Before that terrifying Halloween night, I was an elegant monarch
butterfly with magnificent orange and black wings but I was very unique. First,
instead of just small, white spots on my wings, I had a big skull face on each
wing. I never understood why. My wings
were always that way ever since my metamorphosis to a butterfly. Secondly,
while other butterflies couldn’t survive in the cold and migrated to somewhere
warmer during the fall and winter, I stayed and survived. This didn’t mean that
I was immortal; I could be killed by predators, humans, sickness, etc. The
chill just didn’t bother me. Finally, there was one characteristic that I wish
that I never had. While other butterflies remained still at night, I would
flutter about into the darkness, never noticing the ominous figures in the
shadows.
It was Halloween night and the wind was whistling like
singing ghosts. A wolf howled wildly somewhere and an owl hooted quietly
nearby. I was flying among the trees. In the distance, beyond the trees, I
could also hear happy children giggling and yelling, “TRICK OR TREAT!” All of these
sounds made my heart smile and the beautiful, full moon was shining brightly
through the clouds. I felt at ease and was enjoying the brisk air. Then, I
heard a horrific sound that made me turn cold. It was a loud flapping of
massive wings and high-pitched chirping of big, hungry bats. I knew that bats
preyed on insects so I always tried my best to avoid them but that night, an
attack on me was inevitable.
They came closer, closer, and CLOSER!! I fluttered around in complete panic. I tried to hide but
there was no use. Coming up behind me, one of the bats snatched me in mid-air
by my wings with its gigantic, clawed feet. I tried to squirm lose but its grip
was excruciatingly tight. It was about to toss me into the air and devour me when
I miraculously escaped and flew away. Even though my left wing was torn, I kept
on flying with all of my might. I couldn’t see behind me but I heard the bats
chasing me. My tiny heart was beating crazily but I began to stagger, as I got
weaker and weaker .
Then, in my blurred vision, I could see their snarled faces
and grotesque fangs in front of me. Two bats on each side grabbed me by my
wings. Then with their fangs, they greedily tore off both wings from my body
and ate them. I screamed in agony but of course, I was unheard. They then tried
to eat my whole body. They managed to take a bite out of me but one of the bats
lost their grip.
I plummeted down, down, down! I didn’t know where I was
falling because I was dying. I didn’t remember the landing. When I opened my
eyes for the last time, I realized that I was now inside of an unlit jack-o’-lantern and saw a child dressed as a goblin
watching me from the top with curiosity and sadness. My heart smiled again,
seeing such innocence, as I slowly died. My spirit rose up into the clouds and
roamed the mysterious, Halloween night.
(c)Lena Holdman, all rights reserved 2014
Happy Halloween! :) This story was inspired from a scary dream. In the dream, I was a butterfly and bats ate me alive. I know that bats aren't bad. The story is from the butterfly's point-of-view.
