Sarah’s Butterfly

A yellow butterfly flutters and lands on the dedication sign for the forest green bench.

Mother sits on the bench, handkerchief in hand, wiping the tears from her eyes.

For weeks, Mother has been angry at Sarah, ignoring her almost completely.

Mother looks over and mutters her name, “Sarah.”

Sarah looks up grinning, then returns to playing in the sand.

A distant woman calls mother’s name, “Mrs. Dennis.”

Sarah notices the butterfly. She stands and, tip-toeing, approaches it.

The woman approaches Mrs. Dennis, stops nearby and hold out a bouquet of flowers. Tears flow from Mrs. Dennis as she accepts the flowers and bunches them together with the ones she is already holding.

Sarah watches the butterfly as it crawls along the brass sign.

“I am so sorry,” the woman looks around. “At least they have cleaned the place up and made it safer.

“I must go, but I will try to come by later.”

The woman turns without needing an answer and walks away, her head hanging.

Mrs. Dennis stands and turns toward the dedication sign, noticing the butterfly for the first time. She sighs and lays the flowers gently near the sign.

Sarah reaches out to catch the butterfly, her hands passing right through it.

As Sarah and her mother walk away, the butterfly flutters away from the dedication sign, “In Honor of Sarah Dennis, may her soul rest.”