THE YELLOW BUTTERFLY

THE FUTURE

August 26, 2021 03:37 p.m.

I am currently strolling the busy streets of Davao, my city of origin, because a sudden urge to observe people woke me from a nap.

Sounds of loud chatters and occasional thuds hailed my ears as soon as I removed my earbuds.

I glanced around, standing still in the sea of buzzing crowd, trying to delicately distinguish every detail within my vision's range.

Mothers trying to comfort their crying children, laborers covered in glistening and icky sweat as they work their hearts out, people walking to their destinations with their eyes peeled on the screens of their phones, tapping away.

Those are just some of the behaviours I noticed from all the strangers around me.

I gently took out my camera from my bag to capture a homeless man in his mid 60's, feeding his dog the last piece of his bread.

The man looked genuinely happy as he watched his dog munch at the bread, not minding if he would starve the next day.

My heart warmed at the sight, so I decided give them the sandwich I planned to consume by myself, with a bottle of water. It wasn't a feast, but the old man accepted it like a person given the most expensive gift.

I left with a smile and a pleased heart, and continued collecting items I could use for my blog, later at night.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

While capturing different emotions and behaviours of people with my camera, a marvelous, yellow butterfly flew across my lenses, blocking everything in my camera's sight.

As if, hypnotized by the beauty of the toylike creature, my feet started treading on their own, following the little butterfly.

After minutes of walking, the little creature finally decided to rest on one of the many red roses in a flower shop, in which it's color stood out like a sore thumb, making it a very picturesque spectacle.

I got my camera ready, as I moved ever so slowly to avoid disturbing the little, resting butterfly.

CLICK.

I smilingly regarded the newly photographed image of the magnificent little creature.

I watched as the butterfly flew up, up, and away and ignored the suddenly earsplitting, and blaring voices, still captivated by the little thing.

The moment the butterfly disappeared into the blue sky, I was met with a deafening silence.

Confused by the sudden change of atmosphere in the place, I quickly took my gaze down to see what's happening around me.

Piles of rubbles lay where buildings used to be, the bright, lively street is replaced by a dark and gloomy wreck.

Everything in the confines of my sight are nothing more than ashes and remains of the once, crowded, and spirited city I was born in.

This wasn't a sight to behold but I took a picture of the mess before me to keep as evidence and documentation for my blogs ang researches.

I don't believe in the supernatural, nor anything out of the ordinary without proofs and explanations.

I grabbed my phone and looked at the current time and date.

August 26, 2022 03:53 p.m.

It's the same day, but, the year...

I took a screenshot of it and went to my phone's search engine, where the most searched topic was 'Davao suicide bombing'.

I clicked on a video of a news report, dated, August 27, 2022.

'BREAKING NEWS. An experimental nuclear missile, from North Korea, landed in the city of Davao, in Mindanao. The said missile's explosion, destroyed an estimated amount of a hundred billion worth of infrastructure, and killing hundreds of people. Neighboring cities are now suffering from the after effec-'

I turned my phone off and panned my head around, carefully taking in the horror my city has turned into, still bewildered by what is happening.

I traipsed aimlessly, unsure if all of these are just in my head. As I grasped what was in front of me, I caught a glimpse of a small, brightly colored, drifting thing. It was the yellow butterfly. There it was, gently flapping it's small wings, riding the soft breeze of the dusty air, looking like a ray of sunshine on a rainy day.

I hurriedly went near the flying creature, since all of these have happened after I lost sight of it.

Again, it flew away and up, as I helplessly watched it vanish through the ash and dust covered sky.

I stared at the spot where the butterfly disappeared for another minute when something got in my left eye.

I closed my eyes tightly and rubbed it, trying to remove the particle.

Chatters filled my ears.

I slowly opened my eyes, peering at what is in front of me.

I was standing outside the flower shop, where I watched the butterfly disappear, the first time.

I peeked in my camera's gallery and found no picture nor any trace of the place I have been, a moment ago.

I wonder if it was all in my head, but my gut feeling tells me to atleast, take caution.

I rushed to my apartment, packed my things, and booked the earliest flight to Japan, where my family now resides.

August 28, 2021 04:56 a.m.

I am in Japan International airport as of the moment.

I walked outside the airport and found my dad leaning on his car.

"How was the trip?"

"It was fine"

"Why did you comeback so early? I thought you'd be staying there for a month?"

"I just missed you guys."

We drove off quietly, and peacefully to our house, where my mom and younger brother were waiting for me.

"Welcome home my darling"

I smiled as I felt my mom's warm embrace engulf me. I nuzzled to her chest, and like magic, my worries started to fade.

August 27, 2022 09:44 p.m.

I was browsing through the internet for some blog ideas, when a familiar video thumbnail caught my attention. I couldn't really remember where I saw the video, so I clicked on it.

A news anchor was sitting in front of the camera with a worried and shocked look on her face. After some time, she finally started speaking.

'BREAKING NEWS. An experimental nuclear missile, from North Korea, landed in the city of Davao, in Mindanao. The said missile's explosion, destroyed an estimated amount of a hundred billion worth of infrastructure, and killing hundreds and thousands of people in the process. Neighboring cities are now suffering from the after effects of the explosion. North Korean leader, Kim-'

I dropped my phone, as everything dawned on me once i saw a little creature fly accross the window.

"The Yellow Butterfly..."

🦋🦋