Butterfly Chaser

The Great Disorienting

The scent of morning dew flowed into my nostrils as I slowly edged out of sleep. My brother started twitching in his dreams as I rolled over and let out a big yawn. I looked around to see the inside of our den sparkling in the early morning light. Something felt empty.

My parents were nowhere to be found in the den. That wasn't too uncommon. They could have been out hunting. However, I almost couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps their lack of presence could be permanent.

The sight of my siblings reminded me that I was home and safe as their bellies rose and fell in unison. I had four sisters and one brother, but Mother always told me I was the oldest.

My brother kicked me in his sleep again as he made little yips. "Stop it, Feather!" I yelled. It always got on my nerves when I got kicked.

"Be quiet, Fly. I'm trying to sleep in this morning," my sister Robin complained from across the den.

I glared at her instead of giving her a response as I slid out the den without even making a sound.

The forest was erreily quiet as I looked around the dew covered flowers of the meadow. It was odd that there were no birds that morning. However, I thought nothing of it as I sat in the field. The sun was bright as it was reflected off the tiny water droplets.

My parents were still gone.

Suddenly, a black butterfly landed on a flower. The butterfly was strange. I had never seen one even close like it. It was black with stars all over it, holes of light through pure darkness.

The flower it stood on suddenly turned black with specks as well as it flew off to other parts of the clearing.

I was intrigued. I had never heard of something like that from my parents. They mentioned butterflies, but never ones that changed the world around them. I had to learn more. I bounded away from the den after the little bug as it fluttered into the woods.

The trees wooshed by me as I ran. I wanted to see it happen again. I wanted to see the butterfly grow shadows. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I couldn't wait to tell Robin about what she missed.

Soon enough, the butterfly landed on a fir for a break. It stretched its wings across the bark, and the whole tree turned black. The stars of light shone in my eyes as the butterfly was virtually invisible. My jaw dropped in awe. My siblings were going to love this!

The bug soon took off again, and I chased it into a new clearing full of flowers and tall grasses. The foliage was so tall, I couldn't see over it, but I plowed through after the butterfly.

Suddenly, the grass ahead of me started turning itself black in the breeze, which prompted me to stop in an instant. Fear started to swell into my ears as my heartbeat banged louder. I turned around to head home in fear, but I noticed the black grass had made a circle around me.

My awe quickly felt more like a nightmare as two white star-like eyes stared at me through the dark grass. "This world has wolves, too?" It whispered at me as it stalked closer. Each step it took turned the ground black like the starry night. It had paws much like I did, and a white star-like nose. It was a wolf but also not at the same time. I was so confused.

"Please spare me," I cried as it stopped inches from me.

"What? I didn't ask to get stuck here. That's this world's punishment." It reached its paw out to touch me as I frantically tried to escape. Each way I looked, the forest was black as night with white specks.

I let out a shrill scream as it touched me.

In an instant, everything went black as I felt my very flesh melt away into something unknown. It almost felt like an itch as I sat up and stared at the being. "Welcome to The Could Be Little One," it cooed at me as I looked around to see that I was in a completely different world of sorts. The forest was still there, but it was not the same. Every tree was dark with specks of light like stars in the sky. The sky was just the same, the grass and the wolf-like creatures around me.

Wait. There were more. There were wolves all around me. More numerous than the stars all looking at me in shock.

"Look down," the being in front of me gestured toward the grass. I looked down and was met with the tops of colorful trees.

Another forest lay beneath the one I was in, like two forests mirroring and stacked on top of each other. The striking difference was that the forest below was bright and colorful. Every leaf, every stick, every blade of grass - all of it - was a different color of the rainbow.

I fell backward. It all hit me so fast. I didn't know what to do or what to think. My whole life had changed on a dime. I couldn't speak. I was so shocked as a white glowing bird flew underneath my feet in the sky of the lower forest. It glowed a color of pink. It was soon followed by a flock of other white birds that all somehow glowed different colors. All this was happening underneath my feet and was so disorienting. I felt so dizzy and sick all of a sudden.

"Do you not like it?" The being asked as I looked up at it.

"No, I want to go home, I want my mom and dad," I cried as tears fell down my face.

The being smiled at me with a big wolf like toothy smile. "Well, too bad. You can't go back. This is where you live now. I spared you from the demise of your earth like you asked. You're welcome. Consider this a favor. Your planet will soon be nothing in space!" It called as the wolf creatures around me started laughing at me.

"Huh?" I cried as I felt overwhelmed.

"You're my trophy." It smiled.

"But I want to go home!" I screamed. "Take me home!"

"Ha ha ha! Silly child, this is your home now. The sky of The Forest That Could Be is now your home!" It screamed in my face. Tears streamed down my face as all the creatures faded into the stars.

"Enjoy being a part of the lost," a voice whispered as I was left alone.