Butterfly heaven

She was born in a flower pot at the city. She didn’t like it there much, though. Too much noise, too few flowers.

So, off she flew, away from the city. But the city was in an arid area and all she found was a desert.

Big red rocks, dangerous looking lizards, spiders, scorpions, snakes…. Not much water… Only a few low woody bushes….

She felt hungry, thirsty and afraid, and started to regret leaving the comfortable city.

Then, suddenly, she sees a flowering succulent bush covering a huge ground area. She goes for it and finds the most delicious, thirst-quenching and satisfying meal. Much better than what she used to get in her luscious colorful flowers at her pot.

She also finds cover from predators, amongst the thick leaves as pale as her wings.

She has found her own private Butterfly Heaven!

This post was written in response to the Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers, that this week features a picture by T.J. Paris.

To see other stories inspired by the same picture, click the blue frog below.

14 thoughts on “Butterfly heaven”

This reminds a little of a children’s picture book (in a good way).

Etol Bagam

October 21, 2015 at 8:51 am Reply

That’s cool. Children picture books are always good! Glad I brought sweet reminiscences from your childhood.
- momtheobscure
  
  October 23, 2015 at 11:27 am
  
  I like that idea – this would be a great children’s picture book!
Etol Bagam

December 9, 2015 at 6:00 pm Reply

Hi J.A.
A couple of weeks ago, my daughter (2nd grade) brought from the school library a book about a cabbage butterfly, which seems to look just like the one in the picture.
On the book, the “ugly” cabbage butterfly saves the posh red one and all her other colorful friends by attracting the attention of the predator and then hiding on a flower as pale as her.
It reminded me of this piece I wrote, so I wondered if that’s the book my story reminded you of.
The book was Clara Caterpillar, by Pamela Duncan Edwards. ;o)
- J.A. Prentice
  
  December 9, 2015 at 8:50 pm
  
  I wasn’t really thinking of a particular story, just the general feel of it.
- Etol Bagam
  
  December 9, 2015 at 9:25 pm
  
  Ok. I thought you had…
  😉

I’m so glad she found her own personal succulent bush and now she has a happy life away from the city. And the bonus is, she is safe from pedators! Wonderful story Etol with a happy ending!

“She didn’t like it there much, though. Too much noise, too few flowers. So, off she flew.”

I love your entire piece, but the lines above really hit me. She didn’t like it, so she made a change. She didn’t stick around and wait for change to just happen.

Then after the big move, she encountered a new set of problems and had her doubts — BUT she didn’t fly back. And look, it’s working out for her, at least for now, and that’s perfectly okay.

Thanks for sharing this! Great job

This is a lovely story, Etol, with a great moral. I completely agree with Izzy’s comment above. 🙂 Really well done.

You said so much, what a very creative story! I love the message behind the story, if you’re unhappy where you are change it, never give up on yourself or your dream. She made her dream a reality! 🙂

Ah, we should all fly away to find our own butterfly heaven! Intriguing story with a authentic tone, voice.

Beautifully written story with a message. She’s happy now and even if circumstances change and she doesn’t like them, she is not afraid to take action and do something about it.