The Deaf Butterfly

 Once upon a time, a young hearing-impaired butterfly lived in a very small garden with her family. The butterfly was told since a young age that outside of their garden existed a merciless world and heartless beings.


Her mother scolded her every time she tried to go outside on her own. “You’re naïve. Other butterflies will fool you easily. You can’t fend for yourself.” She kept hearing the same over many years. The butterfly grew up in fear. She lost her self-esteem and gradually succumbed to her family’s orders.


One day, she decided to beat all the fears within herself. She fought her own way outside of their garden. At first, she was terribly scared. With her hearing impairment and lack in confidence, it took her a lot of guts to interact with other butterflies and to trust them.


Then, while she was enjoying the sun, flowers and fresh air, she met a small boy on a skateboard. They were worlds apart but they were able to find common ground. He told her that he'd always wanted to have a cat. She heard, “I wish I had a hat.” She thought of a hat and out of nowhere, the hat was in her hand. At that moment, she realized that she had a gift for granting wishes. Although it was the wrong thing, the boy didn’t mind. It was a hot day and the hat protected his head from the direct heat of the sun.


The following day, they met at the same place. The boy told the butterfly that this time he wished for a parrot. “Okay, close your eyes for a moment and open your hands”, the butterfly said. When the boy opened his eyes, he cried out, “Oh, no! I wanted a parrot. I hate ferrets.”

To be continued...