Castle on a Cloud

There once was a young princes who lived in a castle in the clouds. She had everything she could ever want but in her mind she had only what she needed and not much more. She was fascinated with looking at the ground below. It was a morbid curiosity of hers, fore the ground below was decrepit and decaying. There were malnourished plants and little signs of life. Her father warned her to never go down to the ground because of its terrible state. She never disputed this. From birth she knew the rule ' If the sun sets and stars begin to glow while one is below never shall they return to what once was home.'

One day the princess woke early in the morning and went for a walk when suddenly she heard a cacophony of weeping below. She lied on her belly and peeked over the edge of the clouds. To her surprise it was a butterfly. Beautifully painted. Perfectly sculpted wings and long antennas. She looked in wonder at the butterfly's symmetrical patterns and velvet texture that danced in the light as the wings flapped. She had never been interested in butterflies. They were believed to extinct. A thing of the past. A myth.

She knew leaving was not a good decision but it was for the help of life which is what her father never disputed. Life. And so she tore a piece of the cloud that was enough to carry her but just enough to make her descent. When she reached the ground she dismounted her cloud. The princess trudged and ploughed through the rubbish in a state of disgust and curiosity. Endeavouring to dispel her feelings she earnestly searched for the butterfly. Though she could not help but acknowledge she now stood in the verboten region her father once warned her about. Weeds gathered at her ankles crawled up her soul and entangled her conscience.

Still, how fascinating it all looked to her. A fallen star sat nearby eating at the dying trees and wrapping her in warmth. A mythical creature she had only seen in books flew high above her head and with her own ears the onomatopoeic 'skawk' came to life. The more she wandered the more interested she was. Eventually her sightseeing halted when she heard the weeping of the butterfly. She fumbled through the stray bushes with her hands until she saw the stunning creature.

'Why are you crying?' Asked the princess. The butterfly smiled through her tears and looked curiously at her.   The butterfly dismissed her question and replied
'You're an awfully kind girl, would you like to walk with me?'
'I've been walking for a while now and I have forgotten where I left my cloud. I came to help you and you have stopped crying now. Will you show me the way back to where the castle sits above the ground?' Asked the princess.
The butterfly eager for a friend said
" We must at least chat over tea, I've only just met you and I heard that is the polite thing to do when you meet someone of such great character."
The princess was flattered and agreed. Two chipped tea cups held dying leaves and river water. Dried honey from an abandoned hive was use for sweetener. Not one sip was taken but many words were shared.

The butterfly learned about the creatures the princess read about in books. The princess spoke about the red fox who can hear a clock tick 40 yards away. She spoke about the cheetah who can reach up to 100 Km in 3 seconds but she was most fascinated by the owl who can rotate his head 360 degrees.
"I'd really like to see a real owl." said the princess. She talked and the butterfly listened intently. She explained about her having to return before the sun sets and the stars began to glow. A grin wandered onto the butterfly and she began to ask endless questions about this rule of nature. Though when the butterfly was asked "why were you crying?" she never replied.

"Thank you butterfly. Will you show me the way back now?" Asked the princess.
" The day is still very young, we must visit the lotus flowers in the pond." Said the butterfly.
" I am not sure" shyly said the princess.
" You mustn't come all this way and not see the lotus flowers." retorted the butterfly.
And so went the princess to see the lotus flowers.

When she arrived at the pond, the lotus flowers were shrivelled in size and any surviving petals sunk low with brown at the fringes. The princess noticed one lotus in particular. It sat awkwardly upon its stalk. Because of the weight of the dying flower, it's stem battled to keep the sickly lotus upright. The princess asked the butterfly
"Why is the the stem trying so hard to keep the flower up? It is dying ever so fast why hasn't it fallen completely over yet?"

The butterfly replied
"The lotus are fighting for this great thing we call life. No matter how poor the situation, life always tries in the most strangest of ways. That is why everything around us is dying and has not died yet. We are all battling in a fatal war for something very precious."

The princess answered " I don't think I've ever battled and wish to never."
They continued their observation around the pond. The princess's morbid curiosity morphed into empathy and regret. "It really is getting late and I really must go back, will you show me the way?"

" I will show you the way back but the forest is by far the most interesting of everything." Said the butterfly.
"How so?" Said the princess
" The tress are still alive and the mythical creature you spoke about lives there. Best of all there are more like me."

The princess began to feel worried but the forest was in eyes view and the butterfly already began to fly toward it and so she followed. When the forest became closer, the princess saw that the trees were dying like everything else. "Butterfly, I thought that you said the trees are alive but they are surely dying." The princess looked up at the brittle branches and poorly attached dull leaves that looked luscious from afar.

The butterfly replied " I said that they are still alive. When things are dying, they are in fact still alive."
A sense of bitterness approached the princess but then retreated as she remembered the mythical creature. "Butterfly, Where is the owl creature that you said lives in the forest?" The butterfly replied
" The owl is here but he is sleeping now." The familiar smile wandered onto the butterfly and she continued  " Though, you are welcomed to see him at night when he is awake."
The princess dismissed her fowl feelings and asked "Butterfly, where are the others like you?"

The butterfly flew to a hollowed tree in the forest and showed the princess at least twenty chrysalis. She explained "Before I had wings, I had to have them created in a shell like this, then I emerged out and began to fly. They are not developed yet, their wings are still being created and designed." The princes noticed insects infested on the outsides of the chrysalis and asked
" Why are these insects here? They seem to be bothersome." The butterfly replied "Friends is all."
A despondent air swarmed around them and the princess felt empathy.

"Butterfly, I have seen everything and you have stoped crying. It is getting awfully late and you must show me the way back now."
"Catch me and the way back is as good as yours."
The princess ran and grasped thin air while her legs struggled against loose twine and stray bushes. She soon came to the realisation that she had run up what seemed to be a mountain and found the butterfly resting on a rock gazing at the view before them.
"I'm sorry child, I will not show you the way back and now it is too late."
The princess recognised the familiar oranges as what she saw in the clouds.
"You've tricked me. You've led me further and further away." Said the princess
"It was your intent. Was it not?" She continued.
The butterfly smiled and said "Curiosity killed the cat."

And so beyond the forest, past the pond and before the tea spot her cloud dispersed into water and became her fathers tears. "Come back my child." He whispered to himself in a helpless plea for her to appear but her last imprint was the torn piece of cloud never to be puzzled back again.

And so the princess watched the sun drown in the ocean and began to see the stars tear through the darkness and her feelings of anger and rage drowned shackled to the sun. A sudden calmness crept over and engulfed her. She sat silent and looked over at the butterfly and felt content and smiled because she discovered why the butterfly was crying and knew she would never cry again. She had satisfied the butterfly. After all that is what mattered. That the butterfly was satisfied.

The end.

Author's note: Many have learned to read but only few have learned to understand.