Butterfly Wings

Becoming oneself

Once Gail decided to become visible, she threw herself into the project.

She didn’t simply wear a skirt that revealed that her legs existed or button up a brightly colored blouse; she adorned her usually expressionless face with a dazzling butterfly smile.

Entering the office building turned out to be quite an adventure.

The people inside scurried about with their menial everyday tasks whining for attention. A few glanced up and seemed to register her presence. A few papers fluttered.

She smiled. The paper fluttering became seizures. One person decided to move closer to question this vision. “Gail? Is that you?”

She inclined her head slightly, letting her unbound hair slide forward. “Yes?” Half question, half answer.

The paper carriers rustled away, slightly disturbed by this interruption to their routines. Gail sighed and continued her journey to her work floor by riding the elevator.

A woman, hair pulled into a severe bun of conservativeness, stiffly occupied part of the elevator. Gail filled the other space. And then she spoke.

“Why do people never talk on elevators?”

The woman edged away, her personal bubble’s dignity affronted. Gail shrugged mentally and exited at her floor.

The usual office work was happening here too, the way it had for the past 20 years. Gail followed the pilgrim trail destined for the treasure of the humming caffeine machine.

She drank her coffee, customized with creme and sugar. She sipped patiently, watching the door pointedly instead of casually whisking her eyes past it at the crucial moment.

Right on time, Heinz whished through the doorway, focused at his quest. He took his coffee, black unadulterated by any other substance, and gulped it down fast.

Gail laughed softly into her mug.

His eyes peered at her, puzzled by this breach of routine.

An answering eyebrow rose.

His mug lowered. “What’s so funny?” he demanded.

Gail dabbed at her lips with a napkin. “Just your enthusiasm, Ketchup.”

Heinz’s mouth gaped. “Ketchup?”

She smiled, butterfly wings carrying her words to his ears. “It’s what I call you in my mind, silly.”

Off balance by this unexpected sentence, he set his prized coffee mug on the break room countertop. He rubbed his brow. “Wait, you’re Gail, right?”

She nodded pleasantly.

“Uh…are you being serious right now?”

She nodded agreeably.

“…Please continue your strange new speech,” he finished, unable to think of anything else to say.

“Certainly.” She, too, set down her mug and stepped forward. “How come when we are in this same room, just us two, not one greeting has been exchanged? For about five months?” Her bright smile dimmed a bit, burdened by this question waiting so long to be released.

Heinz’s mouth gaped. Gail’s smile blinked out, replaced by a still unfamiliar questioning intensity.

“Why, I don’t know. It’s…habit.”

“Habit not to even speak when all people seem to do is revel in the sound of their own uninterrupted voice?”

“I’ll say hello if you want,” he answered, sounding a bit desperate. He’d just come in expecting coffee. “I don’t even particularly like the sound of my spoken thoughts.”

Heinz’s awkward tries to participate in this new scene had success. Gail’s face brightened and her butterfly smile returned. “I don’t really care for mine, either.”

Heinz remained silent, unsure of how to respond. Gail walked closer, gently raised his coffee cup and placed it between his hands. She quietly captured his eyes and shared, with lowered voice, her opinion:

“Your thoughts, Ketchup, are not delivered badly. In fact, I find them spectacular.”

Heinz gripped the fragile porcelain to prevent a crashing accident. Eyes widened, he whispered “Thank you”.

Gail reclaimed her own mug and went to exit this strange scene. “You’re welcome! Those are the magic words.” And off Gail went to continue creating a new day.

“Spectacular,” he reflected aloud. That was nice.

And then he realized the cracked clock on the wall was telling him he was almost late for a meeting.

Heinz tried to grumble angrily about the break room delay but he couldn’t stop thinking about the word “Spectacular”.

What a strange day.