The Demon Butterfly

The Demon Butterfly(Logan I. Sivils) My morning was no more unusual than any other, having my morning coffee and checking my e-mail, of which consisted for the most part of junk mail and spam. My desk sat against the sliding glass door's facing my butterfly garden out in the back of the house. There was another garden in the front, but my favorite was where the desk sat facing east. I loved to watch the sunrise in the early hours and watch as my garden came to life. Our winter here in central Florida would usually bring a freeze or two killing the tops of my tender plants leaving only brown in place of the once colorful garden. I grew native plants just for my butterflies for nectar and host plants for their catapillar's to grow on. I loved watching the sun come up in the mornings over my garden, watching it come to life before my eyes. Not only was my garden a host for my butterflies but also almost thirty species of birds that would either visit for a few weeks or stay long enough for my wife and I to watch them have and raise their offspring. Other visitor's would come at times from the raccoons, fox, gopher turtles, coyote's, even a panther or black bear which were seldom seen. The rabbits and squirrels were pretty much a regular item as well since we fed them as well through the year.

Our first freeze of what is called our winter here had not been too long ago but it managed to top kill the green leaves and also what flowers the butterfly's had been feeding on as well as the plants our one hummingbird family had been using. I would not cut my garden back until after the last freeze so everything looked dead for the most part but at the moment still had some life left in them. I would go out from time to time to piddle about a bit, doing a chore or two here and there, and that was my intention one day last week. The garden, although brown with no nectar left, still had life in it, the birds, red cardinals, redwing black birds, thrashers and catbirds along with several other species were always there. Naturally the squirrels were about every day collecting and burying shelled peanuts we put out, plus stealing the bird seed from the feeders. The water fountain always had fresh running water so everything out there seemed content. Now, even though there were no more flowers, a few of the die hard butterfly's continued to flit about at different times in their search for food, sadly the cold had taken all of that away.

I go out often to check on the garden or at least take a stroll and tidy up here and there. The morning last week was no different and with my coffee in hand I stepped into the garden, stopping to see what might be about. The squirrels and birds dashed off to wait for me to move on so they could continue doing whatever it was they might have been doing. I noticed only one Fritillary in the distance, they always seemed to be around even in winter. As I moved a yellow sulpher flushed from its hiding spot and floated out of site. At the moment I saw nothing else and moved a few more yards into the garden and again stopping I noticed a Buckeye foraging about on the ground and watched as it searched for something of which I was unaware. I turned to search where I had been from a different angle now, and my eyes focused on a single butterfly poised at the very top of one of the brown plants behind me. I had missed it before, perhaps because I was looking straight on and they are very difficult to see in that position.

I noticed something different in its color, being a reddish brown with black markings, but it flew away as if it knew I had seen it. I looked around but it was gone, again nothing out of the ordinary, but I knew all of the butterfly species in this region so figured it was a fluke or my morning vision playing tricks on me. Thinking no more of it I continued my walk for a few minutes searching for other life, but began to feel as if something was watching me. A few more steps and I knew something was, but what, so I turned once more to gaze at where I had been. There, not ten feet behind me, the mysterious butterfly sat as if still staring, resting on another brown leaf. Wanting to see what it was I took a step towards it and again it was just gone, nowhere to be seen. I looked over the entire garden from where I stood, now there was nothing moving at all. All the birds were gone, not even a chirp, and not a stray butterfly in sight. I turned back to continue my walk and there a few feet in front it sat watching me again, then when my eyes found it, it flew straight up and out of sight. I knew of no butterfly that ever acted this way before and it gave me an eerie feeling about the whole thing. I moved on trying to shake the thoughts from my head, and for several minutes saw nothing. I stopped to light a smoke before moving on and got that strange feeling again. I froze and turned only my head, slowly so as not to let on I was aware of any thing. When my eyes met my shoulder I saw sitting upon it this mysterious butterfly, but its color did not matter as my eyes met his and could see the red glow coming from deep inside its own eyes. It was only an instant but more than I wanted before it disappeared again.

By now I thought enough of this strange occurance and moved briskly back towards the house. All of a sudden I felt a breeze against my cheek when I knew there was no breeze at all. I stopped frozen again then slowly turned my head to where I felt the breeze. It had not stopped on my shoulder again, but where it would have been lay a small dead brown flower. All kind of thoughts raced through my mind, but the first being did this strange butterfly hold me responsible for its lack of food. What could I do, I had not been responsible for the weather or the condition of my plants at Mother Natures hand. Was I supposed to rush to the store and buy more, or should I have went to great lengths to protect what he apparently thought was just his. Maybe he was angry with me because he saw his demise as imminent and wanted to go out scaring the hell out of me.

As I held the small dead flower in my hand I searched for hours but it was gone. I have thought long about that day, wondering if that butterfly was a demon or an image of desperation. Either way I think next year I will save a few from the cold, just in case!