little to be noticed, and the very colors that made her bright became dimming. She knew that it wasn’t others’ fault for not noticing her. It was her own negative self-perception making her appearance not as bright as she would hope. Her own shadowiness that consumed her left her little by little as she started recognizing her own worth.  

So, it wasn’t that she was cursed by a “dark leaf.”  

It was the fact that she let herself become little.