130 Pretty and Yellow

The Little Red Haired Girl

The full face of the moon was smiling at her Body believed, as she peered at it through the 12 squares of the window in the door that remained immovably closed. The door that entrapped them within this Pumphouse prison. Body continued to watch the moon within the clear sky with the stars as its companions as they seemed to have a joke between them Body knew nothing about. Body began to feel insecure as if by them watching her as much as her watching them, they saw the joke. A single Body stuck in this prison. What was so funny?

“You really are insecure aren’t you?” Brain announced.

“You’re not the first person to tell me that and I daresay you won’t be the last. I am allowed to be me however you perceive it Brain.”

“Oooh don’t get tetchy” Brain laughed and was secretly pleased it had annoyed Body.

“It’s no secret you fool. You think your worse whenever you want to, I am getting to the point where I don’t register it anymore.” Body was curt.

“Noswad used to tell me I was insecure” cried Heart “and although Body may have her issues, I Heart, could never see what he meant and that’s the truth.”

“Well that’s Ok then” Brain was sarcastic “But I have to say inconsiderate of you seeing as we are supposed to be listening to each other and working together.” Brain was pleased to be accurate at pointing out Hearts disobedience to ‘the rules’.

“I didn’t mean I did not care about Body, but from my own point of view I didn’t feel insecure about his love for me, just insecure about how he behaved by disappearing in and out of my life. It wasn’t necessary and it was hurtful” cried Heart.

“It’s a tactic” suggested Brain “ghosting” I think they call it. It’s enough to make any heart insecure.”

“If you say so Brain, I will take it on board and live with it. I will own it if I must.” Heart was heavy.

“There were and are lots of tactics” called Spirit “such as sending negative energy our way, spying with monitoring spirits, or making Body ill with spell jars and voodoo dolls, or just the sheer anger within the man himself, or intimidation, all crush our inspiration.”

“We may never know Noswads path and purpose, or that of anyone he is or was possibly collaborating with, but I will conclude with Brains past assessment. He obviously chose to get others involved or joined others. Who? doesn’t matter anymore for we have moved past it all. It is behind us now” sighed Soul “All that is left to do now is to find a path out of here.”

“ALL! All! What the hell have I been going on about all this time!” Brain was incensed.

“Ssh Brain” sighed Soul. “We know. The opportunity will be placed in front of us you will see.”

“I am supposed to just wait am I? and have faith?” Brain concluded.

“Yes” sighed Soul “and this constant challenging you are doing is hindering us, so quit.”

Brain was angry so it shut down, fed up.

Body who had tried to shut out the chatter continued to stare at the moon and could have sworn he, the man within it, winked at her. Were her eyes to be believed? Body re focused her eyes and it happened again! Body re focused to a closer perspective. It had looked like a wink of his eye but in fact it was a closer movement that just happened to be on his face where his eye would have been and as Body looked through the one of the squares in the door window and brought her focus closer, it was a movement on the door itself that Body had seen before. Body recognised the silhouette of the butterfly open its wings creating an illusion of a ‘wink’.

“It’s back” the Little Red Haired Girl whispered in excitement. “It’s come back for us.”

“It is pretty and presumably yellow as Mrs Tarot predicted” called Spirit “but what are we supposed to do with it? How will it help us get out?”

“Let’s just observe it’s path for a moment and try to remain still and quiet so we shan’t disturb it” sighed Soul.

The butterfly remained still most of the time and its silhouette of two vertical points quivering slightly was the only way to discern it was a living thing and not just a vertical line.
Body realised she had stopped breathing in some sort of anticipation and Brain reminded her.
“Breathe” Brain stated “it’s only a butterfly. Although what it’s doing out here in the dark I have no idea.”
“Then shut up and let Body watch” sighed Soul.

“Oh look” the child exclaimed “you can see its body now.” As Body’s eyes looked the child was right, the butterfly had turned on the horizontal bar of the square and now its whole profile was silhouetted in the middle of one of the 12 squares. One could see the shape of its body and the full shape of the wings attached above it.
“They look like a heart on one of Mummy’s cards.”
“They do ” Body agreed “it’s not often one sees them in profile. They are usually busy flying.”
“And what’s the sticks it has on its head?”

“Your eyes are better than mine, I can barely see them.” Body admitted.
“I think they are antennae” Brain interjected.
“What’s that?” the child asked of course.

Brain put Body’s head in her hands, how the hell was it going to explain those to a child. It was annoyed at Brain for using the word and Brains own lack of knowledge too.

“They are like a guidance system” Soul sighed “They help the butterfly find food. A bit like your nose when you are at Nana’s house. You always know when breakfast is cooking long before you get down the stairs.”

“They are also sensitive to touch and in some species of insects sound too” stated Brain.

The Little Red Haired Girl continued to watch fascinated as the butterfly crawled along the horizontal metal its legs occasionally slipping off the surface of it, occasionally opening its wings flat and the antennae twitching. She was so engrossed the questions stopped. It started to climb upwards on the vertical bar of the square, and then onto the next and the next until it reached the top of the door which was solid. It flew and battered itself over and over against the top of the door.

“Why don’t it go down and out through the squares?” the child asked “It’s hurting itself”
“I am not sure child. Insects always seem to climb upwards and I don’t know why” Body answered.
Brain kept quiet.

“It’s going to hurt itself again we must help it get out” the child cried. “Let me catch it, Body stand up and catch it so it can go out of the window please.”

“You can’t touch a butterfly it will die. It will cause damage to its wings” Brain stated and as soon as Body’s words had finished, the butterfly took off and circled the roof of the Pumphouse and finally out of the window towards the light of the moon.

Body breathed out. “Phew, It’s got out.”
“I am so happy for it” the child exclaimed “It’s free and out of here.”

“Well said” Spirit called “It’s fun to be happy for others. It lifts me and I too am happy.”