Could it have been a mass suicide attempt? Or, perhaps a sudden storm was the cause. The little boy and his mother had first noticed them, wearing their orange and black, floating on their sides just out of reach of the shore. Other lifeless bodies littered the beach.

It was an odd feeling floating on my side, unable to right myself. The sun warmed me from above, but at the same time I felt cooled by the water below. I liked the feeling of floating, so unfamiliar to me. Somewhere in my dreamtime I have a memory of being wet like this. It had seemed to take forever to dry off, while I stretched and tried to straighten myself out. 

The woman cupped her hands beneath the first one she could reach, and lifted him gently, letting the water drain from his limp body. The little boy blew gently on the lifeless form, holding him up for the breeze to help dry and revive him. It seemed a hopeless cause. The poor thing just lay there, so young and beautiful and helpless. The mother told the child it was time to go, but they just couldn’t bring themselves to leave the victim there on the beach, so they cradled him gently as they made their way home.

When I first came to my senses, I knew I was being transported. I heard loving voices and felt cool breezes. I was no longer trapped by the tide, and though I could now move my legs, I hadn’t the strength to get up. Somehow I felt safer now, with a sense of peace and hopefulness.

On the way home the survivor started to stir and made a few feeble attempts to get up, but finally seemed to relax as his rescuers talked to him gently and tried to reassure him that he would be all right. The boy’s grandparents waiting for them at home were sorry to hear of the tragedy on the beach. They suggested that the patient might be hungry, and set about making an elixir of quince jelly mixed with water.

Bye and bye, when I was able to get up, they offered me a dish of some sort of sweet soup. I was ravenous as I sucked up that heavenly nectar. After supper my hosts entertained themselves by posing for photos with me. With my belly full, I spent a restful night. By morning I was getting around on my own much to the delight of my new friends. They took me outside onto the balcony and bid me farewell. I spread my wings and took to the air. No butterfly was ever more grateful to flutter bye-bye.

By Catherine Sarwar and her dad, RD Jessee