The Seropia Crystal

As she stuck her head out of the window, she saw a butterfly fluttering in the air a few feet away. She reached her hand out, hoping the butterfly would land on it—and to her surprise, it did. As it rested on her open hand, it fluttered its wings very slowly, allowing Riley to see all of its colors in detail. It was one of the most beautiful butterflies Riley had ever seen. Its wings were a deep magenta, and their edges, as well as the various spots scattered across them, were outlined by a sharp black color. As Riley held the butterfly in her hand, it almost seemed to be looking at her.

“You are the only thing that has brightened my day today,” Riley told the butterfly. The butterfly seemed to flutter its wings even more slowly, like it understood what she had said. “I wish I could bring you inside,” Riley said, “but I don’t want anything to happen to you and I don’t have anywhere safe to put you right now. Maybe you will come back and visit me again.”

Riley thought of her brother and what he might do if he found the butterfly.

The butterfly seemed to understand. It sat on Riley’s open hand for a few more seconds then flew off towards the woods. Riley watched as it seemed to just float through the air effortlessly.

Riley pulled her head back into the room, leaving the window open to allow more fresh air in. She then went over to the vanity, sat on the stool and looked at herself in the mirror. It was the perfect height for her. She took a pony tail holder from her pocket and, pulling her hair into a pony tail high on her head, wound it around her hair to hold it in place. Having done that, she figured she may as well start getting the room ready for her things.

She went over to the armoire and opened the doors. It was empty. She opened the dresser drawers to find them empty as well. She then went over to the side table and opened both drawers. A key was taped to the bottom of one of the drawers. She peeled off the tape and took out the key. The key was very small—too small to fit a door or anything—so she figured it must belong to a diary. Whose diary it was or where it was, Riley didn’t know. She put the key back in the drawer and closed it.

“Hey, are you hungry?” her father asked from the doorway. “Your mother has some sandwiches downstairs.”

“Okay, dad, I’ll be down in a minute.”

“Well, what do you think of your room? Did you know that it has its own bathroom?”

“Yes, I know about the bathroom,” Riley answered. “It’s okay,” she added. She didn’t want to act excited about her room in front of her dad. If her parents started to suspect that she was actually enjoying being there, they wouldn’t be able to resist saying, “We told you so”; so Riley continued to pout a little bit.

“You’ll get used to it. I know this is a lot different from home, but it’s definitely more peaceful out here—and less polluted, which is a lot healthier…. Well, if you’re hungry, food is downstairs.” He smiled. She smiled back and he left the doorway.