The Butterfly in the Room

It was a quiet and peaceful afternoon in the clubroom. The wind whistles coolly outside as the branches of the trees gracefully sway to the rhythm of the wind.

The club members were gathered but they were all absorbed in their own activities.

Momo was sitting in front of the table with her eyes glued to the blaring screen of her phone while her right elbow was resting atop the table and her hand was supporting her chin. She was scrolling uninterestedly through her socials. She was the very image of a typical bored teenager trying to get through dinner without talking to her family members.

Junjun was trying to go through the assignment they were given so he could finish early and would not have to do it at home. He thought that he would feel so free without any homework to do at home. The scratching of his head from time to time was a not-so-subtle clue that he was really having trouble with the problems given to them.

At one end of the table, Alice and Megumi were sitting across each other, and between them, a chessboard and pieces that are showing a mid-game battle. Alice was tapping her fingers on the table while Megumi was rubbing her chin in deep thoughts. It was as if she was rubbing against her non-existent beard.

"Agh, who even invented this game? It's so hard." Megumi flipped in exasperation.

"My.. my... my... is that the way of the samurai? Giving up when the going gets tough?" Alice teased.

"Hmmm. Here," Megumi picked up the chess piece that represents the queen, "checkmate."

Alice's eyes widened as Megumi stood up on the chair for her victory pose.

"One more!" Alice contested.

Jeremy has his back against the window while he was leisurely reading a manga that he secretly brought from home. He was lost in his own world ignoring the ruckus Alice and Megumi were trying to start.

Mari walked over to Jeremy and stood next to him.

"Uhm hey, is that fun?" Mari inquired.

"Oh this?" Jeremy flipped over the manga and looked at the cover, "hmm, it's alright. Enjoyable enough to pass the time. You wanna read?"

"Nah, it's okay. I don't read much," she replied as she squelched the urge to grab the book in his hand. She was really into manga, she likes romance, action, slice of life, comedy, and almost anything. She reads only what her crew brings her because she could not keep those books in her house.

She turned around and opened a window. As she did, a butterfly came in. It was a little butterfly with beautiful yellow and white wings. It flew around and Mari tried to chase after it. They managed to circle around the room and they went on to disturb every single peaceful place inside the clubroom.

Mari jumped over the table and stepped onto Junjun's head as it slammed against his notebook on the desk. Momo kicked back the table and she was able to evade the charging Mari while she was still glued to her phone. Mari jumped on the table again sending the chess pieces and the chessboard into the air. Miraculously, the pieces fell atop the board in upright positions but totally changed the game.

Alice who was about to lose again is now winning and Megumi was shouting "NOOOOO" and was about to draw her katana when Mari stopped on the corner and the butterfly rested on the corner of the ceiling. She was about to swat it away when Jeremy spoke.

"Hey wait! Stop! It might be someone."

Everyone looked at him intently. And it's as if it was rehearsed, there was a chorus of voices asking "What do you mean?"

Jeremy spread his arms and it was evident on his face the disbelief. "Don't you guys know that saying? Haven't you heard that yet? They say that butterflies are the vessels of the spirit. The spirit of our departed sometimes comes back to earth as butterflies to visit us."

Everybody was silent and was still looking at Jeremy.

"Is that true? Do you believe in that?" Mari asked him as she got down from the table and sat on a chair.

"I think I have heard that story before too. I think it was my grandma who told me that." Megumi said.

"Ehh~~~~ so you believe in those kinds of stuff huh. Your imagination must be so creative." Momo teased.

Junjun was still absorbed in his assignment.

Alice joined in on the conversation while she was organizing the chess pieces inside the chessboard/container. "So whose beloved do you think this butterfly is?"

"If I would have to guess, it's Mari's. She's the one to encounter it first. Any idea who that is Mari?" Jeremy turned to Mari.

Mari looked up at the ceiling to observe the butterfly more clearly.

"Hmmm. I think it would be my grandma. She likes to wear white with a yellow shawl over."

Mari then pulled out her phone and looked at the date.

"Waa~~~ it might really be her. The date of her passing is coming up. I should offer a prayer for her soon."

"Wow. That's interesting." Jeremy said before going back to his manga.

Mari went in the corner directly below the butterfly and started to pray quietly.

Out of frustration Junjun violently stood up and threw his notebook across the room. He threw it with such force that it made a loud thud against the wall. As the notebook starts to fall, so did the butterfly that was caught in the crossfire.

Everyone followed with their eyes that squashed butterfly attached to the notebook as it fell to the floor.

"Oopss." Junjun muttered as he quickly ran outside the room as he saw Mari look at him with murder in her eyes. She chased after him with her baseball bat cocked back and ready to bash Junjun's skull.

Hey yo!

How was your day so far? I hope that you had a great start and I wish that you have a great night ahead.

What's on your mind? I want to know your thoughts, kindly drop by the comment section below and let's chat.

Anyway, I'll keep it short and sweet since you already know that I appreciate your presence here. I hope we can get drinks one day and until then ...

Cheers!!!

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Series    : The (Not So) Perfect World of Jeremy
Episode   : 026
Title     : The Butterfly in the Room
Published : 30-Oct-2021
Author :  © RB