To Separate
To Leave, To Detach Oneself
intransitive verb, ichidan verb
Because the hiragana ends with an う sound, you know this word is a verb. The kanji itself means detach, but what happens when something detaches? It causes it to separate and to leave. This refers to when something separates on its own. You aren't doing the separating. You know this because it's rare (れる) to see things separate, but sometimes you do see them. Also, whenever you see れる usually it's a safe bet that you're not the one doing the action, right? Think about it.
For the reading, think about what is separating. It's quite sad, because all of the 花s (はな) are separating from their stems and falling on the ground, and nobody knows why. Just falling off and being sad.
ペットとしばらく離れるのがつらい。
It's hard to be away from my pet for a while.
家から駅まで少し離れているんです。
It's a bit far from my house to the station.
やっぱりふるさとを離れるのは、さびしいでしょ？
Leaving your hometown is lonely, isn't it?
親元から離れて一人暮らしをすることは思っていたよりも簡単でした。
Being away from my parents and living by myself was easier than I thought.