diff --git a/leaf b/leaf
index 7cad7bd..47afc66 100755
--- a/leaf
+++ b/leaf
@@ -115,6 +115,9 @@ leaf_compress_man_pages() {
 }
 
 leaf_error() {
+  if [ -n "${MESSAGE}" ]; then
+    echo -e "${MESSAGE}"
+  fi
   echo -e "${RED_COLOR}* $1${CLEAR_COLOR}" && exit 1
 }