Imagine someone you love, disappear.
You’ve seen the signs. The coldness, the silence and the black butterflies.
Several weeks ago your beloved was with you in the comforts of your home. You two are engaged in something of huge importance, let’s say a project or a report. You two paused from what you are doing. Then you smiled at him. He looked at you with that usual lazy eyes, he’s very sleepy. He’s too tired, he didn’t sleep last night. He’s too busy and wanted to take a break away from everything, from his responsibilities, from obligations, from his tasks and maybe even from you.
The following days have been so cold. He’s stopped calling, texting, sending messages from whatever means possible. Lately you’ve been noticing that you always had to start the conversation, that you were always the first one to say hi, that he’s beginning to treat you like you don’t even exist.
Sometimes you wonder if this realization is just your imagination… So you continue doing whatever it is that takes your mind off of those speculations.
One day while at school he told you, “I’m going to attend this special occasion so I have to cut class.”
You just smiled at him, you said, “okay.”
Worried that he’s falling behind in class, you jot down notes for yourself and also for him.
The professor then dismissed the class earlier.
On the way home… You see him across the street with his friends. Judging from the way he walks, the way he talks (yes you can hear it from across the street), he’s drunk. He spits on the sidewalk and it lands on the pavement. He then puts to his mouth something that you’ve never seen him hold before. A cigarette. He smokes it like a pro, he inhales and then exhales these smoke circles. They fly towards the sky, towards you in a playful fashion. You looked from afar and noticed that they looked like black butterflies.
You stood there, across the street. You sighed inhaling the black butterflies.
Tomorrow won’t be the same. Something died inside of you.
