Cylinda sat in her garden, listening to the fluttering of butterflies' wings. The soft dripping of water droplets as they cascaded down ever green leaves and silky petals, collecting granules of pollen. The butterflies were unbothered by her two sight birds Lavender and Blueberry. The blind girl chose the purple and blue avians because even though she liked dogs, dogs scared her. Lavender and Blueberry chirped intermittently to let Cylinda know where they were perched. The blind girl sat in a calm meditative state, waiting for her best friend to arrive. Her eyes closed. She focused on her breathing. Butterflies settled on her fluffy hair, attracted by the sweet fragrance of her shampoo.
"Hehe! That tickles!" Cylinda giggled as the butterflies feet and proboscis tickled her pale skin. The sunshine beaming down meant that she did not have to worry about finding a coat to wear.
The pair of them were going shopping in town. Only Blueberry would accompany them. Lavender disliked going outside. Cylinda thought it was fascinating that both of the birds' personalities were so different. Much like her and her best friend. Cylinda was alerted to her best friend's arrival by the crunch of leaves beneath her best friend's combat boots. The disturbance caused the butterflies who had been resting in her arms and hair to erupt skywards. The odd pair were polar opposites in almost every way.
Cylinda with her milky hair. Samantha with her fiery red. Cylinda in her passive pastel creams, blues and purples. Samantha in her aggressive yellows, reds and blacks. Samantha tilted her sunglasses. One hand on her cocked out hip as Cylinda picked herself up and extended her arm for Blueberry to fly over. It was simple to fasten her bird coat and leash that even a blind girl like Cylinda could do it on her own without pinching her fumbling fingers in zippers or buckles.
Samatha linked fingers with her best friend's hand.
"You ready to go Cy, or did you have..?" She glanced around. "More butterflies to...um...talk to?"
Cylinda shook her head, wrapping Blueberry's leash around her hand like a kite string.
"Can you open the door for Lavender to go inside? I'd rather keep her inside while we're gone."
Samantha obliged and the purple bird immediately retreated inside. Samantha closed the door.
"Done!"
It was warmer today so they had a chance to shop for winter clothes together without freezing.
The two of them walked slowly at first. Samantha was protective of her blind friend. The red head came off as very aloof and cold to anyone who wasn't close to her. Cylinda was just happy to be getting fresh air after months of keeping indoors due to a global pandemic. She twirled along like a dandelion in the breeze. The cool air against her face was different to the air generated by the butterflies. She wished she could see their colours instead of imagining everything based on how they sounded.
The two friends did not have any specific plans outside of having fun with whatever they liked the looks of. First of all, Cylinda and Samantha needed new clothes for the upcoming autumn and winter.
Blueberry rode on Cylinda's shoulder when they entered stores, launching into the air again once they were outside on the footpath. Cylinda laughed and reached her hand up to pet the blue bird's head. The bird moved until its head connected with her owner's dainty palm and fingers.
"Urgh. We should have brought a car to stuff everything in." Samantha remarked, reshuffling the shopping bags to distribute the weight evenly. "How about we get some lunch next, Cy?"
Cythnia nodded, sniffing the air. The cafe smelled irresistible with its roasted coffee and desserts. She stumbled as her friend dragged her along. They had a wonderful day of trying on new clothes together, so she trusted her friend as much as she knew her friend was impulsive.
A silver bell jingled as Samantha gave the door a shove and held it open for Cylinda and Blueberry. Immediately, the sounds of passing cars dampened. Replaced by soft, ambient music and the chink of silverware against porcelain plates as guests carried whispered conversations. She would have been worried that they were whispering about her, but if they were whispering about her, Samantha would have spoken up.
Blueberry beat her wings with a loud squawk that caused the blind girl to jump. Cylinda knew they had reached a counter so she had to be careful about her next steps. The soft tapping of her shoes compared to the stomping of Samantha's combat boots was comforting. After some of the times they had gone out previously, Samantha ordered for Cylinda and bumped against her, turning her friend in the right direction. She could navigate large, open spaces with little difficulty, but clusters of tables and chairs provided an instrumental challenge that she would never attempt alone.
"Th-thank you, Sam." Cylinda said, sitting down. Blueberry jumped down to sit on the edge of the table, guiding her owner's hand towards the right utensil with the nudge of her beak.
"Don't worry about it."
"I know you're busy." With what, Samantha never specified, "But I really enjoyed today."
"It's been a while since I last checked on you, Cy. Sorry about that. I got...really busy."
"It's okay. I got a chance to improve my garden."
"Yeah. It was...greener?"
Cylinda giggled. "I've gotten better with my hands. I hope the butterflies like my hard work too."
"They do. There were hundreds of them when I arrived. I've only ever seen that many in your garden." Samantha reached out to pat the back of her friend's hand. She knew the expression on her face was wasted, but Cylinda was more perceptive than anyone had the right to be.
The food arrived. The bottom of the plate thunk-ed against the wooden table. Cylinda smiled before she started to move her fork. Samantha knew her so well. It was her favorite dessert. She did not know how hungry she was until she swallowed the first mouthful. Shopping was exhausting. Who knew? Where was she going to put everything once she got home? At least the sun stayed out today.