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The clock on the wall was
moving, but time seemed to be standing still, not just today, although today
was going terribly slowly, but life in general. Miley 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.
She looked at her phone,
she had a message from Bryn, her colleague and friend. ‘Morning Smiley.’ Miley
smiled, it was strange, the only time she ever smiled was when Bryn called her
Smiley.
Her office felt cold and
lonely. Without Ozzie, her wise, old colleague, it felt empty. There was a presentation
on her screen, she’d been working on it for days and it still wasn’t finished.
She closed her eyes and
tried to imagine something nice but she couldn’t escape from reality. She opened
Google and typed I WANT A NEW LIFE in the search box.
The results were mostly
rubbish. Miley read down the page, bored by the adverts for religious groups and
yoga lessons until she saw an advert that caught her eye.
Butterflies wanted for botanical gardens. Miley had always wanted to be a butterfly.
She clicked on the advert
and read further.
A well-known botanical garden in London is looking for
butterflies. Are you beautiful, pretty and dreamy? Do you long for a carefree
life flying happily from flower to flower in the sunshine? Why not apply for
this once in a lifetime opportunity?
That was Miley’s dream job,
could she apply? She didn’t think she was beautiful or pretty but she certainly
was a dreamer. What the hell! She found her CV, updated it and sent it off. For
the rest of the day Miley dreamt about being a beautiful, happy-go-lucky
butterfly and found herself smiling for the first time in ages.
Miley 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 flew around her and then
landed on the next plant. She smiled and waved. She couldn't remember a time
when she felt this comfortable, this happy.
She’d never felt right in
her human body but this one was a perfect fit. She hadn’t needed time to get
comfortable 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 perfect.
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; she
was a perfect butterfly.
‘Mummy, mummy, look!’ Miley
looked around to see a 5 year old girl pointing at her.
‘It’s a butterfly, Molly.’
‘Mummy, it’s beautiful, I
think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’
Miley smiled and filled
with happiness. She opened her wings to give the child a good view of the patterns them.
She thought of Bryn, he’d
be so pleased for her; finally she was what he’d always called her, Smiley.
LOVELY !
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