Smily

The clock was ticking on the wall, but time seemed to be standing still, not just today, although today was going terribly slowly, but life in general. Mily rested her chin in her hand and stared at the clock. Its hands were like her life - going round and round in circles but not making any progress.

Her phoned buzzed, a message from Bryn, her colleague and friend. ‘Morning Smily’ Mily smiled then reflected on the irony; the only time she ever smiled was when Bryn called her smily. But was that irony? She hated using the word these days since the smug pseudo intellectuals had questioned Alanis Morrisette's use of it.

Her office was bleak and cold. Without Ozzie, her wise old colleague, it felt empty. Her screen blazed, a half finished presentation stared at her, mocking her.

In a fit of pique she ctr-alted over to Google and  typed I WANT A NEW LIFE in the search box.

The results were a mix of self-help books and courses, no strings attached sex sites and the Samaritans website. Mily idly scrolled down the page bored by the predictability of it all until she saw an advert that not so much caught her eye but grabbed it by the neck.

‘Butterflies wanted for botanical gardens.’ Mily had always wanted to be a butterfly.

Mily clicked on the advert and read further.

“A well-known botanical garden in London is looking for butterflies. Are you beautiful, dainty and dreamy, do you long for a carefree life flitting from flower to flower in the sunshine. Why not apply for this once in a life time opportunity?”

That was Mily’s dream job, could she apply? She didn’t think she was beautiful or dainty but she certainly was a dreamer. What the hell! She dug out her CV, polished it up and sent it off. For the rest of the day Mily dreamt about being a beautiful butterfly, happy-go-lucky, lithe, lazy.

Mily sat on a flower letting the sun warm her wings. Who knew that butterflies have happy music playing in their heads all day long?  A bee buzzed around her and then landed on the next plant. She smiled and waved. She could not remember a time when she felt this comfortable, this content.

She’d never felt right in her human body but this one was a perfect fit. She hadn’t needed to wear it in or anything, it was like it had been made for her.                                                                                            She’d cried when she’d got the job, she’d never forget that phone call. They’d told her she was born to be a butterfly, that she had beauty and grace; that she would be a natural. She’d looked in the mirror for hours, she didn’t see it at all; she thought they had made a mistake but now she was here she knew they’d been right.

‘Mummy, mummy look.’ Mily looked around to see a girl of about five pointing at her.

‘It’s a butterfly Molly.’

‘Mummy it’s beautiful, I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’

Mily smiled and filled with pride. She flapped her wings to give the child a good view of her markings.

She thought of Byrn, he’d be so proud; finally she was a smily. 

This story is featured in my free short story collection. Find more details here.