Wings of Butterflies

1. A Whole New World

Part One - Gabrielle

Southern California, Present Day

My eyes flew wide open and I found myself staring out in total darkness. When I took my first wakening breath, the air was heavy and felt extremely ragged when it went into my lungs. Even though I could hardly fit in this coffin-like resting place, I had felt very comfortable until I had woken up from my deep sleep. In here, I had everything I needed: my black fluffy pillow. This particular night I didn’t feel well rested enough to end this gorgeous state of unconsciousness. I must have been out for at least twenty-four hours but still all that sleep didn’t satisfy me. No movement came over my body as I tried to go back to my happy place and when I heard a male’s heavy breaths, it forced me to stop those plans. Instead of going back into my weariness, I used some of my strength to force the lid of my coffin open. I lifted my upper body and looked around the big and open room. When I gazed towards the window, my eyes found what they were looking for. My joints were rigid, so it wasn’t exactly pain free to get up but after I threw my legs over the edge, the rest of my body came swiftly along with them. The difference of the temperature was momentous. It could barely be 60 degrees in the room! All I wanted to do was crawl back down into my special place but the man by the windowpane was making it impossible. I went the twenty feet that separated us and put my arms around him.

     “Slept well?” I whispered in his ear.

     I could feel his smile but he did not turn around. He kept staring out in the black night. Or was it early morning? I couldn’t tell yet with my eyes still clouded with sleep.

     “As always. You?” 

     He had a very soft cling to his voice this day, which meant that he’d had an excellent day so far, however I could hear that it was still drowsy. Though his voice was naturally light, the strength and of it couldn’t be denied. It screamed authority and self-confidence, which his face also did. His face. His gorgeous, gorgeous face. He had still not turned in my direction, but I had seen his face so many times that I didn’t need a reminder. I closed my eyes and saw before me his short blonde hair; his substantial eyebrows that rested over his light brown eyes, with long blonde lashes to protect them; his slightly marked cheekbones and his small mouth, with plumed lips that had a somewhat deeper color than the rest of his pale face. For the first time since I had woken up, I smiled. When I opened my eyes, Ray had turned around in my arms and now stood and gazed right into my eyes.

     “What were you dreaming about?” he asked with curiosity. ”You were so far gone for a while.”

     “You of course.”

     He fired off a broad grin at the sound of my vaguely bruised voice. After all the years together, I couldn’t understand why he didn’t have the capacity to read me better.

     “I should’ve guessed” he said still smiling.

     After a minute of silence he put his hands over mine and squeezed them gently. His touch washed away some of my anger, so I didn’t pull away when he moved closer to my body. I could never stay mad at him for long, so as I always did, I leaned in and rested my head on his chest. He was very tall, which meant that my head only reached as far as his heart, but that was alright with me. By now I was so used to it that I didn’t even think about it anymore. Underneath his pale skin, I could feel the slow rhythm of his heart, beating in a steady pace. After a light sigh, I closed my eyes.

     After ten minutes in the same position, Ray stroked my hair back and slowly moved my head from his chest. In protest, I made an angry grunting noise. I could have listened to his heart until noon. But the disappointment from being pushed away did not last long. Swiftly, Ray moved his hand from my hair to my check and down to my chin. With light fingers, he tilted my head upwards. The glitter in his eyes when they met mine was very powerful. I stood up on my toes and found Ray’s lips. A night without him had made me unusually forward and before I knew it I had my hands behind his neck in a tight grip and my lips were parted. With firm hands, Ray loosened my grip and moved away to the other side of the window. I felt a jolt of rejection going through my cold, slow beating heart. By now, I should be used to this. It was always the same story with me and Ray. A few brief kisses, which he only went through for my sake, were all I had been giving during these 32 long years that we had spent together. For some reason, he had lost his ability to be intimate after his transformation. Like something had been lost in the process. The weird thing was that we still hadn’t figured out why this had happened and how to make it disappear. A dry sob came from deep down in my throat and the despair felt worse than it used to.