2-The Silver Butterfly

          She pondered for countless hours; still nothing made any sense to her. Kara stared at the mirror again. She sighed. She tried to whistle to ease her worries, but she never had been able to do that successfully. She pulled her long dark hair back and looked down at her white nightgown. She curtsied in front of the mirror and thought to herself that a prince will come along and save her, just like in the fairytales.

          “….and it’s a wonderful d…ACK!”

          Kara immediately let go of her hair, turned around and saw a silver butterfly crash into the wall behind her. Taking tiny steps, she approached the butterfly.

          “Are you alright?” Kara asked, kneeling down with the butterfly in her palm.

          “Oh yes, I’m fine, my dear,” replied the butterfly, while trying to flutter unsteadily.

          A faint smile grew on Kara’s face. She was both shocked and amused by the butterfly. More amused than shocked actually, considering that a doorknob just spoke, so a talking butterfly was not all that peculiar anymore.

          The silver butterfly landed on Kara’s head as Kara got up from her knees. Just as Kara was about to lay a hand on the butterfly, it flew to the other side of the room. Kara covered her view with her left hand as an intense light started to illuminate from the butterfly. She could see that something grew out from the butterfly. Something big. Something of human form.

          “That was dramatic,” said the lady that grew from the butterfly.

           Kara was dumbfounded. Her mouth was wide open, her eyebrows crooked, her head tilted slightly. She could have won ‘Retard of the Year’ award with that pose, if there was any. The lady kept on smiling and chuckled at Kara’s pose. Her silvery hair framed her face, highlighting her arched silvery eyebrows and piercing blue eyes.

          “How did you… What are… Eh?” Kara could not complete her questions nor could she think exactly what to ask.

          “You look troubled, my dear,” said the lady with a warm smile, taking a step closer to Kara.

          With every step that the lady took, Kara took one step backwards, until finally she leaned on the mirror and transformed it to a complete wall. Kara looked around frantically. Every corner of the room is now a complete wall. She leaned back on the wall, breathed heavily, still was not sure whether the lady was human like her.

          “I am Aislin. Lady Aislin from the House of Butterfly,” the lady introduced herself.

          “I am Kara. Kara McAdams… from the… the…” Kara paused, unable to finish what she had to say.

          “From the fourth dimension,” Lady Aislin continued for Kara, “the dimension where they have chocolates and candy floss.”

          Kara nodded, unsure if the world that she used to live in was really The Fourth Dimension. If so, she thought, which dimension is this?

         “Chocolates and candy floss,” Lady Aislin continued, “they’re so sweet!”

          Kara was curious as to how Lady Aislin knew about chocolates and candy floss and asked if they do not get them in that dimension.

          “My husband was sent to The Fourth Dimension two hundred years ago,” Lady Aislin said, “but he never did return. His followers returned with chocolates and candy floss for me which, as they said, were from my husband before he died.”

          Kara felt sorry for the butterfly lady and wanted to ask how her husband died, but something held her from asking such question.

          Out of nowhere, shadowy figures started to take form from each corner of the room. They emerged from the walls and gradually shaped into their own forms. They looked like a hybrid of two species-some animals and human. They all bowed to Kara and Lady Aislin immediately after they took their form.

          “Ah! You all are finally here!” said Lady Aislin cheerfully, before her voice became deeper and darker. “Kara, do tell us, who are you and why are you here?”

          Kara had never felt that uncomfortable before in her entire life. All eyes were on her. Lady Aislin’s soft and welcoming face transformed into a sharp and firm face. She repeated her question, with a firmer tone and slightly louder voice.

          “… Ka… Kara…”

          Still, Lady Aislin repeated her question and was not satisfied with Kara’s answer.

          Just as things were starting to get intense, another figure emerged from the wall, taking the shape of a hybrid of a cat and a human form.

          “Saoirse! Princess Saoirse! I knew you would return! I knew you would not break your promise of a hundred year!” The cat-human ran towards Kara and embraced her.





                                                              To be continued…