The Butterfly Girl: A Star is Born

#97 Together Alone

[Teri]

Later that night...

Teri awoke with a gasp, shooting upright in her bed. She breathed heavily as her eyes darted around the room. Safe, alone, where she should be.
Alone.
She tries to calm herself down, her mind plagued by the nightmare. She didn't want to think about it, but it just kept replaying quietly over and over in her head. She glances around, looking at anything that might distract her. But nothing could distract her from the truth that she was forever alone.
The last of her kind.
The darkness around her didn't feel so comfortable, she peers up at the surface. Hardly any light to brighten anything through the little pond. She moved the blankets off her and swims up, cautiously poking her head above the water. She sees the tree house in the dark, nothing to illuminate her surroundings. The sliding door in the tree house closed, knowing that the Twins were up there sleeping away.
She wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon. She couldn't stand it any longer.

Teri pulls herself up and quickly makes her way to the tree house, hoisting herself up on the platform and very quietly sliding the door back. She peers inside, seeing the Twins curled up closely on top of the beanbag chair, covered in thick blankets. They didn't seem to be disturbed at all. Teri opened the door wider so she could slip inside, sitting far from them and closing the door. Pulling her legs up closely, hunched up against the wall.
The room was almost as dark as it was outside, and the air was cold. Almost colder than the water. It didn't bring her much comfort, but she didn't want to go back down.

The Twins' eyes suddenly open, catching Teri looking up at them and she sits up. They stir and turn their heads.
"Teri...? Is that you...?"
Teri opened her mouth, afraid to speak. She nodded.
"I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
The Twins sat up, adjusting their blankets and sitting comfortably. Their eyes begin to glow softly in the dark.
"What are you doing up here? Are you okay?"
".....I had a nightmare." Teri said quietly.
The Twins leaned forward.
"I was dreaming... about that day. I can't stop seeing it... everyone trying to flee for their lives... and I wasn't strong enough to save them. I know it wasn't my fault, but I can't help feeling..." Teri hid her face from them and clenched her hair. She tried to stop herself from crying.
"My Mother is gone... and I've lost my home. I just keep being reminded that I'm alone... and there's nothing I can do to get it back." Her voice shook and her body began to quiver.
The Twins stared at her in a worried silence. They glared at each other for a moment before looking back at her.
"We understand." they said softly. Teri slowly raised her head.
"Teri, if anyone understand what your going through, it's us."
Teri sniffed, "What do you mean?"
"We've lived alone, by ourselves for practically our whole lives. We had no one else to take care of us, or even talk to. We didn't really have any important... jobs for us to do and no one tells us what to do. Besides taking care of the Moonflowers... we only had ourselves."
Teri lifted her head and wiped her eyes as she listened.
"We used to make up games to keep ourselves busy. But it's kinda hard to make up something and then be really good at it in a short amount of time." Fleetfoot spoke.
"Yeah, we even tried to explore the entire cave, hoping that there might be something we could find. But we never did. It's just a bunch of rocks. We pretty much know every inch of that place." Flyboy added.
"But it was never easy. It was always dark and cold, not to mention there wasn't a lot of things to eat. It wasn't a very comfortable place to live. But we were too scared to leave."
Teri recalled that, but didn't quite understand what the Twins were getting at. Her body began to relax as they spoke quietly to her.
"If we're being honest... we were actually a little jealous of you at one point." Flyboy said.
"What? Why? I lost everything, why would you be jealous of that?"
"No, no! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I mean because you were the only one that had a family." Flyboy corrected.
Teri was stunned.
"...What?"
"You were the only person that actually had people care about you. They loved you and they always wanted to make sure you were happy. We never had that." said Fleetfoot.
Teri opened her mouth to say something, but closed it. Finally realizing what they meant.
"We thought you were so lucky to have other people, family or not, to be with you... that's all we ever wanted."
Teri was surprised to hear this. She never really imagined what it must've been like for them all these years. Having only themselves for warmth and comfort, not knowing anyone else. Not knowing if they even had a family that was worried about them.
"We told you we were too scared to go outside, because we feared that there might be something else out there waiting for us. But the real reason was... we felt like we weren't supposed to. Like... something was telling us that we shouldn't. That it would be safer for us to stay alive rather than leave. It was the only place we knew and it may have not been comfortable, but it was our only home." Fleetfloot explained.
"We're not sure why... but we know there might be more people like us. Maybe a family we never knew about and never got a chance to meet them. We don't know what might've happened, but we always felt like they're out there somewhere. But... Teri, we're grateful that we found you."
"And it might not be us who feel the same way. Apollo and Sophia, they told us that they were alone too until they found each other. They had to work together to live and provide for themselves. If anyone feels the way you are, it's all of us. Yes, it makes us feel sad from time to time because we feel like no one else would understand, but we do." Flyboy spoke softly, the emotion in his voice was obvious to hear.
"Teri... we're grateful to have met you and Apollo and Sophia. Because they care about us, and we care about you. After the Moonflower gardens were destroyed, we almost had no hope left. Until Sophia found us and brought us here... that was probably the best thing that ever happened to us. Even if it was a little scary at first." Fleetfoot finished.

"Teri, if you ever feel alone, just remember that you still have us. We're still here and we're not going anywhere."
Teri couldn't hide her smile. She never thought anyone would understand what she'd been through, and they might not. Not to full extent, but being reminded by everyone that she still had someone to be there for her was something she promised to never let herself forget. She may be the last of her kind, but she wasn't alone.
The Twins invited her to sit closer and she did. Wondering as to why until Flyboy wrapped a wing around her shoulder and they sat up against the other side of the wall as Fleetfoot covered her with the long side of his blanket.
"Try to sleep, it's still dark out." Fleetfoot said quietly.  Teri awkwardly leaned her head on Flyboy's shoulder and pulled the blanket over her legs. She began to feel comforted already. Less cold. And the darkness around her didn't feel so bad after all. Her eyes drooped shut and everyone returned to their slumber.
The feeling of loneliness began to fade.