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His eyes shut tight, within the tiny tapestry of it’s wings he could envision TEN OR MORE ACRES OF BEAUTIFUL, TRANQUIL, PEACEFUL LAND, WHICH PERFECTLY SUITED HIS DREAM LIFE, AND INTO WHICH HE FIT PERFECTLY, LIKE A WARM BLANKET, A WARM HUG – A HOME. HE SAW A BEAUTIFUL, RUSTIC, LARGE, OPEN BUILDING, INSIDE OF WHICH HE COULD CREATE, WORK, CLEAN, COOK, SLEEP AND ENJOY THE PEACE OF THE MUNDANE. HE SAW A SOUTH-FACING SLOPE, UPON WHICH GREW A WONDERFULLY ABUNDANT GARDEN. HE SAW A GROVE OF BIRCH, SUGAR MAPLE, CONIFERS, SASSAFRAS, OAK, FRUIT AND NUT TREES TO HARVEST FROM, AND THROUGHOUT WHICH HIS ANIMALS COULD PLAY. HE COULD SEE MONEY AND RESOURCES, THE LIKES OF WHICH WOULD ALLOW HIM TO FREELY AND EXCITEDLY TRANSFORM THIS LAND THAT HE SAW INTO HIS HOME. BEN COULD SEE A GENEROUS INCOME BEING RECEIVED FROM THE GOODS AND PRODUCE, THE FOOD, THE ART AND THE WRITING THAT WOULD SPRING FORTH FROM THIS PAINTED LANDSCAPE. AND THEN HE SAW, PAINTED ON THE OTHER WING OF THE BUTTERFLY, A PAIR OF EYES, WHICH SEEMED TO PEER THROUGH HIS OWN SOUL. A WOMAN, BEAUTIFUL, SENSUAL, STUNNING, WHO ENJOYED AND CHERISHED EVERY ASPECT OF HIS BEING, JUST AS HE DID HERS. AND DRAWN NEXT TO AND ALL AROUND THESE EYES WAS THE MOST THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DEPICTION OF ALL: BENJAMIN’S FAMILY, AND FRIENDS NEW AND OLD, ALL SAVORING A MOMENT OF PEACE AND KINSHIP TOGETHER – A WARM SUMMER EVENING, SEATED OUTSIDE OF THE RUSTIC BUILDING BENEATH THE DANGLING FESTOON LIGHTS, SHARING AND ENJOYING THE WEALTH AND ABUNDANCE OF THIS PLACE.
Instinctively, with his eyes still closed, BENJAMIN lunged for the butterfly with his left hand. He could suddenly no longer make out the imagery painted on its wings, which was blurred by it’s disjointed, evasive reaction. But it didn’t matter to BENJAMIN – he now wanted to catch the butterfly itself, not simply the images on its wings.
Another hot/icy breath enveloped BEN’s face. With his hand still outstretched, he paused – then he inhaled and retracted his arm, remembering one particular lesson which he had already learned before.
The butterfly flitted about wildly, but eventually did calm its movements – though it made certain to always keep an arm’s length away from BENJAMIN. Slowly and calmly, after having breathed deep several times, BEN outstretched his flat, open palm. Within merely a few seconds, he saw – in his mind’s eye – the butterfly swoop down and land gracefully onto the tips of his fingers. He could feel its delicate feet, gently dancing across his skin, swaying in the breezy breath of the beast.
BEN finally opened his eyes and looked down. There was no butterfly. Rather, the tingling which he felt on his fingertips was from the tiny feet of a little, green aphid, dancing about. BEN smiled, keeping his palm outstretched for it, as its dance floor.
