became darker, the temperature began to drop, so Lauren wandered back into a section of the forest that the tarp still covered. She found a huge tree with a large exposed cavity, and crawled into it, with her dead tree staff.
Deep sleep came quickly. And with it, dreams. She was sitting on a stump, in the middle of a clearing, a cloudless blue sky above. The forest that surrounded her was vibrant with colors, bright flowers, tree leaves that seemed to glow. Everything was so intense, the smell, the air, the feeling of being alive. As Lauren sat there, large white wispy butterflies surrounded her. Inside the dream, she dreamt the story that her mother had told her, saw her mother pointing in the dream, “Lauren, look at the butterfly.” Lauren saw her young self reply, “Mommy, butter can’t fly.”
As Lauren watched, more and more butterflies landed on branches, flowers, grass, and the stumps in front of her. Quite often, one would fly over to another, rub their antennas together, then go and visit another. She slowly turned around on the stump, and saw that they outnumbered her, as there were hundreds. Lauren smiled as she watched the wispy insects form into groups, break apart, and then make new groups. It was magical. Then slowly, they started to fly away, all but twelve, which made her sad. Throughout the dream, the butterflies had all been white. As she looked at the remaining twelve, they started to change color. But not solid colors, each one displayed dozens of changing hues and shades. Then one came over, wrapped itself around Lauren, and then slowly the other ten embraced her, the last one being reluctant, but eventually joined in the embrace.
* * * * * * *
All night long Logan tossed and turned. Sure, he had seen Lauren upset before, but it was usually because he had caused it. Yesterday and last night was different. He had only seen his sister this upset once before, when she had first blamed Ryan for Samantha’s death. Those were brutal weeks. Considering the circumstances, most of their family and friends went through the five stages of grief relatively quick, except for Lauren. The funeral put an end to any arguments of denial she may have harbored, but it opened up to a sea of anger. Over the last two years, that storm had lost most of its energy, but small parts of it still remained deep inside of her. Say the wrong thing, those icy gale force winds that fueled her anger would renew themselves in seconds, which Logan had learned the hard way a year ago. While he could still pull Lauren’s strings, he now knew better than to use their dead sister’s name in jest. While counselling had helped her to get in and out of the different grief stages, Lauren had always rejected the notion of acceptance. Instead, she adopted a simple philosophy, as long as she never forgot about Samantha, then her sister would always be with her.
When Logan finally sat up, it was barely light, and he was hoping to see Lauren somewhere in their little camp. But when he realized she had not returned, he headed into the forest. He thought about calling her name, but was afraid that she might go into hiding, ashamed at what had happened the day before. Logan followed the game trail until he came to the wider path, but instead of turning left as Lauren had, he turned right. With the dark tarp overhead restricting the light, the dried branches and leaves crackling under his boots, visions of zombies, vampires, and aliens soon formed in his mind. Every ten minutes, he would stop and listen as he followed the winding path through the dead forest, but he heard no sounds from his sister. He had been walking for about an hour, growing more worried about Lauren, when he thought about turning around to check the other end of the forest. Then a bend in the path ahead showed a large clearing with several large bench-sized stones, and Logan proceeded with caution, until he could see the entire space. A dozen large stones, each about
Deep sleep came quickly. And with it, dreams. She was sitting on a stump, in the middle of a clearing, a cloudless blue sky above. The forest that surrounded her was vibrant with colors, bright flowers, tree leaves that seemed to glow. Everything was so intense, the smell, the air, the feeling of being alive. As Lauren sat there, large white wispy butterflies surrounded her. Inside the dream, she dreamt the story that her mother had told her, saw her mother pointing in the dream, “Lauren, look at the butterfly.” Lauren saw her young self reply, “Mommy, butter can’t fly.”
As Lauren watched, more and more butterflies landed on branches, flowers, grass, and the stumps in front of her. Quite often, one would fly over to another, rub their antennas together, then go and visit another. She slowly turned around on the stump, and saw that they outnumbered her, as there were hundreds. Lauren smiled as she watched the wispy insects form into groups, break apart, and then make new groups. It was magical. Then slowly, they started to fly away, all but twelve, which made her sad. Throughout the dream, the butterflies had all been white. As she looked at the remaining twelve, they started to change color. But not solid colors, each one displayed dozens of changing hues and shades. Then one came over, wrapped itself around Lauren, and then slowly the other ten embraced her, the last one being reluctant, but eventually joined in the embrace.
* * * * * * *
All night long Logan tossed and turned. Sure, he had seen Lauren upset before, but it was usually because he had caused it. Yesterday and last night was different. He had only seen his sister this upset once before, when she had first blamed Ryan for Samantha’s death. Those were brutal weeks. Considering the circumstances, most of their family and friends went through the five stages of grief relatively quick, except for Lauren. The funeral put an end to any arguments of denial she may have harbored, but it opened up to a sea of anger. Over the last two years, that storm had lost most of its energy, but small parts of it still remained deep inside of her. Say the wrong thing, those icy gale force winds that fueled her anger would renew themselves in seconds, which Logan had learned the hard way a year ago. While he could still pull Lauren’s strings, he now knew better than to use their dead sister’s name in jest. While counselling had helped her to get in and out of the different grief stages, Lauren had always rejected the notion of acceptance. Instead, she adopted a simple philosophy, as long as she never forgot about Samantha, then her sister would always be with her.
When Logan finally sat up, it was barely light, and he was hoping to see Lauren somewhere in their little camp. But when he realized she had not returned, he headed into the forest. He thought about calling her name, but was afraid that she might go into hiding, ashamed at what had happened the day before. Logan followed the game trail until he came to the wider path, but instead of turning left as Lauren had, he turned right. With the dark tarp overhead restricting the light, the dried branches and leaves crackling under his boots, visions of zombies, vampires, and aliens soon formed in his mind. Every ten minutes, he would stop and listen as he followed the winding path through the dead forest, but he heard no sounds from his sister. He had been walking for about an hour, growing more worried about Lauren, when he thought about turning around to check the other end of the forest. Then a bend in the path ahead showed a large clearing with several large bench-sized stones, and Logan proceeded with caution, until he could see the entire space. A dozen large stones, each about
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