The Ghostly Butterflies

The Lantern's Mystery...

There you are again, she thought to herself as she laid there awake, staring at the sea blue, transparent butterfly that fluttered it's wing inside the old-style lantern. It stood on her dresser with its pentagon-shape, the glass doors keeping the butterfly locked inside.

She laid there, in her bed, her chestnut hair splashed across her pillow, a few strains laying down across her face. Her deep brown eyes focused on the butterfly as she wondered whether or not she wanted to go out and follow it to wherever it wanted to lead her too. In her moment of deciding, her mind slowly drifted towards memories of other times she followed them.

In its wondering, her mind came to the memory of the butterfly that led her to the lantern she stared at now.

It was a breezy afternoon. The sun was setting, lighting the sky a-fire with an orange glow. It was a glow she had come to love from living out in the country her whole life. In her light-blue dress, she ventured through the shadowy forest that expanded around her home.

Ahead of her, the butterfly fluttered, blinking in-and-out of her sigh, as it lit the way for her.

The afternoon was silent, aside from the tweets of the birds and the calls of the insects. She crept over fallen logs and under low branches, all the while keeping her blue dress close so it didn't get caught on any of the branches that protruded from the bushes along the outskirts of the path she walked. Her eyes not letting the butterfly leave her sight.

After a while, as the sky's orange glow turn slightly darker, she walked out of the trees and into a small space; empty, save for small shed that stood in the middle of it. The butterfly lightly flapping it's wings as it stood on the handle.

Cautiously, she began to walk towards the shed, each foot step light to make as little noise as possible. Her legs were slightly shaky as she feared what might be inside but also tense as to be prepared to run. Her eyes, however, stayed focus on the handle; on the butterfly that sat in wait on the handle.

She reached out her hand, the butterfly slowly disappearing like wind underneath the palm of her hand as she lightly touched the handle.

Slowly, she pushed the handle down, hearing the click as the door unlocked. The creak of the door seemed to be deafeningly loud as it slowly opened inwards of the shed. The sky had very little light to give her but what awaited her inside the shed seemed to illuminate the insides of the shed enough for her to look inside.

The butterfly she had followed into the shed now rested inside of the lantern that sat in the middle of the sparsely filled shed on top of a wooden table. She glanced around at the shadowy walls of the shed before taking her first, tentative steps inside. Suddenly, she paused, taking a moment to wonder whether or not to close the door behind her. It would give her notice to someone trying to come in but would leave her with no way to escape if closed. On the other hand, it would give her no warning to someone else's presence if she was to leave it open.

After debating it in her head, she left the door open, hoping that luck would be on her side and that no one would come.

After closing the space between them, she stood in front of the lantern, eyeing the butterfly trapped inside; just now wondering how it got inside in the first place.

Or if it was always inside that lantern and couldn't escape.

Warily, she picked up the lantern and held it to her face, giving a closer inspection of the butterfly that flickered its wings. They gave the same crystalline, sparkle that she'd come to know these butterflies for. This made her certain that it was one of those that only she seemed to be able to see.

Finding the door to the glass lantern, she unlocked and opened it, expecting the small ghost-like insect to flutter out and fly off out of the door. Instead, it flew out and began to circle the shed she stood in, giving off a faint light against the darkness that covered the walls. However, as faint as it was, the light illuminated enough to show her what was hidden in the darkness.

To the left wall from the door hung paintings of the forest that surrounded the lonely shed. All were in different locations and all were detailed down to each individual leaves. As the butterfly flutter across the painting, she thought she noticed something that appeared somewhere in each picture: a small, translucent, blue butterfly.

On the wall right across from the door was a bookshelf containing an assortment of books, ranging from fictional and fantasy to biographies and educational literature. As if taking a slight rest, the butterfly landed on the shelf. Using the light from the butterfly, she noticed that the book that stood there was a book that read "The Nature of Art". Once the butterfly felt like she had enough time to read its binding, it left the bookshelf and resumed its flight around the shed.

The last wall to the right of the door was what looked to be a workstation. Yet, it was covered in splashes of paint and used, but not empty, paint tubes. Besides the workstation, she notice an Easel leaning next to it with a chair set in front of it and an empty canvas ready for the next time it was used.

With it having completed it short "tour" of the shed, it returned to the inside of the lantern, its light slightly illuminating the space around her again. She looked at the butterfly, puzzled by the desire it showed to be inside of the lantern.

Turning, she noticed that the night sky had grown darker over the time she spent in the shed and wondered if it would be alright to borrow it for tonight, so it might light her way back home, and then return it tomorrow.

With that thought in her mind, she began to walk back home.

She glanced at the clock that stood on her dresser, its hands showing it to be 11:30 at night.

She had tried to return it the next day, albeit later than she would've liked, but when she found the shed it was locked. She guessed that the person who owned the shed didn't want anyone else sneaking inside and taking anything else. So, she left it at the door and then began to leave it behind.

Suddenly, one of the translucent butterflies fluttered past her face. She turned to follow it and noticed the butterfly once again stuck inside of it. Arguably, she decided to take the lantern with her... again.

Now it's been a week since she had last been to the shed. With each passing day, she couldn't help but wonder who drew all of those paintings and if it was someone who could she the butterflies that she thought only she could see?

After a few minutes of lying in bed, she tossed her legs from under the covers and over the edge of the bed. Slipping on her slippers, she sat there, starring at the caged butterfly.

"...What do you have for me this time?" She said as she opened the caged butterfly and watched it flutter past her, onto the door knob.