Different Colors {A short story}

Crunch! Crunch! The leaves crackled under Alia's feet. She bent down and pulled up her one stockings. Why does Grandma make me where these? Alia asked herself resentfully. She picked up a leaf that had fallen and twirled it in her hands. So odd. She thought out loud.
"What's 'odd'?" A familiar voice called out jovially.
Alia whirled around sharply. She relaxed, however, as soon as she saw the figure. "Oh hey, Josh! What are you doing here?"
"More or less?" He called back out. He laughed as he approached. His sister laughed and elbowed him.
"Hey!" He cried.
Brother and sister tussled back and forth for a while. Thy laughed and finally fell on on a log, breathless. Alia looked up into his strong, kind face.
"You really want to know?"
"Know what?"
"What's odd," She said, glaring at him with a twinkle in her eye.
Josh landed his finger on the point of Alia's nose. "Sure."
Alia looked down for a second, then looked back up. "How can this leaf change colors and die?" She paused, "I would rather die too."
Josh swiveled around to look at his sister. He met her eyes and spoke, "Alia, I know it's hard, living with Grandma..."
"Don't even mention her name. She's like a-a-a...."
"Alia!"
"Sorry, go on."
"What I'm trying to say is that even though our parents died young, we are still their children.  We need to brave it for them. At least we have each other. Imagine how horrible it would be just living with Gran- whoops, you don't want me to mention her name. But you know what I mean. And like the leaf," Josh pointed towards the leaf, "Soon, we'll start a new color of our life. Except we won't die." He looked at Alia.
Alia sighed, "You're right." She sighed and once more twirled the leaf in her fingers.
Different color, new season of life.