Furious Bulletproof Butterflies

[Shurikane]

Decided to get back into the dreamy first-person feeling of TFFOMP and see what I could dish out... Based on a dream.

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Bro and I were sitting on the Big White Rock again. It was my favorite because it stood out in the usual green and brown and gray of the forest. The Big White Rock was like a mother to me. It was always clean, always flat and smooth and comfortable. It was a bit like my second home. And no matter how lost I felt, or how sad I was, I could always rely on the Big White Rock. It was hidden under a big layer of leaves, and it was always dry. It was on top of a small bump off the side of the Clear Trail, so I could see the people who sometimes walked it, without being seen.

The Clear Trail had been made by some village folk a long time ago. They had carefully cut a line into the trees to make a clearing, and had continued forth, keeping the opening at an exact width of thirty feet, from the small Lakeside Cliff chalet village, to the hunting log cabin, which was a four days' walk to the south. In-between those two landmarks was another cabin, one day north of the hunting one. That cabin was larger and older. It was a bar-shop of sorts, where people could buy hunting gear, rifles, jackets colored international orange, and sometimes a fishing rod.

The Clear Trail had been cleaned out and set up to be the most beautiful walkway I had come to know. Tree stumps had been removed, and light gray stones had been placed. The stones made a small, shallow ditch, and they made an opening at Lakeside to allow water to flow. Then, just an hour before the shop cabin, the river of stones and water would divert to the west, and, gradually, the stones would be less frequent, the water would lost its flow, and would eventually end up in the middle of the forest, with nothing beneath your feet except a little bit of mud and wet roots. That was the end of the river.

Of course, I said days of walk, but I spoke in normal terms. I could go from the hunting cabin to the Lakeside Cliff in one minute short of four hours.

I turned my head to the left and looked at Bro. He always, always wore the same clothes: a pair of khahi shorts, and a black undershirt. To top it off, his hair was always brushed to shape some kind of fireball; he was a cartoon character that had just come out of the screen. I could allow myself to say that even though I had never seen much television in my life.

And his wings? I envied them. Bro didn't realize it, but he had the best wings one could have ever dreamed of. They were just like in the Christian paintings, only better. They were flawlessly white, and they never, ever contained a speck of dust or dirt. No trace or strain or black or stain, nothing, nothing, nothing at all. They were, impossible as it could sound, perfect.

And he would ruin them...

"Please, you need to stop smoking." I said as I snatched the cigarette out of his mouth. "Your wings will turn yellow."

Bro blew out some smoke. "It's my choice if I want to smoke or not. And anyways I know my wings can't turn yellow. Maybe my teeth or my fingernails will, but not my wings. Get your facts straight and give me back my cigarette."

"No." I crushed the cigarette on the rock. All I got in response to my argument was a loud sigh, and then Bro produced another cigarette and a Bic lighter, which he had stolen one night at the shop cabin. "You know this'll kill your reputation if the others found out." I continued. "What would Oncle think? And Tante? And Maman?! Did you ever think about what Maman would do if she ever found out about it?!"

"Our people don't know what smoking is." Bro simply said. He took another puff and kept on going. "Only you and I know, because we've seen people doing it. But that's all. Besides, am I not using a product of nature? I mean, it has leaves and things derived from wood, and when I'm done with it, it turns to ask. I'm not polluting anything or anyone. I take nature and give back nature. It's not like when Cous threw an old gas into the woods."

I buried my face into my hands. I had been doing everything to forget that gruesome scene. "Cous was a jerk back then." I said. "And please, don't make the story surface again. You know how horrible it had been, to hear Maman screaming at him as if the devil had come out of the earth. It was... Horrible. And he had deserved it!"

Bro chuckled. "One gas can in millions and millions of square feet of forest. We look like characters in That 70's Show, you know that?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not, I swear! Come on, you remember That 70's Show, the first time we snuck next to the shop cabin and watched the owner, and the show he was watching? Well, I'm Hyde."

"I can see that, and that's not good!"

"And you know who you are?" Bro gave me a twisted smirk. "You're Jackie. One cute, hyper, tiny, bitchy Jackie."

Raindrops were beginning to fall. That was the only sound we heard for a while.

I grew nervous. I flapped my butterfly wings and wished I could just leave without having to say goodbye. But I was too polite to do that.

...Or not. Some smoke hit my nose and almost made me cough. I couldn't stand the smell - I was positive he couldn't either, since he always smoked when the wind blew. A sick thought hit my brain, and I turned just enough so that my flapping wings would send the smoke back to his face.

I didn't have my fun for long. His hand grabbed one of my wings and squeezed hard. I gasped in pain, and a tear fell on the Big White Rock. Noticing the drop, Bro released his grip.

"Don't do that again please." He said in a neutral tone, and took another puff.

"See you later." I snarled back. Time to go and enjoy a bit of the rain.

My body burst into fifty tiny pieces, fifty tiny little butterflies, which flew out into the Clear Trail and headed north, towards the Lakeside Cliff. This was the cute thing about me. I was the direct opposite of Count Dracula. He was night, bats and castles, and I was sunshine, butterflies and nature. Maman didn't approve of me reading Dracula very much. In fact, she didn't like any of the books Bro brought to me. So far, I had two Anne Rices, a Timothy Findley, two Barbara Kingsolvers, and the full His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. I also had a few comics here and there, mostly Warlands and some editions of Spirou, a comic in another language; I couldn't read it but the pictures were pretty nice.

Bro was our only link to the rest of the people. He was absolutely fearless. I could almost say that instead of being one of us, he was just a human with wings. And, as the twins Ami and Amiga loved to say: "He looked hot."

Sure, his looks were great. But once you got to know his attitude, he became much closer and farther from you at the same time. It felt a bit like having a friend who just sat there and looked lazy. You wouldn't want to be seen with him, but you'd gladly make him your personal diary. I say stuff and he remembers my rants and ramble. How sweet is that!

I directed my flight westward and found my way into familiar ground. In more or less fifteen minutes, I would be home. I would eat something with Maman and Cous and Tante and Oncle, and we would chat and talk about the weather, and we would laugh and be happy.

And Bro would go eat outside. He'd go fetch something at the shop cabin, and he'd watch the television from outside, and reach his hammock outside, only late at night. Then, he would wrap his wings around him and go to sleep, using these as blankets and bed sheets. His pillow was something he had stolen at the Lakeside Cliff. It was his most prized possession. I had never admitted it, but I wanted to have a pillow like this. It was big, fluffy and comfortable. Mine was harder than diamond. I was sure Cous felt the same way; I knew him to have an attraction for upgrades; that's why he had fooled around with that gas can a long time ago. Things we didn't know about were always interesting.

I arrived at the doorstep of the treehouse, and re-shaped myself into my usual form. I knocked, opened the door, rubbed my feet on the entry mat, and yelled a happy "Hello!"

Maman came, hugged me with her arms and her blue jay wings, and told me dinner wouldn't be ready until an hour later. So, I went upstairs, sat on the balcony, overlooking Bro's hammock - which was a little distance away on a small platform - and took out one of my Spirou comics, attempting to decipher the words and the situation.

I heard the crack of a branch. Looking up, I saw Cous standing against a tree, close enough under the house to escape any indiscrete looks except mine. Seeing me, he waved and gave me a wink.

His right hand was holding a bottle of Heineken beer.

I went back to my comic book. I heard the sound of raindrops becoming more present. Soon, the drizzle turned to a relatively heavy shower. The sky was covered by dark gray clouds, and even though it was only five o' clock, I could have sworn it was eight or nine, because it was so dark.

When the air got too cold, I went into my room and closed the balcony door.

"Sis, dinner's ready!"

Already! But I was just beginning to feel comfortable on my bed... Oh well. Since I wouldn't go outside after dinner, I slipped on my nightgown right away, covered myself up with a white and navy blue bathrobe, and went to the dining room. As expected, Bro wasn't there. Maman, expecting this, had prepared the table for only five.

My meal was a bit on the tasteless side. My mind was elsewhere. I couldn't describe my feelings just yet... It was too early to get to any conclusions. Needless to say, after dinner, I went to bed with worry on my face. It didn't take long for me to get bored with my book and extinguish the candles. I stayed there on my back, staring at the ceiling. My wings weren't big enough to hug me like Bro's or Maman's could. Sometimes, I hated to be stuck with just butterfly wings (and rainbow-colored ones too!) which could only hug my shoulders and nothing more, but those feelings went away whenever I looked at myself in the mirror and found out how cute I looked, with those colors behind me, my light brown hair, my blue-green eyes, and my ridiculous supply of pixie robes and angel gowns. Although, I had to admit I sometimes liked to wear an oversized T-Shirt once in a while, courtesy of Bro, as always.

Bro was like holding a wolf by the ears. I didn't necessarily like him, but I - we all - didn't dare let go of him. Maybe he'd bring a change in the family's tradition.

Maybe something would happen... Or not?... Or maybe?

I sighed.

"To be continued..." I muttered to the surrounding air.

[Shurikane]

Holy shit, I'm on a roll!

..02



I had a dream this night. I was sitting on top of the roof of the shop cabin. I felt relaxed and at peace with myself. As Bro would say, I was "just chillin'". I looked at my fingers, and then at my whole body. It was as if it had been made of glass. My body was transparent, and shimmering. I was a ghost of sorts.

My stomach went into a knot. The bad feeling pressed itself into my gut quicker than a punch, and I doubled over from the pain. As I did so, I saw a shape in front of the cabin. My eyes, seeing through the darkness, clearly recognized the shapes of Bro but... his wings were gone!

I saw him knocking. What was he doing here? How would the shopkeeper accept someone so late at night? What kind of story would Bro tell him? All these questions raced in my mind round-the-loop and again, until I felt like I was going to burst. I felt a force pressing me to go forward and leap down from the roof.

I extended my wings and parachuted down. Bro hadn't noticed me. Maybe my glass form was invisible to everyone... But then it was a dream - I was lucid enough to know it - and anything could happen. Who knows, some green monster might open the door and eat Bro, and I'd wake up in a sweat. This scene felt a little funny though... Maybe I could change my dream in order to make it more entertaining.

My pleas were left unheard. The shop owner opened the door. His eyes and his smile went wide as he noticed Bro.

"Hey, Jonathan! Come in, you're missing a good one."

Without any further ado, he pulled Bro into the cabin, and slammed the door into my face as I attempted to follow up. I tried to open the door again, but my hand simply passed through the knob. Frustrated, I cursed aloud and stomped around the house. For once in a blue moon, I had something remotely interesting I could watch, and I was stuck outside! Why am I always Fortune's fool?...

I heard sounds coming from inside.

"No one better laugh at me... 'Cause I'm gonna kick so much ass!... And that's MY fudge-sicle!"

I peeked through a window and only saw Bro and the owner... watching television. So that's where the sounds had come from. I heard laughs, coming from the machine as well, and two distinct ones coming from Bro and the owner.

Wait a second... Why did the owner call him Jonathan?

"Want a beer?" I heard the owner ask.

"Not for me, but my cousin will happily drink it." Bro replied. "He's a fan of beer and they don't sell your brand where he comes from."

"How long is he staying here?"

"Couple of weeks. Oh, and do you have any more cigarettes? My pack's almost gone."

"Sure, sure. Here. Try the Camels this time. They're great. That's what my brother smokes. I'll take the price off your credit, as always. I'll be honest with you Jon: your company is already a really good payment. I mean, you're the first fellow to pop in and be so friendly to me."

How could Bro be friendly to this fat slob? He was not even properly shaved! I had to know more. Realizing once again I was in a dream, I tried my luck at passing through the window.

Good! Now free to explore the home, I took a minute to explore the shop. I had never been there before. The closest I had been to it was when I overflew it, and even then, I didn't do it a lot. I was supposed to stay in the forest, away from indiscrete looks.

There were some really interesting items in there. I could see smoked and dried meats, rifles, bows, arrows and bullet. On one side were those flashy jackets and shirts. Behind a window were some samples of a T-Shirt where I could see the drawing of a wildlife scene, accompanied by the words "Lakeside Cliff". I couldn't open the drawers, but I guessed they were hiding rifle parts and other miscellaneous things. There was a big white device of sorts though, big enough to let me pass my head through and look. In there, I saw those famous bottles of Heineken. It was a fridge.

I heard more laughs. Turning my head away from the fridge, I gave the TV a brief glance and found out That 70's Show had started again. Interested, I sat down between Bro and the owner. For the next ten minutes, I got to make acquaintances with Eric Foreman, and Michael Kelso, and Donna, and Jackie, and Fes, and Bro's psychological twin: Steven Hyde. He was exactly the way Bro had described him. I was somewhat shocked yet amazed at his attitude. Thinking about it, I realized Bro was taking Hyde a little too seriously. Hyde was a character, a stereotype, an exaggeration. Bro was the real thing.

I knew. It was Bro's behavior that gave me this bad gut feeling. It had been obvious ever since he had squeezed my wing, but there was something new I had discovered about him tonight. He was making contacts with the people of Lakeside. This had never happened in my family. This had never happened in my race. Seeing those people was a complete no-no. There were two types of people: those with wings, and those without. I have been told many times over that the two species were not to meet each other. The results had been left to my imagination...

And Bro was here. With the owner. And he was wingless. He was like them. He was unreal... As if he had become someone else... As if he had become Jonathan.

My mind began to race again, and my vision blurred. I fell backwards, and then tried to stand up. My feet couldn't find any stable ground. The walls seemed to move, the doorframes twisting and turning, the furniture taking grotesque shapes and colors, forming and reforming like a picture seen through the waves of a lake. I couldn't see anything anymore. I was... I was dying! I reached for my neck and coughed, but to no avail. I wasn't even breathing! Tears escaped my eyes and I looked all around me, seeking something that could tell me what was going wrong. But as I turned around, I lost my balance, side-flipped and landed on the floor once again. This time, I couldn't get up. My senses were dimming; my movements were becoming laborious and slow. Numbness filled my left arm, which crooked itself and went under me. Only my wings gave signs of life. They flapped, and flapped, flapped faster than the light itself, but I couldn't get myself to go up! I was pinned to the ground! I was pinned by the ground! I saw more salty water on the floor. I couldn't die this way! Not in the middle of a house! How would they explain my body with butterfly wings? How would Bro react? What would my family think? They would worry themselves to death! I couldn't die!!

"Help!" I screamed! "Bro, please, help me! Help!"

They gave no sign of answer! They simply stayed in front of the TV and laughed! They were laughing!

"Please! Someone! Bro, sir, Jonathan! Help! I'm dying! Help!!"

Both of them turned at the same time.

"What was that noise?" Bro said.

"Must be the fridge; it always does that kind of sound when you don't close it properly." The owner replied.

"Oh; sorry, my bad."

"It's all right. I'll go check it."

No! Not the fridge! Help me! ME!! I am dying in front of you and you don't even notice me! Please!!!

"Heahh!!"

I was suddenly taken by a violent shake, and a new feeling inserted itself into my nerves. I felt fabric and warmth. I was in my bed. My left arm was still numb, and I painfully turned around to free it. It had been pinned between the bed and my body.

My body was taken by an usual shiver, and my wings instinctively wrapped themselves as best as they could around me to give me some warmth, but they only managed to touch my shoulders. I was cold, but not sweaty. My bed was dry. It's as if I had been a frozen, dead body during the night.

I got up and went to the skylight window. The moon's position told me it was barely eleven in the evening.

In desperation, I split myself into butterflies and flew around inside my room. For five minutes, I flew this way, making contact with the floor, the walls and the furniture once again, a group of things that had become so alien after my dream.

I gathered myself back together. It had all been a dream. This scene had never happened. Yet, I was still tense. My little butterflight had done nothing to help me out. Yet, my eyes were too tired to try reading a book to help me back to sleep again. Out of solutions, I slipped on a winter nightgown, its fuzziness always comforting to me, and took off a bedsheet to compensate. I flipped my pillow and attempted to sleep again, this time careful not to trap any limbs of mine under my body. Sleep would take a long time to come. It would take a very, very long time. I didn't want to sleep. I was afraid to die all over again. I hope death wasn't really like that. I wouldn't want to die without anyone noticing. Quietly, I told myself that if I were to go down, I would go down in bright red flames. Everyone would know about my death. And I would make sure I would leave my wings in plain view. This way, someone might see it and say "What a sad death for such a beautiful creature."

I was surprised as I felt tears wetting my pillow.

"It isn't so..." I muttered to myself. I wasn't convinced, so I said it again: "It isn't so, Bro... Please, it can't be so..."

What would Maman say?...

[BWS-1]

I think Maman would say you kick ass and you should keep writting. That was good. - My 2 cents -

[Shurikane]

...03



"Where's Tante?"

"I'm outside!!"

If there had to be anything better than life itself, it would be to have breakfast next to her. Tante was the most energetic, funny, worriless member of the family, which might explain why she had those pretty hummingbird wings.

The terrace had for only furniture an old wooden swing chair with even older cushions. On the left side was a tiny walkway to a pair of trees, which housed Bro's little platform and hammock. The walkway was mostly symbolic; we flew whenever we could, even if the hammock was just twelve feet away from the house. As per my expectations, Bro was still asleep. He was immune to the chatter between me and Tante. Call it a superpower if you will, but both of us could still talk clearly even with a big bagel bite in our mouths. Maman, Oncle and the others preferred to eat inside - they were afraid of the mosquitoes. Besides, it was a little hard to keep a cereal bowl steady when sitting down on a swing chair occupied by two slightly hyperactive girls. Heck, we were the only morning persons in the family.

After I finished my bagel, I talked some more with Tante, and then she went inside to get dressed for the day. As for me, I decided to take a little flight to Bro's hammock and wake him up.

The small clock next to his hammock was stopped at exactly four o' clock and fifty-three minutes. His incompetence at maintaining a standard of living amazes me sometimes. He's the only person I know who doesn't wind up his clock at least three times each day. There's four more of the same model inside the house just in case. Since we never go on vacations, the clock always stay on time.

But back to the Bro. Ami and Amiga could say he had a pretty face, but I'd like to hear them say that after I show them his unshaved and slightly twisted version, which spells "Good morning, suckers!" as well as a drunkard about to pass out. Speaking of which, I put down in my little mental agenda to try to find Cous' Heineken stash after lunch. Maybe I could take a sip if there were any bottles left open...

"Gooooood morning, Johnny!" I said in my sweetest - yet loud - voice right next to his ear. Nice start; wrong name already.

He woke up with a start, blinked a few times and set his eyes on me. He didn't seem to have noticed my flub. "Hey S- Sis. What's the time?"

"Eight in the morning. By the way, I threw away your smokes."

False statement, but not for long. My foot had found the pack not-so-nicely hidden under his hammock, and as I spoke, I swiftly pushed it off the platform. Bro, taking the full impact of my statement, almost pushed me off as well.

"You nuts?! I thought I was born with some freedom here!"

"Yep; as long as it remains in the family and among our people." Then, in a whisper: "I'm doing you a favor. Stealing from the wingless is questionable but we appreciate it anyways. But if they find out you're using some of their sickness tools, the whole family's gonna put you in a bag and throw you down the river."

"Come with me."

"No, I'm sta-"

"Come with me." He said in a harsher tone, and grabbed my arm. I broke free of his grasp by splitting into butterflies and taking my shape back again in a matter of seconds, but as soon as I rematerialized, he proceeded to grab again before I could make a move.

"I could do that all day." He snarled. "Now fly, and follow."

Off he went. I had no other choice but to follow him if that was going to help me dissuade him from fooling around too much. Spying on the shop cabin's TV was okay - I mean, only one person sees a winged boy, that doesn't make any proof. But if he blows his cover at Lakeside Cliff, he'll have a lot of explaining to do, both to the winged and the wingless.

Bro landed in a spot I wasn't really familiar with. He chose to stop the flight over a large maple branch, and I sat down besides him.

"Okay, so what do you want to tell me?"

Bro didn't answer just yet. He scratched his chin for a long time, and his eyes went and looked everywhere before his muscles relaxed. He then stared at me as if I was the country's worst traitor. He held that look for at least thirty seconds, and then looked away.

"I'll start you up with some background." He said quietly, still looking around every so often and playing around with his now useless Bic lighter. "You know we're all born with a different pair of wings and a power associated with it. You can split into butterflies, I can thrust myself to twice my normal speed, Maman has an internal magnetic compass, and so on and so forth. And, as you also know, there's a small array of spells you can learn if you look hard enough. The house has two of these books. Together, they're only thick as this." He held up two fingers just a quarter-inch away from each other. "They're not really useful for the most part, but I found something really nice in there and got to master it. It's called a Denial."

My face twisted into a frown. "That doesn't sound very nice."

"Let me finish. This spell allows someone to un-grow his wings, and then re-grow them when the spell is no longer needed. Normally, we don't need any of that, since we always live where other winged people live, but for me, it's a really good bargain. Know why?"

"No." I'm horrible at lying. I really am...

"Think of me, wingless. I look like any other guy in town except that my shirt has two torn openings at the back. Whatever, you know. I look like your average wingless rebel teenager without a cause, so it's normal that I might look and sound somewhat odd. And the cool thing is that I can interact with the wingless at will. I can enter their shops, visit Lakeside; I can do everything I want. And it's only one hour away from there, at least in my case."

"So that's how you got all that stuff!"

"Oh, wait, there's more. I actually have a little bit of money. Wingless money, you know. I'm doing the best of both worlds. I bring back things we don't usually have, and I do it the wingless legal way. No one can scream at me for anything, because all I do is absolutely perfect and within the rules of the art."

"..."

"So, now, do you respect me a little more?"

Deliberation...

"No."

"Okay, and why?"

I took a deep breath. "Do you have an idea why the spell is called this way?"

"Denial? It's traditional stuff; the author being patriotic."

"But do you have any idea of what you're actually doing? I mean, if you were to steal, you'd never bring back that many things. We're the most high-tech winged family in the country! It's like... We're being assimilated!"

Bro sighed in exasperation. "So you're trying to tell me that I am destroying the culture of the oh-boy Winged Ones? Hey, we're all equal here; wings or no wings. Have you ever studied wingless culture?"

"Yesssss..."

"Well, all you've read about was the two World Wars, the Crusades, and the Inquisition. Whenever us winged little gods think earthbound humans, we think 'wars, chaos, disorder, crime, prostitution, idiots!' As if. That's just a tiny, really tiny part of their culture. History is biased. It tells about allied victories and enemy defeats, and that's exactly what you're got that's so stuck into your head."

"Stop making turns."

"Okay. I have applied for a job at Lakeside Cliff; I'll be a helper in the fishing and hunting gear shop. With the money I earn, I will be able to bring back even more wingless culture and nifty inventions that are just as sweet as our own powers. And if the family says no, screw it; I'll just fetch myself an apartment."

Should I tell Bro that he had fallen for complete Denial? He was ready to say no to his wings and say goodbye to his family and culture to settle among the wingless!

I couldn't imagine life without wings. Wings were natural and beautiful; I believe in the ancient story that a group of people, upon committing a grave sin, has burned their wings in the process and were then banned from the world's first village.

And now, those wingless sinners had conquered the entire planet. And they kept on sinning. And they kept on proudly claiming their origins. There was always some guy in a business suit and some other guy with a funny hat, and they called each other an infidel. I knew that, because Bro sometimes brought us an old newspaper.

I couldn't imagine life at some place like Lakeside. Sometimes, I saw airplanes, and they looked awkward to me. Like one, it has a square-like frame and wings on its belly instead of on its back. Or sometimes we see those flying gray arrows passing by at blazing speed, but they were so ugly! They all bore those odd green and brown patters, which looked like a badly painted forest scene of sorts. And the noise, it was horrible!

I silently blessed my wings. They were silent. They were cute, they were beautiful. Never, never in my whole life would I deny my origins. I would hide, I would move away, I would do anything to avoid a scandal, but I would never deny my origins.

And Bro, in my book, was no longer a member of the family.

From now on, I will call him Jonathan.

[Shurikane]

....04



I was feeling happier now. I had been busy flying around in my butterflies form and taking advantage of the good weather. Everything felt good. Who cared about Bro aside from me, huh? Okay, maybe the rest of the family, but I was cleaning my hands off the matter. I had done all I could to reason him and had only ended up hating him. It's not fair to throw away your heritage like that. Why in the world would he want to live with wingless people?



Life would be such a heaven if we all had wings. Instead of doing war, or arguing, or making and destroying countries, we'd be flying! We'd watch each other do cool aerobatic figures, we'd admire the kinds of wings and powers we all had been gifted with. I would finally have someone to translate those Spirou comics for me.



I joined into my natural human form and hovered. Or, more precisely, I just let myself hang like a dead body and let my wings do their job. That was another cute thing about wings: they required very little energy. I could just stay there in that exact spot for the rest of my life, I was certain!... Well, providing I could eat a bagel or a cereal bowl once in a while.



When I came back home, I saw Cous drinking some more of his Heineken. He gave me a quick wave of the hand and I waved back. Cous was a bit like Bro, but he was more discrete and understanding. He knew when to give it a rest. Taken by an impulse, I decided to take off again and land right beside him.



"Hello!" I said cheerily.



"Hey! Nice blue robes you've got there."



"Thanks." I grinned. "I try to make them last as long as possible. That's why I don't wear them a lot."



"Yeah, I noticed you usually took on those rainbow dresses or that white angel skirt you seem to love so much."



I giggled. "That skirt is the most comfortable one in the world! I hope I can get another one when the rest of the family gathers for Christmas."



"Think you can wait four months without ripping this one apart?"



"I'll try!"



Cous finished his bottle and put it back within his hidden stash. There were two six-packs in there, and the first one only held empty bottles.



"Umm... Can I try one?" I asked.



Cous chuckled. "You're not old enough for that stuff, kiddo."



"Please!"



"Nope! Wait a few more years and then I'll let you have some, but for now, this drink is for adults only." He winked. "Besides, I don't get these very often; gotta drink them sparingly!"



"Hmmm... Yes, I guess so. Well, here, if I bring you some more, will you let me drink one?"



Cous sighed and turned around, pondering the idea. Finally, he stared at me straight in the eyes, and then said "Fine, but just a few sips."



"Woo!! Thanks!" I hugged him tight and rushed inside the house.



Maman was in the bedroom. I quickly went into the living room, searched into the library and pulled out the books of magic Bro had told me about. I would hide them under my bed, to keep him from learning more harmful spells in the future.



My strategy was great so far! I could sneak over to Lakeside in my butterfly form and spy on Bro. I really didn't care about him, but his motivation was another matter altogether. I had to find out how exactly he had come to the conclusion that joining the wingless was better than living the way we were supposed to live.



The beer? Bah, little excuse. That was just a way of putting the blame on Cous if anything happened. After all, didn't he "send me to hunt for Heineken beer?"



I suddenly stopped in my tracks and regretted my move. I was the culprit if anything happened, so why did I spontaneously attempt to cover my tracks by using Cous as a cover?...



Call it a message from the heavens, but the words formed a crystal-clear shape in my head: The wingless would give me my answer.

[Shurikane]

.....05



I arrived at Lakeside in my butterflies form to ease my sneaking around. Moving from house to house to locate Bro would be a piece of cake... but Lakeside was composed of over a hundred chalets, houses, shops and motels.

No problem... I began my search on the cliff end, where there didn't seem to be any activity except for a tiny fishing boat on the far side of the lake. Most of the chalets on the cliff side were three stories high. I quickly flew past each window, taking a glance inside whenever I could, and then re-did the procedure twice again. I will spare you the details on the difficulty of precision spotting when working with fifty pairs of faceted eyes.

It was all taking longer than I had expected. The chalets had screens or tinted windows and I had a hard time looking inside. Sometimes, I had to stop and land on a tree to get a clear look at each building.

Then I remembered. Didn't Bro say he was working at a shop? That would get all the chalets and houses out of the way. And he said... Uh... Hunting and fishing I think... Bingo! That's it! Fishing and hunting gear! That would also get a few shops out of the way. I estimated only ten buildings out of a hundred would need a check now. Let's say the chalets were for practice and bonus points...

I flew over the main street and scanned my surroundings. I spotted five possible locations on my first pass: Orvis Fishing Gear, Lakeside Hunter's Shop, Green Roof Inn, Trenton Sport Inc., and Lakeside Cliff Motel, both motels possibly with a shop somewhere. Better yet: all the buildings were next to a bunch of trees or bushes, allowing me to camp there for a few minutes and do a little espionage.

Orvis was a small, square building with a single big window and just a few items here and there, allowing me to see everything inside with no obstruction. There was a gray-haired man inside, reading a book in front of his cash machine. There didn't seem to be any other employee there, so I took off for the next shop.

Lakeside Hunter's was full to the brim with stock, to the point where I had to switch positions several times before getting a look at everything inside at the same time. I saw only three people: a shopper, an employee, and possibly the manager, but still no sign of Bro. I stood still for several minutes just to make sure and then headed for Trenton Sport Inc.

Trenton was a medium shop and not too cluttered, so I had a great look on whatever was happening inside. In there too, I could see an employee talking with a customer.

"So, how much did the beer cost?"

Aiee!! Where the heck did he come from?!

My quick look didn't bring me anything; Cous was using his power of invisibility. I unfortunately couldn't speak back in this form.

We had to find some safe ground to talk. I flew away, and Cous followed me as expected. I found a spot in the cliff that was hidden from indiscrete looks, and took my human shape. Just to make sure, I hugged myself with my wings and leaned against the rock to make it look like they were part of my clothes. Cous chose to stay cloaked; his cardinal wings were way too obvious.

"What's wrong?!" I whispered.

"Think I'm stupid enough to believe you will go blow your cover at Lakeside just to fetch me a case of beer? I knew right from the start you wanted to know what Bro was up to. We knew each other pretty well, all you had to do as ask instead of trying to sneak your way in all by yourself."

"Okay, okay, so I'm stupid." I took a deep breath. "So why are you here? You want to pull me back home?"

"Nope. I just want to tell you you're taking unnecessary risks. So what if Bro wants to have a job among the wingless? Tante and I both know he was going to do it one day or another. Actually, Maman is the only clueless one in this whole affair. She's as nasty as you are when it comes to traditions."

"Is it too much to ask to give some respect to your kin by staying with them and not denying your wings and your powers?!"

"Amazingly enough, yes."

Damn!!

Okay, gotta think. Gotta really think... "This is what destroys our people. Assimilation." I said. "We're beating eaten away by the wingless populace."

"I know. But what are you going to do? Declare a holy war? Yes, us magical winged people will eventually disappear. Dr. Padre had done some research and had found out wings are very recessive genes. So if Bro marries a wingless girl, they'll give birth to a perfectly normal little kid free of all suspicions."

"Your point being...?"

"It was bound to happen someday. And, we can't live secluded like that forever. The wingless are taking up a lot of space. If we come out of the closet, we'll become the pray of researchers, tabloids, paparazzis, other medias, and lose all privacy we might have. Our fate is to progressively use the spell of Denial, one by one, until our race disappears. It can't be any other way."

"Well, I won't let it happen!!" I screamed.

Cous chuckled. "Listen, Sis. Start caring about your own self and stop worrying about the future. Be glad you were born with wings and a magical gift. Enjoy your life. Enjoy every second of it, because your grandsons and granddaughters won't get to enjoy what you and I have. Let Bro do his own thing. If he's happy, then everything's fine. If you want to have kids with another winged guy, fine too. Do whatever floats your boat, but don't sink someone else's while doing it."

"I'm going to see Bro." And I took off.

I had no idea if Cous was following or not but I didn't care. First, I needed a cloak. I sneaked inside the third floor of a chalet by an open window and ended up in a dusty and old bedroom. Seeing a black cotton cloth on one of the chairs, I took my human form again and grabbed it. Then, I took a look outside to see if anyone was looking, and glided down the chalet. I then put on the coat and buttoned it. My wings were too weak to take their natural position under that pressure. The cover was perfect. I would walk the way to the shop back.

This gave me a chance to check out the wingless architecture. Here, it was mostly composed of wooden houses, log cabins, and brick houses. Lakeside Cliff was a pretty old town as far as I knew, and there was little activity there. Besides, the wingless liked to keep the old-fashioned look of forest towns like this one.

There it was. Trenton Sport Inc. I'd do the rest of the shops by foot. At least now I could get inside and look around much more easily. Why didn't I think of that in the first place!

"Excuse me sir," I said to the cashier. "Is Jonathan here?"

"Yep, right in the backstore. He should be out any minute."

"Hey!" Bro had noticed me from there. "What can I do for you? Please, come here."

I preferred to stay in the doorframe but he didn't leave me the chance. I was immediately pulled in and Bro closed the door behind him.

"You'd better explain this one." He snarled while leaning against the door.

"I'm threatening my own cover just to come here and reason you. Doesn't that give you an idea of how much I want you to stay away from them?"

"My life is my own! You have no business in it. Oh, and if you come here again, Cous will pull you back by force."

"He's in on it?!"

"I told him personally. 'Hey, if Sis points her nose through the shop's door, break both of her arms.' Have some tolerance, Jesus." With that, he put a hand on my shoulder and opened the door. "I know, these have a tendency to break quite often. But if you could bring it here, I'll see what I can do."

"Okay, thank you." Forced to play his game now. He had planned it all from the start, I was sure!

I turned around and suddenly bumped into something. I heard the sound of someone falling, and it's then that Cous lost his concentration.

For two seconds, there was a teenager with cardinal wings in the middle of a shop.

"Shit!!" He said before disappearing again.

Too late. The manager and one customer had seen him.

[Shurikane]

......06



For a moment, we all stood there, not saying or thinking a single word. We had seen him. I had. Bro had. The customers had. The boss had. The two customers crosschecked their stories. Both versions were the same.



They had seen a young man with a pair of cardinal wings on his back.



Seen a young man with a pair of wings on his back.



A young man with a pair of wings.



A man with wings.



A winged man.



Wings...



They asked the boss. He gave his version of the facts, and he had seen the wings. Not wanting to look like an idiot, Bro said he had seen him too. When everyone asked me, I had to force myself to say I had seen him. My eyes were gradually filling with tears for a reason I didn't quite know. When they asked my reason for crying, I answered that I was in shock.



They bought it. But that didn't solve my crying problem.



I went out of the shop without saying anything more. On the other side of the street, a bearded hunter noticed my bare feet dragging on the asphalt of the parking lot. He saw my glassy eyes, my empty stare, the corners of my mouth slowly dropping to form my sadness. I sat on the sidewalk and buried my face into my hands for a minute. I couldn't think. Everything had happened too quickly. Cous would make the news tomorrow. My mind's eye could see the newspaper article already. "I saw winged people, and they like Heineken beer!"



What to do, what to do, what to do!...



Stuck with nothing else to do, I walked back to the chalet on the side of the cliff. Seeing nobody around, I took off the cloth I had borrowed a while ago, wrapped it around a small rock to give it some weight, and threw the package back into the room on the third floor.



*Bonk!*



Then, I split into butterflies and took off.



I wandered in the forest for a few hours. I let my fifty bodies get tossed around by the passing breeze, and easily gained at least two thousand feet of altitude without moving a muscle. Was Cous following? I realized I didn't care. I had lost my ability to think the second he had lost his own invisibility, even if temporarily.



Maybe I was brain-dead because I knew a winged fellow had blown his cover and let his existence known to the rest of the world. Soon, people would start looking for us. We'd be captured into nets and brought to labs. Scientists would take off bits and pieces of our precious wings to find out how we had gained them. There would be religious cults and religious wars. We'd be taken for angels and demons at the same time. Wingless people would kill each other just to prove their point about us. And we'd stand there and die, forever condemned to go through our existence while looking through windows and test tubes.



How grim my eyes must have been while I was thinking all that. My butterflies would have been looking very sad indeed. Maybe I am the only one to know butterflies can express sadness so easily... Or maybe then, I might just be really good at knowing butterfly emotions. After all, I am a bunch of them myself.



What's my altitude now? Three thousand feet?... I'm skirting the cloud base. I usually don't like going into clouds because of airplanes - as few as there are in this region - and my instincts tell me to converge into my normal self and take a drop back to a safer height.



I just realized I have been rambling in my head without really doing anything about it. I also found out I was right over the shop cabin. How did I get there so fast?...



Oh, to hell with it. I landed on the roof and thought... While trying to get Bro's beliefs straight, I happened to endanger another person who wasn't even part of my operation. So just by bumping into him, I had done something wrong to the wrong person! Cous probably wants to kill me now. What's worse than being killed by a passing airplane or by gunshot is being killed by a fellow winged person. Winged ones know exactly where our pain sensors are, and that's why Bro can basically do anything to me just by squeezing my delicate wings.



Well, what's done is done. I had to seek help, but I couldn't tell the story to Maman or Tante; they would go ballistic!!



Who else then?...



Looking down, I found a potential helper. Alone in the middle of the forest, the shop owner must be looking for friends to talk to.



But my wings...



Reluctantly, I flew back home, sneaked into my room and opened one of the books of magic I had hidden under my bed - if you remember. There, I located the spell of Denial. All I had to do was memorize a short poem, and complete the spell by visualizing my wings shrinking into my body. To grow them back, repeat the poem - thinking it is good enough - and visualize the growing process. So simple it hurt. Spellwriters shouldn't make things so easy, especially in the case of this one particular spell.



But, too late to worry about my ancestors. I looked around - where in the world is Maman?! I'd feel safer sneaking around in her presence - and flew back to the shop cabin.



There, I sat on the side of the building, and thought of the words, careful to separate the syllables well in my mental speech.



For one full moment

I demand a change on the best

For one full moment

I will become a mess



The mess that is a wingless

The wingless are a mess



For one full moment

I sacrifice my wings for the needed cause

For one full moment

I will deny my origins for one full pause



Thank you

Thank you



I rushed through the visualization process to ease the pain that my sole thought caused, but it worked anyways. I ran my hands over my back. All I could feel was skin. The only hints of my wings were the two slits in the back of my robes. Until a moment of my choice, I would be part of the wingless.



I took a deep breath and walked over to the entrance. I knocked, and took a deeper breath. Then an even deeper one. My stress was extreme. I was finally resorting to use the spell of Denial. Worse yet: I was seeking council from a wingless man who probably didn't know more than what was around his shop.



I suddenly realized the futility of my action, the stupidity that caused me to think too quickly for my own good, but it was too late. The shop owner opened the door. I could hear the sounds of a sitcom going on in his living room. The man himself was a bit overweight, and his face was covered by a curly dark brown - almost black beard.



I must've been looking like an angel. Him and his forest shirt. Me and my set of robes.



Gulp. I regret my knocking so much. And he was, door opened in front of me now.



"Hi!" We both said at the same time.



We both felt uneasy. It was now or never. I opened my mouth once again.



"Sir, I'd like to talk to you about something."

[Shurikane]

.......07



Things started off better than I had thought. He kindly invited me in and offered me a cup of hot chocolate. Then, we headed for the living room.



That 70's Show was playing once again, and Jackie was in the spotlight for that scene. Feeling rather uneasy about this, I hit the first button on the remote and the picture changed to something else. I was looking at the presentation screen of 3rd Rock From The Sun.



The shop owner was looking at me now. I gulped my burning hot chocolate to give me some courage and told him if he knew a so-called Jonathan...



"Yep." He answered without hesitation. "I know who he is."



"Well... I'm his sister."



"Oh! Yes, he told be about you."



"Did he say good things?"



"...As well!"



We both giggled. I had to admit, the man was better in personality than in looks.



"I have a really big problem." I continued. "It's about him and my family. Thing is... He does things the rest of us don't like. I won't dare mention what exactly, but it basically goes against our pride, our origins and our traditions."



"That's today's teenagers!" The owner interrupted. "I know about that; they tell about it once in a while on the news. Lots of kids and teens decide to go their own way without wondering about what their parents are thinking. Some of those kids even send their own parents to hell, as far as I've heard?"



"Are you a father?"



"No, but my brother is. He comes in here once in a while. His boy's a real pest."



"And what about girls?"



"Same thing. I remember getting a visit one month ago from a hunting couple and two friends. That couple also brought their daughter, tons of makeup, black clothes, fishnet stockings, dark red lipstick, almost never spoke. She was scary like the devil. Sure, when she said things she sounded like any other girl, but that's if you had your back turned at her and hadn't seen her. Now you turn around and notice what's speaking to you. Ouch, where did that monster come from, you know?"



Something had caught my attention in his speech... "You say... If you didn't see her, she sounded just like anybody?"



"Yep. It's usually the way with girls. Boys, they all dress the same but some curse a lot more than others. Once went to the city to visit my brother and I overhead a punk saying to his friend as he was about to enter the bus: 'You gettin' on this shit?' I mean, come on. I'm a hunting enthusiast with no education and even I have more manners than they do!"



I smirked. "You know, it's odd that you say this because before seeing you I thought you were just some fat random old guy... I'm sorry about that."



"You are pardoned." He grinned. "More hot chocolate?"



"Sure!"



He took my cup and went to refill the boiler. In the meantime, I fiddled with the remote control to try to shut off the machine completely. I saw something with an arrow pointing down, so I assumed that was it. All I did was turn the sound down, but that satisfied me. When the owner came back, he turned the volume back up and we sat silent for the antics of Dick, Mary, Sally, Tommy, Harry and the rest of the 3rd Rock gang. Afterwards it was Hollywood Squares, with this smart tic-tac-toe concept and this odd girl with funny-looking glasses. Then came The Simpsons. I think I understood this show the least of all three. Maybe because it was less stuck on realism and I wasn't expecting it. But then, watching the pictures on this machine was already a sweet thing. I think I could just sit there for hours and watch all those programs. However, when I looked to my left, I noticed the window was black; it was already night time.



"So what should I do about my brother?" I said after the end of The Simpsons. "It's very unsettling for the family. My mom isn't even speaking to him anymore."



"Did he tell you what he was doing?"



"Not to the family, but I know he does drink beer, smoke cigarettes and work at a sports shop."



"So what's wrong with that?"



"Well, first off, alcohol is formally forbidden in the family. It's because one close member killed himself after getting drunk; he fell from a tree. And then there's smoking. We all fear it's going to change the color of Jon's uh, teeth. As for the work, it's not really the worst but we expected him to work at home and helping us instead... Well... That's... No, wait, let me restart. What really bothers us is that he lies! Everytime he goes to Lakeside, he says he comes from such-and-such a city, and we don't even know where that place is! He lied about his family, he lied about his qualities, he basically became another person as soon as he got to Lakeside! His name isn't even Jonathan, darn it!!"



I spoke too fast. The owner's eyes widened in surprise. That last sentence had caught him off-guard.



"What is it then?" He asked in a barely audible voice.



"...Ben."



"Funny; that's my name too!... But, in all due honesty, I don't think you're asking the right person. What could I do about this? I don't have any kids, and I only see Jon - I mean, Ben - once in a while. So I really don't know how to help you out. There's tons of ways to go about it, and I don't know which one applies to you."



"You sure you can't suggest anything?..."



"Well, the best I can say is to let him go. Sooner or later he'll realize the consequences of his actions and straighten himself up."



Let him go?! That fueled my anger. I was about to retort a stupidity when I heard a loud branch crack outside.



We both froze in place. Ben reached for his shotgun and grabbed a black device inside a drawer.



"Must be just a little animal, but I'd better check."



I hurried outside after him to sneak a peek, but there was no one in sight. For a moment I thought Maman had found me. But the darkness was even more unnerving. Good or bad, show yourself up, but show yourself up now!"



"Here, you hold this." Ben handed me the black device. "Come on, turn it on!"



I looked the device over, located a big yellow spot and pushed on it. A bright light ray came out of it, catching me by surprise and almost making me drop it on the ground.



I gave a little smile to Ben to let him know I was okay, and we proceeded onward.



We heard another odd sound, this one coming from the north. We thus walked a bit of distance until we reached the Clear Trail, checked the other edge of it, and stopped. We were about to turn around when I noticed something weird half-hidden in the earth. Digging it up, I uncovered a rusty metal container.



"Oh... It's just a gas can." Ben said after a quick examination.



"There you are!!"



I looked up and found myself looking at a torch... And at Maman holding it.



"What are you doing here at this hour? I was so worried about you!"



"Who's there?"



Ben suddenly turned around and pointed his light beam at Maman. Both of them froze in place, jaw down and eyes wide. For the first time, Ben was meeting the winged. For the first time also, Maman was meeting the wingless.



"What are you?!" He exclaimed as he passed his light over her wings. "Some kind of angel?"



"Sis, why were you with this man? Speak up!!" Maman wasn't even considering Ben's presence. And now that she had pointed out that I knew her, my cover was blown. Ben was looking at me, waiting for answers.



"Sorry Ben, I didn't tell all the truth." My eyes went down in shame, and I chose that moment to cancel the spell of Denial. My butterfly wings came back to life in their full glory. The scene wasn't glorious, however. The scene smelled gas. Maman was about to explode.



And then, to my great concern, I saw everyone else. Cous, Tante, Ami and Amiga, they had all been looking for me!



What time is it... Did I stay at Ben's shop longer than I had thought?



"You guys sure make one funny sitcom." Bro suddenly stepped out of the dark, hands in his pockets but wings akimbo. "Heya Ben."



"Hey, uhh, Jon..." Ben was out of words. The ultimate culture shock.



Bro grinned. "So, who's going to chew me out first? Sis or Maman?"



"I will." I announced. "I'm going to tell."



"Tell what? That I'm working at the sports shop? That I've been hanging around with wingless people? That I'm smoking cigarettes and drinking booze? What's your problem with that? Do you guys have a problem with that?" Of course, he'd get the advantage because Ami, Amiga, Tante and Cous wouldn't say anything, but what astonished me was Maman. She didn't say word. I don't think she was even breathing. She was leaving me on my own! Satisfied, Bro went towards me. "They don't. So why should you, Sis? I'm bringing you guys materials, comfortable things like clothes and stuff. Back then I used to say I stole them. You guys didn't like me doing it but you sure used the stuff I gave you! Besides, don't I have the freedom to live my own life? Don't I have the right to say 'I wanna do this' and do it? I don't barge into your life and telling you what to do, Sis, so why should you do that to me?"



Arguments. No hammers, but still arguments. I still had a chance to convince him.



"What do you do with your wings? We're all proud of our wings in the family, and you know as much as I do that wingless spend their time fighting each other--"



"I'm stopping you here." Bro snapped. "I've seen wingless people, and I've talked with them, and I've seen some really cool guys among them. So don't tell me who's good and who's evil in here. I read some newspaper. You know where the nearest war is? Several thousands of miles away. You don't know jack about the wingless. This is a true fact here: they are just as good as we are."



"Damn straight." I heard Ben mutter. I gave him a hard look, convincing him to stop whatever else he was about to say. I turned around again to face Bro.



"What will you do when you get kids? You'll tell them to keep their wings to themselves? Or maybe they'll have no wings at all! If everyone does like you, our race will get assimilated!



"Pff, après moi, le déluge!"



"Not true. I won't let it happen. I saw the family books. One hundred years ago, there were twice as many winged people as there are now! I don't want us to disappear! I consider those wings a great gift and I want my children to enjoy them, and then my grandchildren, and then my grand-grandchildren! I want to give the wing population a boost!"



"You know what that is?" Bro had just lighted a cigarette and was pointing its burning end at me. "It's called racism and extremism. I accept the wingless the way they are, and so should you. People are born beautiful or ugly, but they're still people. Do you discriminate when your black uncle comes in for a visit?"



"That's not the same thing!"



"Yes it is. Sis, take that story into account: people find you. They stick you in a lab and you are stuck there until you die. The world's population is growing. It's only a matter of time before the winged get their covers blown. So why bother? I'll enjoy my life and then I'll die, it doesn't get any simpler. I don't want to paranoy about assimilation like you do."



"At least I care about my future." I picked up the gas can. "See this? That's what's happening to us winged people. Everything's getting uglier because we don't care about ourselves. And one day it'll all blow up, like this." With that, I threw the can at the nearest tree.

---

Ben had suddenly pulled me back but it was too late; my robes had caught fire and I couldn't do anything to stop it now. I looked back and saw the entire family on fire, with Bro's cigarette somewhere on the ground and all the trees around them catching on and gradually taking a red glow. The fire was growing too rapidly.



I screamed to my family and everyone screamed back, but they couldn't get to me. They were blind, in pain, doubling over and slowly melting away before my eyes. I fought to get out of Ben's grip but the man's strength was beyond even my imagination.



"RUN!!! RUN, DAMN YOU!!"



His order made my brain click and I turned heels to follow him out. My tears were blocking my view and I held on to his shirt to know where I was going. I tripped often, on rocks, pieces of hard grass, or on the inch-wide river. He led me to where the water was higher and wider to allow me to extinguish before it was too late, but I was already a human torch. My robes were almost gone, and I briefly looked down to see my legs taking odd color patterns. A tear falling on one of my burns suddenly made me gasp in pain.



"Faster!!" I pleaded. "Faster!!!"



Ben was out of breath. He looked at me for a second and ordered me to take off my robes. I only understood why later, but my blurry mind went ahead. With a speed breathtaking in normal circumstances but still to slow for my panicking state, I tore and tossed my burning clothes away, but I felt an even greater pain on my back.



"It's too late!" I heard Ben exclaim a split-second before I got the final shot. My hands reached around my body in a reflex and I shrieked until my throat hurt. And even then, I couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel anything else, except that the fire had reached the roots of my wings. My back was now adorned with two glowing bands of sizzling skin. My legs lost all strength. I fell to the ground, crying and crying, hugging Ben in desperation, laying all my tears on him. All he could do was caress my head and wait for it to be all over.



I don't know how much I cried... But I know I fell unconscious before stopping.

[Shurikane]

Epilogue



My alarm clock rang seven o' clock and I sat bolt upright on my bed, ready to tackle on another day. I opened the blinds and the window to allow some fresh light and air in, along with the sound of dozens of passing cars, and went to the kitchen to heat up my cup of coffee.



While waiting for my drink to get hot, I prepared myself a bowl of Froot Loops and turned the radio on to hear the latest traffic report. It didn't really concern me since I went to work by boot, but that was the only decent station around here. Afterwards, the radio guys passed on to the local news and then to Evanescence's latest hit. Man, I really didn't want to wake up to the sound of hard rock... It's just not right. Anyways. After my bowl, I took the cup, drank the coffee like a shooter, undressed and went into the shower.



The cool water satisfied me. It was already seventy-five degrees outside and I had to get some heat off my body; quite ironic to say after a cup of coffee.



I dried, brushed my hair, brushed my teeth, and then hung the towel on the door hook. Afterwards, I gazed at the mirror. My body was in good shape, my burn marks had pretty much disappeared except for the ones on my back, and my wings were colorful as ever.



Yes, my wings had grown back. It had taken four weeks for them to do so. Now, they're surrounded at the root by a line of brown and black, but that's about it. I had to admit, it was still a little painful when I slept on my back. And since this was my favorite sleeping position, I took an Advil every evening and that did the job most of the time.



Bro had won all right. He had won in a dirty way, but he had won anyways. The Lakeside forest fire had been spectacular, but nothing had been destroyed except Ben's shop cabin. Ben told me he had carried me to Lakeside while I was unconscious and claimed a family campfire had gone out of control and I was the only survivor. When the firefighters told him there had been traces of gas at the starting spot, Ben just shrugged and said he only saw the fire once it was next to his home. When I felt okay again, he drove me to his brother's place, who found me a little spot and a job. I never heard of my family ever again.



I put on my skirt and routinely muttered the words as I buttoned my shirt...



For one full moment

I demand a change on the best

For one full moment

I will become a mess



The mess that is a wingless

The wingless are a mess



For one full moment

I sacrifice my wings for the needed cause

For one full moment

I will deny my origins for one full pause



Thank you

Thank you



And now to go to work...



That was my story...



---Sis, the once Furious Butterfly

[BWS-1]

Wow ... now THAT's an update!

*starts reading it over again to the end