Chains of Butterflies

Chains of Butterflies: Chapter 3

Nina, Mirelle and I flipped, summersaulted, jumped, leaped, sprung and practically flew through the tree tops. Of all the girls in the orphanage, we were probably the most athletic and acrobatic, begin the ones that mostly enjoyed going through the trees rather than, as Laera had once said, than those who prefered to keep two feet relatively close to the ground.

“Gwe-en” I heard the call from Laera in a singsong voice. I sighed at the prospect of having to end my fun. I looked down. The drop was only about twenty metres. I turned to see Mirelle and Nina, nimble as squirrels, jumping down from branch to branch. I grinned and turned back to the drop. I peered over the edge of the branch as far as my balance allowed to see Laera looking up.

She gave me her defeated look, “If you must…”

I grinned at her mischievously, and jumped. The world seemed to pause as I seemed to hang in mid-air for a second and then, in increasing speed, the forest floor began rushing up to meet my feet. I landed softly with an almost inaudible thump and Laera exhaled.

“You just love to make my heart stop, you know that?” she bantered lightly though I could see though she knew I would be okay, she always worried.

“You should try it sometime. It’s really fun after you get used to the after-shock.” I glanced around the small glade that we had come to rest in, “how are the younger ones holding up?”

“They should be fine after they have rested for a while.” She replied.

“Seeing as we are all in one piece and place, I should take the opportunity to show them the creek.”

I turned around to see the children expectantly gathered behind me.

“Are you rested already?”

Nina shared a grin between her and Alice.

“So, about that creek you were talking about…”

And so we spent the rest of the day in the creek. I showed them how to improve their swimming, where to look for freshwater animals such as the iridescent blue crayfish and how to identify the plants that you could or couldn’t eat that you took from the water. Then we just mucked around.

We had a massive water fight which ended in a splash-off between two teams. Laera and Mirelle were on one team and Nina and I on the other. We eventually called it a truce and made our way back to the glade where we had left our heavier outer clothes and the small bags of equipment for performing.

We then set off again, some walking on the winding forest paths and some, like me, who preferred to travel by leaping through the canopy. The only times when I left the canopy while we were travelling was when we came to the creek again after it had wound its way in a loop and become a river and a gorge. Then I had had to leave the trees and walk along the rocky ledge under the waterfall.

The ledge was sufficiently wide enough but damp and mossy from years of mist spraying onto it. The ledge led to an open cave which was found behind the waterfall and offered a temporary respite to the heat, the cold, the slipperiness and the constant strain of trying to maintain balance on the ledge. From the ceiling of the cave hung millions of glow worms which, in the relative darkness of the cave, could be seen. We all stood there, gaping and the ceiling that seemed to be made of miniscule, shivering stars.

By the time we had neared the edge of the forest, night had begun to creep across the land, turning the bright and rather gaudy colours of spring into the darker and richer tones of blue, violet and navy. The village lanterns could be seen also, piercing the wash of navys and purples with golden pinpricks of light. As we moved into the village, we were able to see the strings of lanterns and the glittering objects of the festival stalls.