text: In the middle of the night, beneath the shining stars, I saw some butterflies circling the street light. There were many of them, their colorful wings fluttered and made the light turn to jewels. Just like when the sun shines on the altar through the stained glass in the cathedral. I was in awe. I couldn’t look away. But it didn’t take long until the butterflies attracted more people. They came seemingly from nowhere. There was over a dozen of them, men and women of all ages: from children to the elderly. They made a big crowd underneath the lamp post, almost trampling me in the process, and they tried to reach the twinkling butterflies flying high above them. Some tried to climb the pole, others threw their hats, and some even their shoes or loose pieces of cobblestone from the road. The butterflies flew higher and higher, trying to avoid the flying debris. But eventually, one of the butterflies, this one was the most vibrant shade of red, was hit and he came down crashing. He shattered into milions of tiny sharp crystals that scattered over the sidewalk. The people suddenly stopped moving and just stared at the mess they caused. The swarm of butterflies flew upwards and dissapeared into the dark night sky. There was only the red stain on the ground left, as if blood was way more beautiful, than it really is. A strange sense of calm and content spread over the crowd and bliss took over their faces. That lasted only a few seconds and then the people started to dissapear back into the dark alleyways where they came from. I had some questions, so I decided to follow one of them. A girl around my age with long brown hair. “Excuse me... I have never seen anything like this before...” I started very clumsily. Her long thin legs took her further and further with each step and I had trouble keeping up. “What do you mean?” she answered without a hint of emotion. “You know... the... the butterflies. And then it crashed and broke apart... it was just...” honestly I had no idea where to start. There were way too many thoughts running through my head. Even more of them popped up when we walked underneath a street light and I saw her face for the first time. “Are you trying to tell me you never broke a butterfly before?” she stopped and stared me deep into my eyes. I took my time with the answer. I could’ve sworn there was the exact same spark in her eyes like when the light shines through the stained glass in the cathedral. “Hello? Anyone there?” her voice brought me back to earth. “Oh, yes... I mean no. I see them outside every now and then, but I never thought about breaking them. Just looking was always fine for me, they are beautiful even then.” I couldn’t look away. “Yes, but now imagine how wonderful it must be to break one.” She smiled and I smiled back without even realizing it. I didn’t say a word. I had nothing to say. She had to be the one to start talking again. “What about you come with me now and we break a couple butterflies together?” “Now?” It was late, I should be on my way home. “Yes, right now.” I shouldn’t. “Alright, let’s go.” There are offers that you just can’t refuse. We walked through the streets and her eyes were pinned to the stars. her long hair flowed like waterfall down her back. “But, if we break them,” I was thinking out loud. “Wouldn’t anyone get angry with us?” “No, anyone who broke a butterfly before will understand. And... we don’t care about the ones who never broke one before.” she smiled again. Oh, what a time to be alive. “And will we not run out of butterflies one day, if everyone just goes around breaking them?” She started laughing and I’m pretty sure that was the moment my soul melted. Eventhough I would go anywhere and break anything for her, I still couldn't help the feeling that breaking these wonderful things is like throwing stones into the windows of a church. “When we do, it will be a sad day. But I’m pretty sure it won’t be tonight. Now shut up and help me look.” And so we kept walking through the night, eyes on the night sky, looking for any spark of color. It took long but in the end, when the sun slowly started to crawl into a new day, we found some. In a remote park, they were circling around an old rosehip bush. We carefuly approached them and I struck one to the ground. Blue crystals scattered across the green grass. And that was when I first touched the stars. And she was there with me. And we became one and the same. Trying to describe this feeling would be a waste of paper. But I knew, right then and there, that nothing else matters. It’s just her and the glass butterflies that shatter on the pavement. \ H.