Jamie felt warm and snug as he opened his eyes. The sun shone down on his body. He looked up to see he was surrounded by tall maize. In fact, it only looked tall because he was lying flat on his back. Slowly Jamie sat upright whilst rubbing his forehead. He felt drowsy and a bit delirious. He thought to himself, I must have fallen asleep after the big chase. He stood up and stretched, as one would after a long sleep, then began walking back the way he had come through the field.
‘Pssst!’
Jamie turned around, ‘Who said that?’
‘Pssst!’ came the voice again.
‘Where are you?’ Jamie searched down by his feet in an attempt to discover the source of this small voice.
‘Pssst! Up here!’
‘Up where…’ then, as Jamie looked up, he saw the silhouette of a small flying creature. It was a butterfly.
‘Yes, that’s it! Here I am,’ said the butterfly.
‘Are you really talking to me?’ asked Jamie, who thought he might have still been sleeping.
‘Well, I am really talking to you if you are really talking back to me!’ replied the butterfly who gently landed on Jamie’s arm. ‘So, how did it go? Did you enjoy being up high in the sky?’
‘High in the sky?’
‘Yes! How was the flying?’
It was at that moment that Jamie recognised the small face of the butterfly.
‘Is your name Clifton?’ asked Jamie.
‘Of course it is! How could you forget this face?’
‘But… you’ve got wings. You didn’t have wings before?’
‘You couldn’t fly before, but I don’t hold that against you, do I?’ the butterfly retorted.
‘You mean that really did happen? I really did fly?’
‘Well of course you did,’ said Clifton. ‘I should know, I saw you doing it! And I’ll tell you what; those nasty boys won’t be messing with you again! Hee hee!’
‘Wow! It was amazing! I couldn’t believe what was happening to me! One minute I was on the ground, like everyone else, the next minute I was up high, flying in the sky!’
‘So you understand it now, don’t you? Up high! In the sky! You don’t know why? But you can fly!’
‘Yes, I do understand it Clifton! I do, I do! I can fly!!’
Jamie ran across the field, pointed up towards the clouds and leapt up in the air… he then swiftly landed back on the ground. He pointed his finger up in the air once more. Nothing happened.
Clifton landed back on Jamie’s arm, ‘Having trouble are we?’
‘Well, yes. I can’t seem to get off the ground. This is exactly what I did before; I pointed up and that made me fly. I don’t understand why it’s not working now?’ Jamie continued to point up in the air. He tried pointing in different directions. He swapped hands. He tried both hands at the same time, but to no avail.
‘Did you make the rescue?’ asked Clifton.
‘Did I make the rescue? What do you mean?’ asked Jamie.
‘What I mean is, did you rescue someone?’
Jamie paused for a moment before he replied, ‘Well, there was a boy who I helped out of a tree.’
‘And was he in grave danger?’
‘If he had fallen he would have landed headfirst on a rock, so I suppose he was in grave danger. Yes.’
‘Well then your work is done!’
‘My work is done?’
‘Yes, it is done,’ replied Clifton, who continued to explain. ‘Every year many young boys and girls find themselves in dangerous situations…’
‘Like the boy hanging in the tree!’
‘That’s right, just like the boy hanging in the tree. And every year many of these children are saved from tragedy by other young boys and girls like you.’
‘Like me?’
‘Yes, just like you Jamie, these boys and girls are given a special gift and with that gift they are able to help the children who are in trouble. Your gift was the ability to fly. With that gift you were able to help that poor young boy, just when he needed rescuing. Once you had completed your task you were quickly returned back home.’
‘But how can I help other children who are in trouble. I can’t fly anymore!’
‘Ah, such eagerness! That must be why you were chosen!’ said the smiling butterfly. ‘It can’t be down to you to help everyone Jamie, that would be much too big a burden for you to carry.’
‘But who will help the other children who are in danger.’
‘That’s not for me to decide,’ replied Clifton.
‘Who does decide?’ asked Jamie.
‘It’s time for me to fly!’ said Clifton as he flapped his wings and ascended up above Jamie’s head.
‘Wait!’ shouted Jamie. ‘Who decides? Why did this happen?’ But Jamie got no further reply from Clifton. All he could do was watch as the butterfly flew high up in the sky and then disappeared over some nearby trees.
For a while Jamie continued to stare up at the clouds in the sky. He took a deep breath and smiled as he remembered all that had happened. As he went to walk away he heard a familiar voice, which seemed to whisper down at him from the clouds above, ‘Well done Jamie, well done!’
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