The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

Lights, Please

[Sophia]

I followed the boys through the dark tunnel and I could see soft light coming through from the tunnel I had come down from. I could see a silhouette of the back of their heads, but nothing more. I didn't want to question anything, I just wanted to get out of here. When the boys saw the light, they trotted ahead and pointed at it.

"Here, this way."

They walked into it and I followed them. From afar, I could see the light coming from the surface hitting the ground, but it wasn't as bright as it was before and more of an... orange color.

"This is the tunnel to the surface, you should be able to get out through there," they said.

"Thanks," I muttered nervously.

When we finally reached the end of the tunnel, the boys stopped just inches from the edge. I stepped out into the deep hole and looked up. The light of the sun was hitting more of the wall than it was the ground. I must've been down here for some time. I couldn't tell how long exactly, but it didn't matter as long as I made it home safely and Apollo wouldn't have to worry about how long I had been gone. I sighed and thought to myself for a moment, evaluating if it was possible for me to fly out of here without getting exhausted. Until I heard the boys gasp and mutter from behind.

"So... phie?"

"Yeah...?"

"You... Are you...?"

"You have... wings?"

"What?"

I realized that my wings had been completely exposed and the boys had seen them this entire time.

"Oh, oh! These? Uh– well, actually... I– I uh... they're, uh..." I stammered as I folded my wings in vertically behind my back.

"You have wings too?"

"Well, I... uh... Wait, what do you mean...?"

As I looked at the boys from the shadows, I noticed strange shapes behind them as they moved and shuffled around nervously. The light that bounced off of the floor and onto them was enough for me to see what they really were and my eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait... are you...?"

We all stood in silence as we stared at each other, the newfound realization making us relax a little.

"Hey... come into the light. Let me see you."

"What? Can't you see us fine back here?"

"Um... no, not really. The shadows are making you really dark. Just... take a step out here. Please..."

I watched the boys take a step back instead, glancing at me and the floor.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna... do anything. Just... let me see you." I tried to assure them, not really sure if that was any bit reassuring. I saw the boys give each other a look before turning back to look at me.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"We... we've never been in the light before.

I was even more confused.

"What? Of course it's safe. See? I'm standing in it and I'm perfectly fine. Here..."

I took a bold risk and relaxed my wings a little more and spread them just a little bit so they could see all my feathers.

"See? It's okay."

I heard the boys shuffle and mutter to each other for a moment. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I remained quiet and patient. I watched as they turned their heads towards me, leaning against the side of the tunnel and shifting their weight from one leg at a time as they slid their feet on the ground and took a couple steps out from the tunnel. As the shadows pulled away from them, the light bouncing off the ground illuminated them more. Both my wings and my shoulders drooped as I finally got full sight of them. I said nothing and stared quietly at them.

Their black hair was just as dark as the shadows, and they were parted on opposite sides. Their skin... their skin was just as grey as the carved tunnel walls. The clothes they wore... were also practically identical. Dark gray shirts and shorts were riddled with scratches and holes, as if those were the only clothes they had ever worn their entire lives. They were barefoot too, which was more surprising. Looking at them more closely, I realized the reason they both looked so similar was because... they were twins. But what took me more by surprise was their wings...

They were bigger than mine and just about as black as their hair. The longer we stood and stared at each other, the more... weirdly comfortable we felt. Enough for all of us to slowly flare out our wings upwards. It was more of an involuntary action, actually. But I noticed... their wings... they weren't like mine at all. They didn't have any feathers. They looked more like... huge bat wings. Black skin that stretched over their bones and muscles, and they were much larger than my own wingspan.

We just stood and stared at each other. Not a sound was heard except our own breathing.

"You're just like me!" we all said at the same time.

"How is this even possible?" I started.

"I thought... I thought..."

"I thought we were the only ones," the boys added.

Huge grins grew on our faces and we started laughing and making all kinds of ecstatic gestures as we stepped closer and admired each other, the tips of our wings almost brushing against each other. We kept side stepping in circles, asking all kinds of questions, wondering why we were the way we were, but at the same time, not really caring.

It was as if we were a pack of identical dog breeds coming together for the first time and realizing we were all siblings from the same litter. More or less...

"How come your wings have feathers and ours don't?"

"How is your skin gray, that is so weird."

"Wait, your eyes are two different colors, that's amazing!"

"Your clothes are so much nicer than ours. Did you make them yourself?"

"I've never seen anyone with eyes like yours. I thought mine were the only ones that glowed in the dark like that. Is that how you're able to see in the dark so well?

"Hey, your wings are a bit smaller than ours. But they're so pretty. Do you clean them, or are they just like that?"

We went back and forth like that for a while until I finally stopped, reminding the twins that I had to get home quickly.

"Are there any more like you, or... is it just you?" the boys asked.

"Well, actually... there is one more. I have a friend, he's my best friend and he has wings too!"

"Really?"

"Like ours or yours?"

"Can we meet them sometime?"

"Yeah, you guys should come down here so we can all see each other!" they chimed back and forth.

"Yeah! We should meet up soon. Maybe tomorrow? Or... why don't you come with me instead?"

"What?"

The boys shrank back towards the tunnel and had a nervous expression on their faces.

"You mean, us? Up there?"

"Well... yeah. That's where we live. Have you... really never been up there before? Don't you wanna see it for yourselves?"

The boys glanced at each other nervously before looking back at me.

"Isn't... isn't it... dangerous up there?"

"...What?"

"We've... we've never left this cave before. This is the only way up to the surface, but... we can't go up there."

"Are... are you really saying that... both of you have lived down here your entire lives?" I asked.

The boys nodded.

"But if you've never seen the surface before, how do you know it's dangerous?"

"It's... it's the only thing we remember."

"We... we were born in these caves, but... we don't remember anything about our family or what happened to them. It's just been the two of us for as long as we can remember. But... all we know is that the surface world is... dangerous. Too dangerous for us to go up there. So, we stayed here.

I could feel something in my chest resonate with them. No knowledge of how they were born or where they were really from, not even a memory. It... it almost felt like too close of a coincidence. But I couldn't help sympathizing with them.

"If... if you and your friend really live... up there. Then can you really say that it's not that dangerous?"

I took a deep breath in and thought for a moment."

"Well... I can tell you now that it's not really as dangerous as you think. It's... it's a little difficult for me to describe, but... it's really something you need to see for yourselves."

"Are... are you really sure it's okay for us to go up there? Right now?"

"Well... I... umm..... Hold on, how about this? I... I really need to get home before my friend worries about where I've been. See... I– we haven't seen each other all day and he just needs to know that I'm okay, so how about... Tomorrow– when the sun comes back. I'll bring my friend and well come back here and then, maybe we can show you what the surface is like together? Does... does that sound okay?"

The boys looked at each other, then at the ground, back at each other, then back at me. For a moment, I thought they were speaking telepathically to each other.

"Well..... we'll think about it. But, we'd still like to meet your friend. Very much."

"Yes, we'd like to see the both of you soon. But... let's just talk about that when you get here. If... that's okay.

I nodded confidently.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

I looked back up at the tiny hole of light above me.

"Um... okay, so... I'm gonna get going now. I promise, I'll come back soon."

"Yeah. We'll be here."

"Okay..."

I awkwardly looked away from them and spread my wings. The twins walked back inside the tunnel, giving me space to huff my wings up and down as I slowly lifted myself out of the tunnel. I saw the boys watch me from the ground as I rose higher and higher. They disappeared the further I got and after a long while, I finally lifted myself out of the hole and I landed neatly on the other side of the mutant strawberry field.

Looking at the sky, the sun was setting over the horizon. I pulled my satchel over to my side and rummaged around for my phone. Tapping the screen, I saw that I had dozens of unread messages from Apollo.

"Shit..."

I shoved my phone back in my bag and sprinted across the field, getting enough momentum to take off into the sky and head back home. Hopefully Apollo wasn't too worried about me.