Wings of Wisdom

 AUTHORS NOTES: 

        Written in 2022. This is written to show how I like to watch and observe people and conversation. I have always been more inclined to examine other people to challenge my morals in a "what would I do" scenario. This is somewhat of an example of this. 

Wings of Wisdom

By: Clancy Tresemer

   A butterfly flaps its golden wings briskly in the wind, landing on a lavender flower so delicately. It rolls out its tongue and drinks the sweet dew that rests on the flower. Suddenly, the butterfly takes off, flapping its beautiful wings, as a girl walks by. Many know the girl as Soph, short for Sophia, a 20-year-old brunette with crystal clear eyes. She walked down the sidewalk in the warm spring air. She was a shorter girl, but not so short that she was bullied for it in the younger years. She was thin and had a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts. She looked at all the people walking by and smiled as she kept on her way, holding the newest released novel. She slowed a little as she approached her favorite park that she always comes to. She likes to sit on a bench and either watch the people that are walking through or read some of her book. Sophia finds a great spot for a perch in the shade and takes in the scene in front of her. Tall old trees line the park with a vivid greenery. The soft grass that covers the park like a carpet expands far, with little dandelions sprouting. Small bees hover over them, trying to decide which ones look tastier. Bird chirps come from above as they fly from tree to tree. People mingle at farther benches and on picnic blankets, enjoying the company and the warm sun. 

Sophia decides that today is a people watching day as a group of soccer moms come by, talking very loudly about another mom. They all had on different colored, tight, tank tops, with jackets tied to their waists. There were a couple blondes and a brunette who stood comfortably near a red head, all with their hair up in ponytails. Sophia notices that one of the blondes keeps glancing at the red head as if they shared secret opinions between them. The other two are oblivious to the glances between them. They move on and talk about the next meal they are going to eat, which is more like a debate on how many calories they are going to intake. They walk out of Sophia’s earshot after one of them complains about the idea of meatloaf. She watches them go, thinking how awful she would feel if she was the other mom being berated by the others behind her back. She also thought that the relationships between the group were everything but stable. Sophia hated anything that was destined to change in the blink of an eye. She made a mental note to never be judgmental or shallow to anyone. Sophia bent her head and started reading some of her novel. 

Some time passes and Sophia looks up. A couple walks by, holding each other’s arms close. The girl was shorter with light brown hair, glimmering with golden highlights. The boy was tall and thin with light brown hair as well. Sophia wasn’t close enough to see their facial features, but she could tell they were a good-looking couple. They stopped in front of a patch of wildflowers and looked around. Sophia noticed that they had the glow of newlyweds by the smiles that never faltered when they gazed at each other. The boy bent down and plucked a rough looking wildflower and placed it in the girl’s hair very delicately. She pulled him into a deep kiss and then turned to watch the other people in the park, her head resting on his shoulder. The boy whispered something in her ear that Sophia couldn’t make out. Sophia first thought it saddening that she had never felt that kind of love before and that she longed for it strongly. She then thought that when she eventually finds love, she will know what it looks like. She won’t be misled into thinking that because they say the words, they mean it. It appears in actions as well as words. She will also remember to be considerate and use the little things to show her love, like the flower the boy picked for his girl. Sophia went back to her novel’s magical world.

A few moments later, she is pulled back to reality as a boy walks by. He immediately catches her eye, and she is fascinated. He looks her age with dark hair and eyes. He doesn’t seem to see her at first and when his gaze turns toward her, she quickly looks away. After a few seconds passed, she dared a look toward him again, but he had vanished, like a magician, she thought. She looked casually all around the park trying to spot him again. No luck. She thought maybe she imagined him, but curiosity caused her body to get up and start walking. She walked along the edge of the grass to avoid the other inhabitants at the park who were enjoying the sun. A golden-winged butterfly fluttered in her face as she walked, and she unconsciously fanned her face so that she could see again. Sophia watched the butterfly fly off into the distant sky, thinking about how free it must feel to fly away, and then saw a group of people. One of the boys in the group was the magician from before, his back facing her. Sophia walked briskly to see his face to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. Out of nowhere, Sophia was pushed aside as a busy, distracted businessman bumped into her. Her glance at the magician was cut short as she looked at the man and apologized. He waved her an acceptance in return and continued. Sophia looked back at where the magician was and again, he was gone. She wondered how the one person she really wanted to observe could disappear so fast. 

Sophia walked around the entire park looking for the magician with no luck. Disappointed, she started walking back home as the sun started to set. On her way, her sandal shifted and made Sophia stumble enough that she dropped her book on the warm concrete. It splayed open as it skidded to a stop a little bit away from Sophia. She collected herself, complaining about what happened, and looked up to see the magician holding her book. She looked into his eyes as he asked her if she was okay. Sophia nodded and he told her he had been wanting to read the same book and asked her how it was. They started walking toward Sophia’s house as she spilled her guts on her opinion of the book and a golden-winged butterfly flew behind them. The butterfly flapped its wings and flew off into the sun and out of view.