Butterflies
Flash Fiction
In the beginning, there were butterflies—giant, diaphanous butterflies. Their opal, golden and purple wings flapped joyfully in the absolute void.
How many butterflies?—you ask. You like to quantify.
Billions.
“How big were they?”
They were bigger than flamingos. Larger than elephants. Greater than the moon, the planets, and the Milky Way. Yes, even huger than the Universe. Space is relative, anyway. One thing I can tell you for sure is that they were bigger than your imagination. It's not like I haven't given you plenty of it; it's just that you're afraid to use it.
How could I see butterflies in complete darkness?
You're getting technical now. I saw them because I knew they were there. I believed in their power. The light came later; for you. Maybe it was a mistake—now you believe only what you can see. Yet, there's much more out there, more than your retinas can reflect.
How did I make them?
You're thinking too much.
Like a painter, I splashed, brushed, and blended my thoughts on the infinite canvas of my mind. But more importantly, I conceived them with love, out of love. Otherwise, they wouldn't have lasted.
After butterflies, I created flowers. I kissed the void, and they bloomed—huge, perfumed, dreamy—nesting my firstborns in their breath. Magnificent flowers floated in the original void and butterflies flew around.
I spent an eternity watching them play hide-and-seek. Don't worry, time wasn't an issue yet.
The Universe and the laws of physics came later: the Big Bang, the planets, the air, the water, the jellyfish, the dinosaurs. And you, people, you came much later.
Oh, one more detail: butterflies used to sing back then. Their wonderful music filled the galaxies like a giant spiderweb, connecting everyone and everything in the dream of life.
How come they're mute now?
Forget what your fathers told you. I don't believe in punishment. I am pure love. Furthermore, they didn't reveal to you butterflies' genesis.
Butterflies were so proud of themselves, of being the first, and most talented ones, that they kept boasting about it. Consequently, all the other creatures felt less loved and less important. Yet, I created all things equal.
You know I don't care about who came first, and no one is better than another. So I've made them mute and small, to teach them humbleness. Butterflies can't brag anymore. Now they tell their story by hypnotizing you with their graceful dance in an explosion of colors. You feel how special they are when you contemplate them and forget about everything else.
Please, never doubt: Butterfly magic is real. They're here to remind you that everything is possible. You only need to plant your wish in your imagination. Then let it grow in the womb of love, like a bamboo grove in a tropical forest. It's no coincidence that you feel butterflies deep inside you, in your stomach, when you're in love.
Always remember: In the beginning, there were butterflies.
The Author
Adriana Morgan completed a Ph.D. in French Literature at the University of Letters in Nantes, France. She is fluent in six languages and worked as a translator and terminologist at the European Commission in Luxembourg and the United Nations in New York. She taught French at the University of Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi, India, the French Alliance, and the Universities of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, Chile.
She currently works as a multi-dimensional artist: poet, writer, painter, and children's picture books writer and illustrator.
She is the first prize winner of Acumen International Poetry Prize, 2020, UK, the first prize winner of the Midnight Mozaic Fiction (Medium, 2019), one of the selected winners of the Canadian poetry contest—Quebec and the Francophony, and second prize winner of the Daniil Pashkoff International Poetry Contest, 2018, Germany.
Adriana Morgan's artworks and literary works have been published or are forthcoming in 'Beyond Words Literary Magazine', 'Infinity Room,' 'Spillwords', "Flying Ketchup Press," 'Ullalume Lighthouse,’ ‘Feminine Collective,’ and ‘Chestnut Review,’ among others.
Adriana Morgan
Comentarios