Butterfly Butterfly 3/6/68

Chapter 7: Do Not Let Them Die Here

Chapter 7

Do Not Let Them Die Here

"Listen to me little ones," I whispered to my unborn children like I did every night before going to sleep, "Do not die in this place." I said feircely, "Fight your way to the surface. Find your true freedom and get them out of here. Show them children the real stars." I mutter as I fall asleep.

It's been three months since they found Ryu and brought back a tissue sample to be implanted in me. I look about five months pregnant and when they did an ultra sound they found it was because the 'child' was twins, one girl one boy. That would be all fine and dandy but butterflies aren't meant to have more than one child. With twins it puts my health at risk so the nurses have to give me regular check ups everday. Dr. Taven wants to remove the boy but he never wants to make his butterflies unhappy and aborting my boy could cause depression and cause me to die from the same illness my mother did.

I didn't have a twin but my mother missed her family and the surface world so much it caused her to become sick and die. My only regret about that is her love for me wasn't strong enough to keep her here, but living on the surface world for most of my life and now being here I can see why she was so depressed. I can even almost hear her whispering the same thing to me when I was a baby as I do to my children.

Dr.Taven has tried aborting boys that butterflies are going to have so they'd have girls instead, but he lost every butterfly he tried it with. They got sad and sick and didn't live much longer. He finally gave up and made a dragonfly enviroment but refuses to let them mingle with us. He'll take a single butterfly to their enviroment when he's ready for her offspring. Every butterfly looks foreward to that day when they can go 'visit the dragonflies'. They're so happy during their pregnancy but sometimes a butterfly will miscarry or have a still birth. This also leads to the sadness sickness. If a butterfly gets sad it means they're going to die soon. So Dr. Taven has very good cause to keep his butterflies happy.

"Aponicho, time to wake up. You need another check up." Said one of the human nurse's shaking my shoulder gently.

I sat up and she walked right beside me for support if I needed it. They did the usual check ups and my weekly ultrasound.

"Hm," the nurse said with a frown focousing in on the girl.

"What is it?" I ask a bit worried.

"The girl is under developed. She's not maturing as fast as her brother is. Better keep an eye on that." She said making a note on her clip board, "Other than that they're perfectly healthy and so aren't you." She said with a cheery smile. With that she helped me back to the enviroment where I fell back asleep.

When I woke up Tulip and Violet were staring at me.

"What are you going to name them?" Violet asked sitting beside me with her sister on the other because they could no longer sit in my lap.

"Well, I was thinking Ayranova for the girl and Illmarisuoh for the boy." I said rubbing my stomach absently.

"Wow, what pretty names. What do they mean?" Tulip asked.

"Ayra means wind and Nova means chases butterflies so Ayranova means wind chases butterflies. Illmari means wind and Suoh means dragon so Illmarisuoh means wind dragon. These are the names of the children who will find a way to get out of here." I said.

"They'll take us to the real sky? The stars?" Tulip said excitedly.

"The wind and sun? Rain and clouds?" Violet joined in.

"I hope so but you two are going to have to help. They can't do this alone." I said.

"We will!" They said together. I watched the two of them run off and chase each other.

"Come quickly!" A excited voice caught my attention, "Suzume is hatching!" The butterfly cried happily. She was under a flower not far from my bed. Several butterflies gathered beneath the flower to welcome the new butterfly.

Sure enough minutes later the cocoon got kicked outward and was then pried open. Suzume was caught by the butterflies and was immdiately cared for. She coughed and took deep breaths before going to sleep. She was put in her old bed which is litteraly only five feet away from mine.

When she woke up she looked at the ceiling and sadness filled her eyes, "And I'm back here again." She muttered.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I had a dream but I'm not sure what it was about. The sky was beautiful though and the world was full of wonders the likes I've never seen. It's more beautiful and mysterious than this place." She said saddly.

"The surface world." I said, "That's where you went."

"So it wasn't a dream? It was real?" She asked sitting up to look at me.

"I lived most of my life there. I would still be there if my cocoon hadn't been found." I said bitterly.

"I geuss I'll never go there again or be a part of that world." She said unhappily.

"Soon I have a plan to get us all out of here. Just hang in there awhile longer and you can be free." I said as she slumped down and went back to sleep.

My words worked and she held in there and kept hoping and showed the little ones the things she'd seen in her spirit form.

Three months later the time came for my babies to be born. Dr. Taven wanted to surgicaly remove them for safety measures but it's not what I wanted. My flower was surrounded by the elder butterflies as they helped to ensure my children found their way into the world safely. I screamed in pain again as I tried to push the egg sacks out of me. I knew my heart was beating dangerously fast but I held in there.

Through the pain and disorientation I heard explosions from the surface. The elder butterflies ignored it and focoused all their attention on me. The pain eased suddenly as I pushed the second egg sack out.

"Good job," one of them said patting my head.

"Someone, get Dr. Taven! The bleeding won't stop!" A younger butterfly yelled to one of the youngest butterflies on the ground.

Black spots danced in front of my eyes but I held my arms out, "Ayranova! Illmarisuoh!" I cried and reached for them. The butterfly by my head lowered them into my arms carefully and held them whiel I looked at their precious little faces. She helped me sit up so I could see them better.

"It's going to be alright. Dr. Taven's on the way." The butterfly by my feet said.

My arms went limp and the butterfly beside me had to hold them to me. "I want Lexi to take care of them." I said looking up at the fake stars on the ceiling.

The doors blasted apart and everyone jumped as a girl with red hair in a black outfit ran inside. I reconized her through the haze as Lexi.

"Aponicho!" She yelled when she saw me. The other butterflies made way as she jumped up beside me.

"take them," I said pushing my babies toward her, "Do not let them die here. I want them to see the sky. I want them to be part of the real world."

She took them from the arms of the butterfly beside me, "What are their names?" She asked on the verge of tears.

"The girl is Ayranova and the boy is Illmarisuoh." I felt exhausted and I couldn't see anymore.

"Come on Aponicho, we're getting out of here. Ryu's waiting for you." She said and I could feel her tears falling on my cheeks.

With the last of my strength I redelivered my warning. I sat up and whispered in her ear, "Do-not-let-them-die-here." I forced out. Then I got the sensation of falling through darkness.

"Aponicho!" Lexi screamed. Then nothing.