Butterflies

Trigger Warning: Self-harm and suicide methods are mentioned (without any images).

Look at me in that picture; I felt so ugly. I have always wanted to look different. I didn't know what was about to happen to me though. What I do know now is that my life will never be the same.

It started my junior year of college, at the age of 25, about two months into my fall semester. I was stressed out about where life might be taking me and being older than most of my classmates made it so I didn't talk to anyone. My overall grade point average was only 2.5, on a 4.0 scale. I was a psychology major, wanting to become a therapist for children.

After recently losing my mother, I fell in love with butterflies, as they were her signature insect. She often had a cage full of butterflies, which she cared for after my brother and I left the house. Our father left us when I was seven and my brother, Malcolm, was 11. I never understood why or knew where he went.

Since I have no family that I talk to or friends, I have become very depressed, to the point of starting to hurt myself in various ways. My first suicide attempt was when I was 23 and learned that my mom had lung cancer. At the time, I was not cutting. Days after my mom passed away, my thighs and stomach became covered in superficial cuts.

Within three weeks, I was in such a deep depression that I was to the point of no return. I overdosed to end my pain and loneliness. What happened after that was something I would have never imagined.

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A few months after I died from my overdose, I came back to life. When I came back, I was a monarch, my mother's all-time favorite type of butterfly. I couldn't try to talk to anyone but eventually, I saw her from a distance. She had become a butterfly as well, not the kind she said was her favorite though. When I saw her, I immediately recognized her. She was some rare butterfly, which I had never seen before. She was as beautiful as she was when she was alive as a person.

I flew up to her and lightly tapped her wings with mine, just to get her attention. I immediately saw joy radiating from her eyes and antennae, as she tried to give me a hug with her wings. Although the hug didn't work well, we stayed together hoping to not be seen, for fear of being taken apart again. To avoid the separation, we hid away in the forest forever. I lost track of the days as they passed. We never left each other's side.

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I hope you all enjoyed the short story. I am hoping to become better at writing fictional stories but here's a start.

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Though tips are not required, they are greatly appreciated. They really help aspiring writers, like myself. All feedback, positive or negative, is extremely helpful in improving my writing. Thank you all so much!