The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

Out of the Dark

[Sophia]

I'm sitting here in the living room with the TV turned on and my laptop open on my lap, playing a game. Apollo was in the kitchen looking for something to eat. I couldn't see him from where I was, but I could hear him rummaging through the cabinets and opening the fridge. Until I heard him sigh and close the door before coming back into the living room, pulling out his phone for a moment. He starts typing something and I made an educated guess that we must be running low on provisions.

"Hey, we need to go out and get some more food," said Apollo, just as I expected. "You wanna come with?"

I paused my game and thought for a moment.

"Hmm... nah, I'm okay."

"Okay." Apollo sighed. "Hang on, I'll be right back." he said as he turned and went upstairs. I resumed playing my game as I waited for him. When he came back down, I saw him pulling a jacket over his shoulders and checking his pockets for his wallet, before pulling out his phone one more time and staring at the screen.

"Need some cash?" I asked.

"Uh... yeah, just a little bit."

I tossed my laptop aside and reached forwards for my bag that was lying on the table. I shuffled my hand around in it, looking for my own wallet. I fished out a couple dollars and Apollo swiped them from me.

"Is that enough?"

"Oh yeah, it's fine."

He double checked his essentials once again before putting the cash in his wallet and his phone in his back pocket.

"Okay, I'm heading out."

"Be careful." I replied lazily as he walked out the back door.

Getting groceries is always a bit of a pain. Since we can't drive and flying is too risky, we have to walk the whole way. Sometimes we don't mind the walk. Other times, we forget having to lug all the bags of food up all those hills is what makes us change our minds. Occasionally, I don't accompany Apollo, usually when we don't have a lot to get and also because having to hide my red eye is challenging and a bit risky if I do go out anywhere in public. I usually comb my hair over my eye, but it often doesn't cooporate and I have to be really careful if it becomes visible.

Today however, I didn't feel like risking it and as soon as Apollo went out the door, I dragged my laptop back onto my lap and continued playing my game as the TV provided more distraction and background noise. After a while, I soon grew bored of my game and I closed my laptop, setting it aside on the couch and staring at the TV for a while. And then a thought came to me. Since it takes a while to get to the store and back, I had some time to myself. I started thinking of something I could do while Apollo was gone in the meantime.

A brief memory resurfaced as I thought. The grassy plain, the strawberry field, the hole, the darkness, the Twins...

And then I got an idea.

I could go back to the strawberry field and pick some strawberries! We could maybe even make something with them. Like strawberry shortcake! I've always wanted to try that! Since Apollo's getting groceries, a few strawberries wouldn't hurt to keep in the fridge. I'm not getting another large strawbrry like I did last time. I wasn't able to get it in the fridge. And it was more difficult to eat because of how big it was. I'm sure I can find some normal sized one out there...

I grabbed my bag and went upstairs to change clothes and grab a jacket before I scurried out the back door. I trotted through the grove until I made it out to the tree house, before revealing my wings and flying through the opening in the trees. The air was cold and brisk as I soared, and it almost made my hands and face numb. Once I made it out to the lake, I flew towards the waterfall and surveyed the area.

That's the checkpoint, not much further now. This time I'll make sure not to stay overnight. I just lost track of time, that's all.

And as soon as I said that to myself, I remembered all the other times that I lost track of time and I ended up wandering longer than I should've and Apollo had to come get me. I tried shaking those thought out of my mind and tried focusing on something else.

As soon as I made it to the outskirts of the forest, I slowly dropped altitude until I saw little patches of red and evergreen reached my vision and I finally landed on the grass and walked the rest of the way, leaving my wings dragging behind me. Once I had arrived, I stared at all the various sized strawberries, taking careful note about which ones looked the right size. I carefully stepped through the pacthes, making sure not to step on any of them, as I looked around.

I had brought a small container with me to put the strawberries in, but I wasn't sure how many I could fit in it as it was a bit of a small container. As I searched, I started thinking of anything I could possibly make with them. I usually just eat them in a tiny bowl with a sprinkle of sugar, but I have always wanted to try making strawberry shortcake. It always sounded so good to me.

By the time I had almost filled up the container, I found a larger strawberry stuck to the ground and as I was about to pull it off the vine, I saw a shadow fly over me and I froze. The shadow was too big to be a bird and I followed it with my eyes until I looked up to see not one, but two shapes circling around in the sky. At first, I prepared to drop the strawberries and fight, but as they moved away from the sun, they looked more recognizable. But I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was real. I couldn't see their faces, but I saw their wings and as they got closer, I became relieved.

I snapped the lid on the container and shoved it into my satchel as I stepped over the strawberry patches and waved up to the figures.

"Hey, over here!"

They waved back at me and circled around to find a place to land.

"So they really did take up my offer." I said to myself as they touched down and ran up to me.

"Sophia! Is that you?"

"Yeah! I'm over here!"

At first I smiled, almost proud that they had decided to come up to the suface on their own. But as they came closer, I saw the looks on their faces and my smile faded.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I asked as they finally stopped at my feet. I noticed they were squinting their eyess tightly and holding up theire hands over their eyes to shade themselves from the sun.

"We're okay... I think," Flyboy started, sounding almost out of breath.

"But there was something else in the caves!"

"And it started chasing us. We didn't know what to do!"

"We ran through the tunnel... and it almost caught us, but we got out."

"We didn't know what to do or where to go..."

"I don't think we can go back if it's still down there... so we thought we could try looking for you." they explained, speaking one at a time.

"What? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"When you left, we went back into the caves. But then we heard something scream and it started chasing us. We had no choice but to escape and we thought maybe you could help!" they said simultaneously.

It took me a moment to process what they were saying, and an even longer moment wondering if all of this was true. But the look on their faces confirmed to me that they were not kidding.

"Well... did you see whatever it was that was chasing you?" I asked.

"No... we didn't really get a good look. But it made this really loud scream, like it wanted us out..."

"Hmm... maybe... Maybe I could go down there and-"

"No, no no! Please, don't go down there! It might not be safe! Maybe it's still down there waiting for us!" the Twins begged.

"Okay, okay... maybe you're right. But... um..."

"Sophia, please... we don't know where else to go. We don't have anyone else. You're the only person who knows everything that's up here. We don't... we don't know anything. Please, we need help."

They stared at me with a pleading expression and I caught it only for a moment. They really were desperate... I avoided all eye contact with them, but I could still see their faces. I tried to think of anything to say, but I only had one idea, and I started with a sigh.

"Okay... I think... I think there might be a place where you'll be safe."

I led them away from the grassy plain to the shade-covered forest. They lowered their hands when we walked further in and blinked a couple times and their eyes adjusted to the light.

"Is it always this... bright up here?" the Twins asked me in a strained tone.

"Yeah. See, that bright thing over there is the sun-"

"It hurts to look at."

"No, don't look at it directly! That's just what lights up... everything. It's what keeps us alive and warm, and it gives life to... pretty much everything. But every couple hours, it'll disappear and everything becomes dark. But then, in another couple hours, it'll come back up again and it'll be light." I explained to them.

"So... it becomes bright... then dark... then bright again?"

"Yeah. Sound a little strange to you?"

"It's really strange. And that's normal?"

"Yep! It's called 'day and night'. When the sun comes up, it's daytime. And when it sets, it becomes nighttime. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. It's pretty cool though."

The Twins eyed each other with a confused. After a while they went silent. Too busy looking at their surroundings and giving every object they came across a curious look. In all honesty, I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing. I mean, I just met these guys and they first accused me of destroying something precious to them. And now they tell me they had to leave the safety of their own home because something chased them out and they trust me enough to find somewhere else safe for them to stay?

But I guess I can't be that judgy, right? I mean, these guys aren't even human for all I know. What kind of person has grey skin and speaks simultaneously as if they can read each others mind?

Then again... what kind of person has multicolored eyes, lives in a tree house with their best friend and has wings?

As we continued through the forest, the Twins occasionally wandered off to look at something and I let them, often explaining what it was they were looking at. This happened a lot and it took a long time to get to where I was leading them to. When we finally made it, I stood aside and let the Twins walk into the clearing where the tree house stood silently. They marveled at the sight of it.

"Sophia... what is this?"

"Hey, careful. Don't step in the water."

"Oh, whoops."

I guided the Twins around the various water holes as we walked up to the tree house and they started looking at it from every angle. I told them it was safe to explore and they climbed up to the platform, looking in through the cut out window and staring up into the sky, still squinting from the amount of light.

"What is this place?"

"It's a tree house. It's... kinda where I live."

"You live here? In a tree... house?"

"Yeah, it's just a tiny house. In a tree. Pretty cool, right?"

The Twins walked inside and looked at everything there was to look at, picking up old objects and studying them carefully. I was relieved there wasn't anything inside that they could break, but they weren't being careless with all the stuff they looked at.

"How do you live in such a small place?" the Twins asked me.

"Well... there is another place I have. But this was like... my first home. But I still come out here sometimes because... it still kinda is my home. But, um... I thought, maybe this would be a nice place for you guys to stay?"

The Twins whirled their heads around to look at me.

"You'd really let us stay here?"

I avoided their gaze and nodded sheepishly.

"Well... yeah, if you want to, I guess. I mean, if there really was something in those caves that chased you out, it might not be safe to go back. And... I know you don't know anything about what goes on up here, but I promise you you'll be safe as long as you're here. I'll show you everything you need to know-"

"Sophia, this is great! We can't thank you enough!"

"Uh... yeah! No problem!"

The Twins continued to explore the area for a while and I watched them go along. It was a little weird seeing them so curious about everything. The most normal objects were the strangest to them, and I kept assuring them that all of this was normal. To any normal human being, you'd already be living with all of this and you'd just know and learn about everything in the world as you go along. But I understood that if any other normal human being lived in a dark cave their whole lives with nothing and no one to teach them about the world, they'd be acting just like the Twins are now.

I continued to sit and observe the Twins for a while, until I remembered that Apollo would probably be home soon. I wasn't sure how to tell him about... any of this. I told him what happened when I got stuck in the caves, but now the Twins are here and... Well, I can actually see them getting along, but breaking the news to Apollo and introducing them was what made me nervous. I wasn't sure how to approach the situation. So, all I did was pull out my phone and send a quick message to Apollo telling him I was at the tree house and left it at that. I thought maybe it'd be easier to explain everything if we all met in person. I just hoped he wouldn't mind having the Twins stay here for a while... at least until we know what the deal is with that monster they were talking about...