Mitchie liked butterflies. They reminded her of her first love. They reminded her of the time he had brought her home to meet his parents and his rock star brothers and they'd laid in the field behind his house giggling between kisses. There was a canary yellow one with zebra stripes, and he caught it, closing it gently between his hands. He made her beg for him to let it go. He said it was too beautiful, but she said that beautiful things deserved to be free just like anything else. He smiled at her, and then he opened his hands, sending it soaring in the air. Except, for just a second, it landed on her shoulder before fluttering off into the unknown. And suddenly, she had felt trapped in comparison.
Twenty years later, Mitchie was cooking dinner in her kitchen. It was Monday night and she was making meatball subs while the kids played in the backyard. Suddenly, the door burst open and her youngest daughter, Madeline, stood there grinning from ear to ear. "What have you got Maddie?" She'd asked, smiling. Maddie had opened her hands wide and a yellow striped butterfly had flown out of them and into the open air. Mitchie watched in aw as it glided majestically across the kitchen, and towards the stove. Then the butterfly landed in the frying pan she had cooked the meatballs in. It fell as soon as it touched, and Maddie screamed. Mitchie slid to the floor and started crying. She watched as the three-year-old scampered back towards the door and yell that mommy was upset before she started wailing herself. Her husband came in, and picked her up, with just a quick pat on the back. Then he asked if she was finished cooking and popped a meatball in his mouth.
AN: This is for Paige's (LaPaige's) writing prompts forum. I've been meanign to write a couple for a while so I randomly picked a word today and this came out of it. Enjoy.
