Once upon a time (this is, after all, the way proper tales begin), there lived a girl, deep in a secluded wood, far away from the world, surrounded by the tallest of the tall trees.
Her eyes were the cool grey-blue color of the rocks where she sat to daydream, and her hair, the color of the tiny field mouse which lived beneath her favorite oak tree.
Each day, she wandered into the great clearing where sunlight found its way, filtered through needles and leaves, to the forest floor, and dappled the mossy carpet. There, she danced in the breeze to the music of the fluttering leaves, and sat watching the busyness all around her. The flowers and mushrooms made her smile, and the tickly crawling bugs, going about their day, kept her company. She was… content… in her little world.
Then, one day…
“Hellooo-oh.”
She looked up, and before her was the most amazing, beautiful… something… she had ever seen.
“Hello?” she replied. “What are you?”
“I’m a butterfly.”
“A ‘butterfly’? What is a ‘butterfly’?”
“I am!” said the butterfly, rather indignantly.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just never met anyone like you.”
“No?” said the butterfly with a smug smirk, and he fluttered his wings, flew across the clearing, and high into the branches above.
The girl watched and gasped, in awe, as he twirled and danced on the wind, up and up, and disappeared into the bright light.
The girl was not accustomed to the light (she spent her days in the shadows, looking down around her) and she cried, believing she had lost her new friend to it. But, he soon returned and asked her why she was crying.
“I’ve only just met you, but you’re beautiful, and wondrous, and make me smile, and I thought you had gone away forever.”
“Not at all,” said the butterfly, “just up to the Sky.”
The girl was at once confused and intrigued. She did not know one could reach the Sky…
“How?!” she asked, shaking with excitement.
“Simple. I can fly. You can’t, but you can climb. Don’t worry, I’ll be with you. You’ll love the view! You can see the whole World from up there.”
The girl knew nothing of The World, and was eager to see more. So, she began to climb.
Branch after branch she leaped and bounced, following the butterfly, as he flew higher and higher and higher.
Sometimes he would flutter away, and disappear for a long while, but he always returned with shiny words and extraordinary tales. She was having so much fun on her new adventure! Never in her life had she imagined anything so wonderful.
As she climbed higher, the limbs grew thinner, and weaker, but she was small, and skillful, so she continued on. She tried to be brave. The butterfly was with her, even when she could not see him, she reassured herself, and surely, he would not let her fall. All of this was his idea, after all.
At last, she reached the treetop. High above the canopy, the light was bright, and a little overwhelming, but she could see The World, and oh what a spectacular thing it was to behold.
“What now?” asked the girl of her new friend, smiling, and excited for new adventures.
Her heart sank.
“Are you leaving me?”
“This isn’t goodbye,” he said, as he flew away.
“I can’t fly. Remember?” her voice trailed off as she spoke.
The butterfly couldn’t hear her. He was already too distant.
Night was falling, and the girl couldn’t see a way back down. The thought of returning to life, alone, without her friend, frightened her. She was eager to follow him, and yearned to fly too.
And so…
She jumped.
