The Butterfly

By: moonlightsonata97

Alone. The only feeling I have is alone, what I have felt for as long as my memory can go back. I looked out the window and watched as the rain dripped against it like thousands of tiny crystals trying to break through the glass.

It had been a cold winter in Germany with a constant cloud of snow covering the sky. I was thirteen and remembered watching the weather change from a brutal winter to a delayed spring, the images of flowers blooming and animals waking up from hibernation in my head. I leaned against the windowsill and felt a warm hand touch my shoulder.

"Daydreaming again, Bill?" Mother asked me softly.

"Just thinking about Tom and the springtime" I replied.

She was quiet for a moment, watching the rain as it fell, then she spoke.

"Sweetie, I know you miss your brother, and I know that the divorce must be tough on you but, I cannot bear to see you like this anymore."

I rested my chin on my hands, we must have gone through this three times in the past week and I knew exactly what was coming. When my parents divorced, Tom and I didn't know which parent to stay with, so we had decided that and agreed to staying with mom in Germany while dad would go to America and visit often but it hadn't gone quite as planned when father had begged and pleaded for us to come with him into a new country. Tom was closest to him, so it was obvious that he would want to go. I knew that I would not be able to join them I couldn't just leave mother in Germany and head off to a new life with new people, it just would not feel right.

"That's why I'm sending you to New York"

I got up from me seat and spun around to face her.

"What if I don't want to go?" I asked harshly.

"I can see by the way that your acting that you do. If it is the only thing that will make you happy again then I'll have no choice"

I stared at her for a long moment in disbelief, why would she want to send off her child to man she no longer trusted, and live here alone with none of her familymembers in reach?

This made no sense to me; I stormed off to my room with tears streaming down my face, hoping that she would not follow; I just wanted to be alone with my confused thoughts.

She caught me before I could reach the stairs.

"Bill, I didn't mean to upset you, I just wanted to make you happy" she said sincerely.

I wiped the tears from my eyes. "How could I be happy when I'll be thousand miles away from you, knowing that you're alone?"

Her eyes widened. "That's what you're upset about, because you think you'll be leaving me alone?"

I nodded. "I won't be alone completely honey, I have family here, your aunt Margret your uncle George" she reassured me.

"But you won't have any of your children here, don't you want us to stay and be a family? Don't you love us?" the tears were now spilling uncontrollably.

"Yes I do love you and I do want us to be a family but sometimes, wanting something and doing what's right are two different things"

I didn't trust her. I ran through her arms and out the front door into the now sunny spring day.

"Bill!" she called after me but I could no longer hear her, my mind was set on just being away from her.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I had no idea where I was going and hoped it wouldn't be somewhere where I could fall, since I'm rather clumsy. When I finally looked it seemed as if I was heading for a forest.

It was beautiful with many green trees and shrubs scattered everywhere; it was as if life was surrounding me in the form of an alien planet. I could see the tiny insects on the leaves as I walked by and wondered why I had never noticed these things before.

After hours of walking through this unfamiliar territory, I realized that I needed to stop. The sky had gotten darker and sooner or later the only light I would have would be the moon. If I didn't turn back now I would surely be lost. Lost, the word suddenly began to sink in, the true depth of its meaning had shown and I now knew what I really was, lost. Ever since that day I had been lost, I just hadn't figured it out yet. All this time I had tried to figure out what it was that made me feel pain, and now I knew.

Lost .lost .lost the words sang in my head. I couldn't take it any more I began to run again, even though my legs and feet ached and begged me to stop. My lungs felt as if they were on fire and still I pushed myself to continue. When I had spotted the outline of a fallen tree I stopped and rested there, trying to gather my thoughts together.

I had slept all through the night against the dead tree. I realized this when I had awakened into the morning light without the familiar surroundings of my room. My eyes were puffed up from all the crying I did and I had Goosebumps that went all the way up my arm do to the chill in the air. I stretched my stiff legs and back and began to go back through the way I came, or at least I thought that's were I was heading.

The green forest was no longer friendly to me or inviting, since the only thing it did now was confuse me. It felt as if I had been walking in circles trying to find my way out for what it seemed like hours.

But that's when I saw it. The light, that pure, white, light that was waiting there for me at the end of the trail. My eyes widened, I had finally found what I was looking for and I began to chase it. But the more I got closer, the farther it moved away, always out of my reach. I pushed my body far past its limit of endurance, and reached out to grab what was now right in front of me. My Freedom.

I jumped into the light and felt as the branches tore at my skin. When I landed it was to my disappointment. I had not found the pathway out of the forbidden woods, but rather a large meadow that was filled with many flowers and butterflies of all colors that surrounded me.

No. was all I could think. No .no. no. how could this be happening to me?

I sat on the ground and put my head in my hands, waiting for the tears to come. Just in that moment, a small butterfly flew rather close to me. It was beautiful with large blue wings that had white speckles on the rims. I studied her for a moment and stuck my hands out to see if she would land in them. Sure enough, she did. Her tiny feet tickled my hands and I began to spill out my feelings to it. Oddly, it seemed as if it was listening to me and wanted to somehow help. Before I released her into the sky, I kissed its wing and sent it off on its way. She flew high above my head into the blue and did something utterly remarkable.

I will never forget the moment that changed my life forever. A glowing bulb of yellow formed around the butterfly, and suddenly she began to sprout legs and feet. Then, her whole body began to completely transform into that of a human girl. The only thing that was not human about her was the now humongous wings that attached to her back and formed her dress.

She was gorgeous with long black flowing hair and creamy skin; .her features were so inhuman that it would make a super model cry. The creature was so elegant looking that I believed I was in a dream, probably still crouched against the tree somewhere.

She flew towards me. I took a step back for I was still in shock from the site I had just seen. She stuck her hand out, indicating that she meant no harm.

She then reached for my injured arm, and began to rub it with soft, fragile fingers. In that moment, it was as if there were never any scratches at all; I was completely healed, my cuts at least.

My mouth dropped. I wasn't sure what to say. I stared into her green eyes for a moment and then she spoke.

"Bill, you don't have to be alone, I'm here for you" she said in a honey-sweet voice.

"Who are you? And, how do you know my name?" I asked nervously

.

"I appeared to you because you were feeling hurt and pain inside your heart. I am here to let you know that everything will be alright in the near future." She assured me.

I glared at her. "How could you possibly know what I have been feeling for the past few months?"

She grabbed my shoulder gently. "You told me remember? When I was no bigger than an inch tall, you poured out every thought and feeling that was bugging you and I listened."

When I didn't speak, she continued.

"I was being the friend that you very much needed and I took on the form of a human so that I could tell you what I think you should do. First, let's get you home"

While we were walking through the forest, she began to tell me what she thought was best for me. She said that Tom and I should start a band since I loved to sing and Tom could play the guitar, she then went on about how I shouldn't be angry at my mother since all she was trying to do was to make me happy without ever having the intention of making me mad.

The butterfly made me see things in a different light, and made me feel that emotion that I had forgotten long ago, Love.

Time flew much quicker when I was with the butterfly, and in no time we had neared the end of the forest.

She turned towards me. "This is where we part, Bill" she sighed.

"Thanks, for everything. I now understand better and I hope to change so I could live a happier life."

She kissed me on the cheek and flew off to where she belonged. I was standing alone in the forest again, but not completely alone. I ran as fast as I could to my house where I knew I would feel the warm embrace of my mother again.

A few months after that, Tom came home for good. It was like the butterfly said, things would get better.

"Bill!" Tom called.

I rushed over from the kitchen to the living room, only to see Tom's face against the window.

"What? What is it Tom?" I asked, out of breath.

"Look, there is a butterfly migration coming this way!"

Thousands of butterflies flew over our heads, probably heading south for the winter. It looked as if there was a rainbow forming in the sky.

Just then, a blue butterfly with white speckles on its wings passed our window.

"Whoa, Bill did you see that?"

I giggled "Yes"

I am now twenty years old and in a band touring around the world with my brother, but I will never forget what lead me to here in the first place. The moments that I had with the butterfly will be ones that I'll cherish forever.

The End