Butterfly Moth (GxG)

• papailionidae •

Papailionidae: Also called swallowtail, these butterflies are large, colorful, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica.
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6

On a nice and warm Saturday, Hemera Leora took it upon herself to investigate the strange eye that she had seen so clearly. Someone was in that house, and Leora was fairly sure that it wasn't Miss Alisman. Maybe Leora was being a bit dramatic with the way she was reacting to this and maybe she should have minded her own business, but what else did she have to do?

Cheer practice wasn't until three o'clock and all of her friends were busy, resulting in her day being long and boring. Leora told her friends about what she saw, but they all said that she must have been imagining things. It was logical of them to say so, especially given the fact that Miss Alisman had been living in that small house for as long as they all could remember, and no one ever once saw someone else with her. Not even a boyfriend or her extended family.

Deciding that this may be something quite interesting or possibly even sickening, Leora watched through her bedroom window. The street was a quiet one since it was a dead end, the only people who needed to come down it did so because they lived there.

She waited twenty minutes before growing bored and needing something else to do. Her mother took away all of the electronics on the weekends because she felt that her kids needed to get out more. Leora did her best to stay patient and continue watching out of the window.

Needing to use the bathroom quite badly, Leora prayed that nothing would happen while she was gone. Running from her room and across the hall, she quickly did as she needed to. After washing her hands, she ran back to her room and almost collapsed with relief at the sound.

The sound was of a car driving passed, resulting in her sprinting to the window to catch a glimpse of an old black Volvo driving to the end of the street before taking a left. That was Miss Alisman's car.

A smirk found it's way onto Leora's lips before she turned around and raced down the stairs. Molly was sat on the couch, a book of crossword puzzles in her hand as she asked her daughter where she was headed.

"Just down the street to see if Mr. Anderson needs help with anything." Leora lied, tossing on a pair of white and pink tennis shoes.

"Alright. Be back by two thirty." Molly nodded, and Leora took the opportunity to leave the house.

It was still very early, only eleven o'clock. Mr. Anderson was an old veteran from down the street who Leora often helped out with yard work or things like that. Thankfully, his house was the one right before Miss Alisman's, so if her mother watched her walk there or head back, it would seem like she was coming from his house.

There was another house between hers and the last one in front of the dead end that belonged to a young couple with a son who was only four weeks old. She sometimes helped them out as well, but they were a bit more conservative and Leora didn't want to bother them too much. Especially with the stress of having a newborn.

As soon as she reached Mr. Anderson's residence, she jogged the rest of the way to Miss Alisman's. Leora didn't want anyone to notice her pestering, so she made sure to get there quick. Climbing up the porch steps and standing beneath the small roof that covered it, Leora paused only for a moment before knocking on the door.

There was no reaction, the old yellow house remaining undisturbed. Leora kept her eyes trained on the corner of the window where she saw the face before. However, she wasn't seeing anything. The window remained the same and no one came to the door.

Pursing her lips, Leora knocked again, this time a bit louder. There was someone in there, she knew there had to be. The suspense of no one answering left her anxious and a bit sad at the revelation.

Refusing to accept the fact that she was wrong, Leora crouched down slowly and used her finger to flick up the small slot in the door for where mail would go. She knew that she was being creepy and obsessive by that point, but she had to be completely sure before she dropped the whole topic. Someone was there. There had to be someone.

To Leora's shock, she saw a figure dart out of her version as soon as the little slot was open. She didn't get a good look at them, because there were no lights on inside. But she almost felt relieved at the sight. She wasn't crazy. But then she felt a bit sick. Why was someone hiding in Miss Alisman's house?

"I know you're in there." Leora spoke to whoever the person may be. She didn't know if she should assume the role of authority or the role of kindness. "You don't have to hide."

But that elicited no response, resulting in Leora huffing. What did that mean? Was there a homeless person secretly staying in her house without her knowledge? Did that make them still homeless? Or was she hiding someone? A recluse maybe?

Wanting desperately to know more, Leora said, "Alright, fine. You win... for now. I'm going to come back and you're simply going to have to reveal yourself." When there was no sound, Leora added. "Or you could just come out and explain yourself now and I'll never return."

Leora waited a full minute, still crouched down and peering through the mail slot. Then finally, she stood up with the confirmation that there was someone else in that house. Leora glanced at Miss Alisman's residence quite a few times as she went over to talk to Mr. Anderson and make it seem like she hadn't been anywhere else.

But Leora knew that someone else was there, and she wasn't sure what to do with that information. She didn't know if Miss Alisman knew about them, or if she did and there was something twisted going on. All Leora knew was that she would be back as soon as she could.

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