Butterfly of the River

The Small creature in the River

Spring always comes after winter. As the thick coat of ice melts at the touch of the sun's breath, flowers start waking up, greeting the earth's surface with a 'good morning'. Young cubs will be filled with excitement as the frozen rivers start warming and shimmering as the fishes hurry to reach the lake. A deer was running in the forest and stopped to drink from the river. A rustle came from the bushes. Hearing this, the deer directed its sight towards the bushes at the entrance of a foggy forest. The deer remained still and cautious.

From the bushes, fell out a small body and rolled towards the river. The deer, startled, ran in the opposite direction. For a moment, a silence came before the small body splashed out of the river. It crawled out of the water and looked at the heavens with soaked hair glistening like snow melting.

Hearing a sudden chirp, the soaked creature turned to look at the branches filled with mockingbirds singing in synch. It observed the flock of birds as a predator would to its prey. However, as if caught in a trance, the small creature stayed in its position, closed its eyes and listened to the melody of the birds singing with the forest whistling wind and the buzzing of the insects.

As if learning the language, the small creature stood silent listening to the harmony of sounds. Moments later, the surroundings grew silent as if the other animals were waiting for the small creature's turn. And so, without any cues, it did not open its eyes and started humming, copying the rhythm it heard.

The small creature's soft humming echoed the forest. It continued on, not noticing the figure moving towards it as if attracted by the its sound. Like a flytrap feeling the bug in its mouth, the small creature extended its claws toward the figure behind.

After that, only the sound of heavy breathing and the whistles of the wind along with the chirping curiosity of the birds are to be heard. And all the small creature could think of was, 'This predator's stronger than me'.