Only Butterflies???
December 1, 2005 by joannetan86
It stood upon a low hill, above the diamond-sparkling river. A gabled front of red bricks with the complexion of which time and weather had played all sorts of pictorial tricks, stood majestically with patches of moss here and there. The carpet-smooth lawn seemed to glow in green naturalness in the radiant beam of the sun. Sparrows were chirping melodiously and flowers bloomed and produced such sweet fragrance. The stone-built colonial mansion, which was surrounded by a tropical jungle, had a name and history. Although the house had once been the glamorous abode of Christina, the famous actress who went missing suddenly 2 months ago, it was now for sale at an unbelievable low price! It was indeed the cheapest mansion in the countryside, standing on 30 acres of land and yet nobody was willing to buy it, as many believed that the place was jinxed. But I guessed, rumours can’t be taken seriously and moreover, Josh and I were not superstitious people.
Suddenly, I noticed a butterfly settling on my right shoulder. The wings were purple, a rich velvety purple. Soaring and swooping, it had intermittently come to rest on the wood floor. My assumption that it was trapped had proved to be false as two of the windows had been wide opened and it had made no move towards the opened stained-glass door. Nellie, the house broker, explained that the house had been receiving these ‘little guests’ for quite sometime. The sight of these fluttering creatures in the house seemed to change the bleak image of the mansion and its solemn atmosphere. The place was indeed flawless, or so I thought, and at the end of the visit, we bought the place.
Outside the window one evening, showers of rain came pouring from the darkened clouds. Alone in the mansion, I paced tensely back and forth across the bedroom. Every few seconds, I glanced at the ornate clock on the mantel hoping that Josh would come home safely any minute now. I rubbed my arms against the chill air and glanced at the clock again. The feeling of dread grew stronger as the seconds ticked by. As I was brushing my hair, I noticed a few purple butterflies floating around the bedroom door. Looking at those lovely creatures had successfully diverted my attention. I smiled.
Then I froze. What was that? A noise that did not belong. I heard a shuffling noise outside the door. My heart thudded loudly in my ears. I had been in such a restless state, worrying about Josh that I had forgotten to lock it. I knew I was not alone. Slowly, I walked to the door and pulled it open. The purple butterflies fluttered across the corridor as if they were following the noise. Grabbing a hockey stick I found near me, I followed behind cautiously. As I drew closer to the end of the corridor, I saw a blur figure of a lady who looked familiar. Surprisingly, the purple butterflies floated around her. Cold sweat ran down my forehead. When she looked at me, I quickly hid myself behind the cabinet. Shaking, I peeped from the edge and saw that she was still looking at me, but this time, she was pointing at the portico. I shut my eyes! A ghost…And then she was gone.
Josh returned from work and found me shaking terribly like a mouse behind the cabinet. I told him everything that I had witnessed and he told me that everything was fine and that I just needed rest. That evening, both Josh and I were awakened by the same exact noise I heard yesterday. Josh stepped out of bed. Behind him, I reluctantly followed, as I did not want to be alone in the room, of course. We tiptoed towards the end of the corridor, where the noise was coming from. The noise had suddenly turned into a childlike cry. As we turned right into the next corridor that led to the portico, we froze! There she was kneeling and crying helplessly, the same lady ghost I saw yesterday! Josh gasped loudly because he was shocked at the sight. Or was it because I was gripping his arms too tightly? I did not know. But that was not the question now. The question was: What was she doing here in our home?
She was just 6-foot away from us and I could see her rotting skin. The only thing that was alive in her was her eyes, poor innocent eyes, pleading for help. What help?!! No one knew how we, two fully-grown adults, cried in fright. She stood up suddenly, motioning us towards the portico. We cried even louder, this time shouting for our parents. She glided and to our horror, passed through the glass door and disappeared. This time, both Josh and I could not stand what was happening and we both crouched onto the floor, petrified. And then, the door opened abruptly, letting in a strong gust of wind that brought in a foul stench. Purple butterflies were floating everywhere on the portico especially on the floorboards. Spotting something peculiar about the sight, Josh gathered enough guts to dig up the floorboards where hundreds of the purple butterflies were resting. I watched in horrified silence. The first floorboard was pulled up, releasing butterflies from the underneath. Josh dug up the second one and the foul aroma grew stronger. When the third board was eventually pulled from the ground, I took a step backwards. There, underneath the portico, laid the body of Christina, the famous actress. The body looked exactly like the ghost we saw a while ago. The same rotting chunks of flesh, the dark empty sockets that once held eyes, the open nostrils that now ‘housed’ the worms, the matted hair, the gaping ribs and the holes in the scalp. I could smell the putrid sour stench of dead decaying meat. I could not help but puked. Josh stood up, led me in and alerted the police.
“It’s Christina’s,” announced the Detective. “She has gone missing since March, only to discover that she was murdered and buried under your portico. I’m still quite puzzled about what actually happened that had led you to discover her. About the butterflies, they are called the Purple Emperors. They remain in the tropical trees feeding on sap and honeydew unless attracted to the ground by the juices of dung or decaying flesh.”
Josh gazed down on me. “Honey, I’ll call Nellie now, okay?”
I nodded.
The next day, we sold the mansion at an unreasonably low price. It was a great loss but as long as it kept me away from ‘her’, I was willing to accept it. I was glad that I did not have to worry about seeing ‘her’ again.
