Dead Butterflies Under the Sea

“Please, don’t do it.” 

If I were born a fish, I would know nothing but the sea; so to speak of the land would be not only pretentious and preposterous, but outlandishly absurd! And yet, that is the world we reside in today. All attempting to speak on matters which all know nothing of. It is the blind leading the blind. Utterly pointless and ubiquitous nonetheless.

A newly emerged monarch butterfly was experiencing its first flight when it crossed paths with a fish. 

The fish bellowed something from below but the butterfly was all too concerned with learning its new ability and so pronounced to pay it no mind. 

The butterfly distinguished the fish as a living creature, but if it were friend or foe, how could it possibly know? Not once had this caterpillar ever visited the sea, less so as a butterfly now. And although it was skeptical, it was even far more curious to unearth the enigma surrounding its new skill. Oh what selfish greed exists in all walks of life!

“I can teach you to fly!” the fish proposed and beamed the grandest of smiles when finally gazed upon. Need I say there exists no one face of evil? We must be wary of all!  

“Come on down!” the fish went on to say. And just like that the butterfly began to flutter down below, but innately ceased halfway. Albeit only for a second, for its yearning of the unknown was far grander than any instinctual cue to retreat. Not ever did the butterfly once stop to ponder as to how this creature who it had never encountered before would be able teach it such a talent.

The fish was cunning and opportunistic for it had begun to flap its dorsal fin in a wavelike fashion. The butterfly, immediately enticed by the fin’s every action, only wondered how and if it itself would ever be able to mimic such a thing. But, there was something that did seem odd, for as much as the fish flapped its fin it would simply not elevate. The fish naturally remained within place, almost as if it were bounded to nothing but the dark wetness below. And as it so happens in all forms and walks of life, relentless time once again exhibited just how truly none are exempt from an end. All is finite. And this would be no exception.

Before we arrive to the end of this tale however, I would like to share another with you. One that will prove of equal if not more so value. 

There were two hummingbirds. One a tint of glistening pink and the other of a luminous sunburst glow. Both were shimmering hues of allurement. And so it would prove only a matter of time before attaining unwarranted attention from something or someone, and on this particular day, it would be that of a serpent. 

“Hello there,” the serpent hissed softly as it slithered into the tree, cornering the pair tightly.

“It seems I am at an impasse,” it added and briefly 

grinned this time.

The pair of lovers both mirrored utter bewilderment. And the silence was soon broken by the duchess,

“How so?” the pink headed beauty went on to inquire. 

“I have an insatiable hunger but I could only eat one of thee, the other shall be spared,” the serpent announced unapologetically. 

“And why would you eat only one of us?” the sunburst companion joined in. 

The serpent displayed a grander smirk and responded,

“The truth is my young beautiful friend, I could have a thousand reasons as to why I choose to only feast on one of you, but how would you ever possibly know if I speak the truth?"

How could anybody ever know such things! It is one of the grandest of mysteries!

"You see, I care not which of you lives and which of you does not, I simply must feast to survive and I am not hungry enough for both, for I just had a bat not long before spotting you both from across the ways. So do not make me choose for I truly care not, it is all the same to me. But choose now, for I am growing impatient.”

The hummingbirds faced one another and now exhibited a look beyond bewilderment, it was one of sheer terror. 

“I will let you decide which one of you that will be,” it went on to disclose. The serpent was a predator of unmatched velocity, more than willing to strike without any moments hesitation. And so as the pair of lovers surveyed one another, each knew precisely what the other felt. Each wanted to live!

And is that not the purpose of life?!

Needless to say, each had a mind of its own and each was just as determined as the other to see the next day. And so it went, that each chose for themselves without ever having muttered a single word to one another, each initiated to violently take flight. But oh was the serpent ever so swift! With one lethal strike, it seized them both out of midair as they each tried to depart. From one another or the serpent itself we would never know. 

All life wishes to do is simply survive! And all that has a beginning has an end, whether if that is today or tomorrow or even the day after is entirely esoteric. But inevitably, your day too will come. Remember that as you go on living, that is if given the opportunity of course.

And now back to the original tale. 

 The fish leaped ferociously from below and within the last glaring second of life the young butterfly sustained, it thought,

“Please, don’t do it. As my mother once told me…Life is as a rose, it is divine and beautiful as it matures and begins to sprout and even more so when fully flourished, but do not be fooled for it only lasts but so long, a few days at most…for nothing ever does.”