Animal Dilemmas – Butterfly Bull
Short Story
The Bull’s eyes widened as it collapsed to the ground. A giant knelt down next to its head and with a small knife cut off its ear. The Bull didn’t feel pain any more it strained its last emerge to gaze at the Blue Bird but the bird was no longer there. The Bull still gazed at the edge of the colosseum wall where it last saw the Bird. It gazed tirelessly having no other thoughts but to see the Blue Bird again.
More giants filled the arena dancing and singing. They lifted the men with red clothes and carried them on their shoulders. The fiesta went on without the Bull. They left the dying animal behind and went out into the streets. Soon the Bull was alone, the colosseum was empty and quiet. The Bull liked quiet because in silence it could better remember the Blue Bird’s songs.
The Bull gazed at the wall and remembered. As it stared a Butterfly came over the wall, then another one and another. Soon a colorful cloud of Butterflies streamed over into the colosseum and the arena. The beautiful light creatures flew over the arena in circles until it was filled with thousands of them. When the last Butterfly came over the wall they formed a compact cloud and hovered over the Bull.
The Bull could not help but look up at them in wonder. The cloud of Butterflies was alive with beauty. Some of them where blue so the Bull followed them with his eye and searched for them in the cloud.
The first one that landed was blue. The Bull’s eye followed it as it descended, and when it touched its rough skin a breath of new life came to it. It a heart sped up but only for a little bit. Then another one landed, and another one.
A group of blue Butterflies landed on the wound from its severed ear as if to heal it. The Bull’s soul was still clinging to its body solely because of the proximity of the blue Butterflies. Soon all Butterflies of all colors landed on the Bull’s body and covered it completely.
A large blue Butterfly landed next to the Bull’s eye and spread its wings. All the Bull could see was blue and it made it happy, happier than ever.
Coordinated by the large Blue Butterfly all butterflies lifted at the exact same time. They carried the Bull’s soul up into the sky above the colosseum. The blue Butterfly flew ahead to direct the rest and the Bull could see its body lying on the bloody sand in the middle of the arena.
The Butterflies carried the Bull’s soul further up until its body in the arena was nothing but a small distant dot. It could see the giants town from end to end but soon that was a distant dot as well. Soon the Bull’s soul was so high in the heavens that all it could see was soft blue clouds.
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photograph by Sam Schooler
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