[i saw a butterfly]
by jenelin
I saw a butterfly once. It was orange and emerald and purple and royal blue, and it landed on my arm. It was beautiful, and when it took off again there was a trail of silver glitter left on my skin. I ran after it because I felt that I had to. It flew up higher and higher, and the faster I ran, the faster it disappeared. Finally, when it was just a speck on the horizon, I stopped and felt so sad that a tear slid down my cheek.
When I looked around I found that I did not know where I was. It was getting dark, and I was scared. The streets were empty except for a young girl who sat on the curb, singing softly to herself. She looked at me and smiled. One of her eyes was blue, and the other was green. It had silver flecks in it; they reminded me of the butterfly's glitter.
"WOUlD YOU lIKe a FIShIe?" she asked me.
"No," I heard myself saying. "I'm looking for a butterfly."
Her hair was long, the strands of pink and blue falling over her mismatched eyes. "I MaDe BUtterFlIeS BeFOre. theY Were nIce. I WOnDeR Where theY Went?" She twirled an orange strand of hair in her fingers. A small yellow fish was swimming around her other hand. It was singing.
"I like your fish," I told her.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, looking at it with a surprised expression. "I'M tUrnIng All fIShIES AgAIn." The fish disappeared and was replaced by a bright red lollipop, the big spiraled kind. She licked it absentmindedly for a while before letting it fall to the ground where it became a small pot of daisies. "I tHInK I SAW YOUr buttErflY. ItS nAME WAS flOOby gOO SillY StEW…" she trailed off as her scarlet and golden hair began to float. Blue bubbles were coming out of the ends and dancing through the air. "lOOK WHAt I'M dOIng!" she said proudly.
She began popping the bubbles with her small fingers. I joined in, laughing loudly whenever I poked one. A large bubble landed on my nose and burst. The liquid ran down into my mouth, and it tasted like cherries.
"I'm lost," I sighed after she tired of this game. Small bottle green jellybeans were spilling out of her fingertips. Her nails were bright yellow.
"YOU CAn lIvE WitH ME," she said, twirling around wildly. "I lIvE In tHIS…plACE. It'S nICE…I tHInK."
"No. I already have a home…I just can't find it."
She looked suddenly old. "nO. I gUESS YOU SHOUldn't." Her mismatched eyes seemed sad for a moment, like she had lost something. Then her cherry-red lips burst into a smile. "YOU KnOW HOW YOU HavE frIEndS And…OtHEr pEOplE WHO ArE lIKE YOUr frIEndS bUt nOt SO MUCH? lIKE YOU SEE tHEM And SAY HI And ArE glAd tO SEE tHEM, bUt YOU dOn't SEE tHEM All tHE tIME bECAUSE tHEY ArEn't YOUr rEAllY gOOd frIEndS?"
"Yeah," I said, because I understood.
"tHAt'S lIKE YOU. WE'rE GOOd frIEndS, bUt nOt rEAllY gOOd frIEndS. It'S lIKE ApplES And OrAngES…Or SOMEtHIng." The yellow fish was swimming around her hand again. I thought it was singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and it reminded me of the girl's hair.
"I should go home," I sighed.
She had realized the fish was there again. "WOUld YOU lIKE MY fISHIE? I tHInK It WIll tAKE YOU HOME." She held it out to me on the end of a string, and I took it. "WE KnOW tHIngS tHAt nO OnE ElSE dOES," she whispered as I started to leave.
"Yes," I agreed. "I think I already knew that. Things about butterflies…"
"And fISHIES…"
"And rainbows…"
"And All tHE prEttY ColOrS…" Her hair was making bubbles again, and she took off down the street, chasing them and laughing. She turned back once and waved at me, her pink and lavender hair trailing behind her.
The yellow fish was swimming through the air, and I followed it, holding tightly to the string. When I reached my house, I looked at the string and found that the fish was gone. I shook my head and dropped the string into the trash can. I went to bed and dreamt of eating red lollipops and floating on soft blue bubbles.
I saw a butterfly once. It was orange and emerald and purple and royal blue, and I wish I could have found it because I know about butterflies. I know a lot of things that no one else does.