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For an instant, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. It was the twilight hour when the sun had faded and Lado’s eyes were not as good as they once had been. After a moment, he saw that the creature was a butterfly almost as big as a dragon might have been, but it was a beautiful blue and gold butterfly. It was resting on a slight rise in the field that Lado had cultivated these many years, slowly fanning its wings up and down.

Curiosity overcame fear and Lado approached the creature. As he drew closer, he expected the butterfly to take off, but it merely stood there continuing to fan its wings. When he was about twenty paces away, Lado stopped. His fear held him from approaching any closer. This thing was big enough to hurt a man, if it decided to. The sweetest woman’s voice Lado had ever heard said, “Do not be afraid, Lado. I would never harm you. Come closer so that we may talk.”

Lado stood there with his mouth hanging open, not really believing what he thought he had heard. After all, a man doesn’t run into a giant, talking butterfly every day of the week. After a moment, he slowly moved toward the creature, ready to run at the first sign of hostility. But the butterfly just stood there, still slowly fanning its wings in the way of butterflies that Lado had seen all his life.

Finally he was close enough to touch the creature, if he’d had a mind to do such a thing. “Did I hear you speak a minute ago?” he asked.

“Yes, Lado. I did speak to you.”

“How is that possible? Butterflies can’t talk. I must be losing my mind.”

The butterfly laughed softly at his words, a gentle, almost musical sound. “No, Lado. Your mind is just fine. In truth, all butterflies can talk. It’s just that you can’t hear them because most are so small.”

“That’s my next question. Why are you so big?”

“Ah, yes. That’s a valid question. You see, Lado, there is still a small amount of magic left in the world. Because I have a special purpose in this world, I have been magically changed to the size you now see.”

Now Lado didn’t really believe in magic, but he had to admit this creature was of a magical size. He asked, “Do you have a name?”

That musical laugh again, then, “Of course I have a name. I am Sebille.”

“Well, Sebille, I want to tell you that your wings are the most beautiful color of blue I have ever seen.”

“Thank you, Lado. I am quite proud of my appearance and it pleases me that you noticed.”

“Why have I never seen you or another butterfly as big as you are?”

“We live in a valley of the high mountains of Peru. Only when we are called for special missions, do we ever leave our valley.”

“Mission? What sort of missions do you perform?”

“Sometimes we are called upon to take good people for a flight. We take them on a tour of their lives.”

“I don’t understand. “A tour of their lives”. What does that mean?”

“Allow me to show you. When I bend down, climb up onto my back.”

“Now why would I do a fool thing like that? You might take off flying just about the time I got up there.”

“That’s exactly what I’ll do, Lado. This will be a flying tour of your life.”

“Oh, no you don’t. If God had meant for me to fly, He’d have given me wings.”

“But don’t you see, Lado? That’s exactly what He has done. I am your wings and you are being rewarded for the good life you’ve lived.”

“You mean God sent you?”

“I’m not sure who has sent me, to be perfectly honest. I just felt the call and knew what I was supposed to do.”

“And we’re gonna fly where?”

“It’s a wonderful place, in some ways a lot like my home in the valley.”

“Why do I get the feeling that I don’t have any choice in this,” he muttered.

“Because you really don’t have a choice, any more than I did. We have been called to make this journey.”

“By God?”

“By some higher power. Again, I’m not sure.”

“Well, I’m not going. You can keep your valley or whatever it is, and you can keep your flying. I’ve never been in an airplane and I don’t intend to start flying now. So you just run along and tell your boss that I refused.”

In the gentlest of tones, the butterfly said, “Lado, look behind you.”

Lado looked back over his shoulder and saw…Lado. Lying on the ground where he had been standing when he first saw the blue and gold butterfly. “I’m dead, aren’t I.” It was not a question.

“Only your body is dead, Lado. Your spirit is about to take wing.”

Lado’s wife of fifty years went out to call him for supper and found he had passed on. For the remainder of her life, she would swear that as she looked toward the heavens to offer a prayer for her husband’s soul, she had seen a large butterfly with the most beautiful blue wings soaring through the sky.

END

Copyright 2009 Raymond Koonce

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