Broken Wings

There once was a butterfly and a caterpillar that fell in love.

Cecily loved to fly as far and as high as she could, especially on Sunday mornings. From above, she could see the beautiful contrast between the marigolds and the clear blue sky, a view that could only be seen from above. She could feel the breeze as cool as the rivers from the mountains and hear the grass sing monophonic tunes that would put her state of mind at spiritual bliss.

Ethan was happy staying as a caterpillar. He loved to eat and eat, and he was never curious about life above the grass. He believed that the life of an underground scavenger was far safer than those who expose themselves to become bird food.

"I am happy being a caterpillar. This is who I am, and I hope you respect the way I want to live my life," exclaimed Ethan.

Cecily remained quiet as her dreams to fly next to Ethan dissolved. Worried about breaking her relationship with Ethan, she conformed to walking next to Ethan.

Only, during lunchtime, Cecily would use her wings to fly and search for nectar. Meanwhile, Ethan would eat off any plant that was nearby.

Cecily and Ethan would walk and walk under the shadows of the grass. Cecily could barely see the blue sky past the grass. As days passed by, Cecily's wings started getting dirty with mud. More days passed by, and her wings slowly crumbled as she and Ethan would walk into the narrowest places. Her beautiful bright wings were as orange as the field of carnations she once flew over.

During the journey, Ethan looked back to check if Cecily was still behind him.

“What is wrong? Are you okay? Why are not you flying anymore?"

Cecily looks up while staring down at her toes, "Well, I have been feeling lonely during lunchtime. Sometimes I want to fly and explore more places that God has created, but I do not want to go without you."

Ethan figured she was asking him to change, so he made it clear one more time.

"Well, I am happy being a caterpillar. I hope you respect my decision of not wanting to be a butterfly because being a caterpillar is part of who I am."

There was a long moment of silence as Cecily gathered her thoughts.

"I am sorry for asking for too much. I swear to keep accepting you for who you are."

Eventually, Cecily loses her wings, but Ethan still recognized her. For she is still the same butterfly ... he met a long time ago. However, little did he notice that she no longer had the same spark in her eyes as then.

Along the way, a ladybug passes by the couple and stops the two. "Pardon me, but I cannot help to notice what a peculiar couple you two are. You are a caterpillar, and you are?"

The butterfly, confused, responds, "I'm a butterfly."

The ladybug looked at her in disbelief, "If you are a butterfly then what happened to your wings? Why are you not flying? Aren't butterflies supposed to fly?"

Cecily's face turned pale. She looked down at her shadow, and could barely recognize what she was looking at. “What happened to me? What am I?” she thought to herself. Cecily looked up to the ladybug to answer, but words could barely come out. There was a sharp feeling in her throat that caused her pain for every sound she made. With the last bit of air in her lungs, she responded, "they fell … along the way."

The ladybug laughed, “what kind of insect would be willing to lose their wings? Try gluing some leaves, and next time I might believe you,” and then flew away.

Ethan then took a clear look at Cecily and asked her, "Are you okay?"

Cecily nodded while looking down, but she knew she was not okay. Her lips turned white and dry; the broken pieces of her wings have been lost on the road, and she was skinnier than before.

Ethan felt he had to do something to see the same smile she once had.

The next morning, Ethan eagerly woke up Cecily, "Wake up! We're going to see the beautiful places that God has created for us."

Cecily could barely believe her ears, "How can we see it? I cannot fly anymore."

Ethan smirked, "You will see, just close your eyes and follow me", and held out his hand for her.

They walked so far that Cecily could still not tell where they were anymore.

"Okay! Open your eyes," Ethan said.

The bright light of the sun shined over her eyes; it was blinding. As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was upside down.

"We're on a tree!" Cecily cried out.

The cool breeze was as refreshing as cool water running down the stream from the mountains. Finally, Cecily could see the marigold fields and the clear blue sky that the grass kept covering.

From then on, Ethan and Cecily began a journey to climb on a tree every Sunday morning so both could explore the land God has created for them.

More time passed by. As Ethan was comfortably eating his morning snack, he looked over at Cecily to see what she was up to. He noticed how she quietly struggled to climb up a daisy. She needed nectar, but her feet and hands were worn out from all the walking, for her feet were not built for walking. She could barely get a good grip to climb up. After several efforts, she gave up and settled on eating the lower leaves of a dandelion.

Ethan wanted to help her climb, but he needed all his legs to climb up too. He could not possibly carry her up. After much thought, Ethan came up with a solution but decided to keep it from Cecily.

"I will be gone for a long journey," Ethan said enthusiastically. "I'll be back, so could you please wait for me?"

Cecily's heart sank, but Ethan seemed so excited that she could not say no. She felt sad, but she did not want to upset him by saying no. So once again, quietly, she nodded and let him go.

Many days and nights passed, and Cecily started to worry. "Could he have been killed by a bird?" Horrified by the idea, Cecily packed her things and got ready to head in the direction Ethan left to. Suddenly, she saw a big shadow over her. She looked up, but the sun was so bright she could barely see what was over her. She panicked as she noticed the shadow had huge wings. "Ahh! Don't eat me!" Cecily exclaimed.

"It's me, over here!" said a familiar voice from above.

"Ethan?", exclaimed Cecily. His wings were long, wide, and as orange as the marigold fields. Just like-

"I wanted to surprise you and ask, could you fly with me?" said Ethan.

Cecily's throat tightened up once again, so she simply nodded.

Ethan then embraced Cecily from behind and whispered, "I may not be able to turn back time but let me have this chance to at least make a better future."

From then on, they soared up to the sky and traveled to all the beautiful places God had created.

Cecily and Ethan were finally able to make a family and had two beautiful monarch butterfly daughters.

Cecily would remind her daughters, "Communication is key, to reach that middle ground, between you and your parner. If they do not wish to become butterflies, carry them if you have to ... but never lose your wings for them."

Thus, her daughters never lost their wings, for their parents taught them to value their ability to fly more.