Dan Dan and the Noodles of Despair

The King And The Pawn

Daniel wakes up in his bed with the jumper rolled up in his folded arms as the morning sunlight squeezes its way through a narrow gap in the bedroom curtains.

A single shaft of light illuminates the jar on the sill and looking in Daniel sees that Clive has emerged from his cocoon and is drying himself on the twig. He flings open the curtains to reveal an exquisitely formed and pricelessly beautiful butterfly.

Removing the lid of the jar, the creature emerges, moving slowly, navigating the hairs on the back of Daniel's hand and opens his stunning wings.

Daniel gasps at the intricate web of iridescent blaze. All the colours of the rainbow in symmetrical balance, and he remembers something Anaximander had said late one night in his library, now in another time and another place. 'What if I told you the left-wing and the right-wing belong the same bird?'

Speaking softly to the newly formed butterfly he says to Clive, 'What if the left-wing and the right-wing belong to the same butterfly?'

As he carefully opens the window and holds out his arm, the gentle breeze lifts the butterfly away into the wide, wide world to begin again in the next phase of its existence.

Reflecting on his adventure, Daniel turns and gathers up all of the clothes scattered across his bedroom floor. He hooks four empty mugs into the fingers of one hand and goes downstairs. He drops all of his clothes into the laundry basket then strolls into the kitchen, and to the relieved amazement of all gathered he opens the dishwasher and puts the mugs in the top drawer. He turns, kisses his mum and says,

'I'm sorry nan, I'm sorry about last night, I tried on the jumper, and I love it, I really love it.'

'Do you sweetie, oh that's lovely. Did you find the Hand Wash label in the neckline, I sewed that in special for you, my number one grandson.'

Daniel chuckling, 'I found it Nan - really nice touch.'

Tiddlepuss brushes against Daniel's leg in that here I am, it's time for you to feed me kind of way, he reaches down to scratch his belly. Tiddlepuss looking up gives him a wink and a knowing expression that only cats can do.

Nodding, Daniel looks down at his friend with a knowing smile, the kind that only teenagers can do and says, 'You see Tiddles, at the end of the game the king and the pawn go back into the same box, ready for the next time.'

The End

(of this adventure)