Although I have written before, this would be my first short story submitted here, hope you guys like it. Copyrighted to Tsukasa The Butterfly
By: Tsukasa
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There was an old man who lived in the mountains, away from the luxury the new world has to offer to him. He had lived there for so long that he had grown very comfortable with his way of life.
No one visits him except for his young grandson and his only daughter who lives in the city a little ways far from the small hut the old man called his home.
On several occassions, as the old man's grandson was still young, he would ask his mother why his grandfather was not living with them. On such occassions his mother would just respond "He has his reasons."
Everyday, the old man would walk deep within the mountains carrying a bucket half filled with water with a small white rose in it and a candle on the other hand.
This peaked the grandson's interest when they visited him for a week, but he kept his curiosity to himself and did not bother to spy on the old man.
Years passed and the boy who was only 5 then turned 8.
And as such a long time passed, the old man grew sick and was bedridden.
He knew that his time was already up. His daughter knew it as well and so she and her son visited him.
As they visited him, he and his daughter began to talk. But being old and weary, the old man fell asleep soon afterwards and his daughter decided to make ready for lunch.
Having nothing to do but watch over the dying old man, the young boy soon grew bored.
It was then then that he noticed a small, white butterfly perched on his grandfather's pillow.
The young boy then waved his hand back and forth in an effort to drive the butterfly away. The butterfly then flew up, away from where it was perched and flew outside. The young boy forgetting all about guarding his grandfather chased after the butterfly.
The butterfly flew deeper and deeper into the mountains, since it wasn't the first time that he had been in the mountains, the boy knew very well how to get back to the small hut.
Farther and farther the butterfly flew and the young boy continued to chase it.
Soon, the butterfly perched itself on a large rock. Puffing and wheezing, the young boy sat down beside the rock, he had grown tired of chasing the butterfly that he did not show any care to it any longer.
As he rested, his eyes wandered off to view his surroundings. He then realized that he was already at the cape he had heard his grandfather was visiting.
His curiosity caught up with him and he wondered what he could be visiting in such a place every single day.
Standing up, he began to look around. Seeing nothing of interest, the young boy could not help but scratch his head in confusion.
It was then that he noticed the stone where the butterfly had perched itself. He then decided to inspect the stone, he saw that the butterfly was no longer there and to his surprise, a name was carved on it.
Still unsure of what such a discovery could mean, the young boy soon grew hungry and decided to return back in the hut.
Upon his return, he learned that his grandfather had already passed away.
"Where have you been?" His mother had asked.
The young boy then told his mother his little 'adventure'. Curious about the stone, the young one asked about it and the name, "Maria" carved on it.
Surprise at her son's story. She began to tell him everything...
As it happens, the name belongs to the girl that the old man loved the most. This girl and the old man (who was still young then, of course) were to be married. But tradgedy struck as the girl fell seriously ill and died soon afterwards.
The mountain where the old man lived was where he and his fiance used to spend all of their time together looking over the beautiful scenery laid out on its peak, it was where they had shared their beautiful moments together.
When the girl died, the old man became very lonely, and years passed and he was married to another woman.
But despite it, there was still a hole in his heart, a hole that was left by the death of the person he trully loved.
When his wife died, the old man decided to live in the mountains after making sure that his daughter has a good life.
And ever since living there, the old man always visited her grave on the mountain peak offering prayers, candles and white roses.
"I guess," said the old man's daughter, "since your grandfather always visited her, she wanted to do the same, so she went to him when he could not go to her...
...that lovely butterfly that you spoke of must have been her spirit visiting him telling him that she had not forgotten about him as he had not forgotten about her all these years."
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Hope you guys enjoyed that...
Short Story>>>The Butterfly 
