Warm light oozed down the middle of my face. I heard fingers plucking the strings of a guitar; the sound was gentle, familiar.
I opened my eyes to the sky. It was not the blue I was expecting, but bright yellow.
I stood, and found I was wearing an ivory lace gown that reached my feet. Why was I wearing lace?
I heard someone call my name. Following the sound of the voice, I saw Olly sitting on the edge of Cleeve Hill, singing. His lyrics told me I was old, as old as the Jurassic rock on which he sat.
Dry grass fell from my body as I walked. I brushed hair from my face and a daisy fell too. Momentarily, I wondered if I was Harper, but Olly was singing my name.
By the time I reached his side, the sound of his voice had faded and all I could see were his hands: outstretched and cupped together. Coaxing them open, I found a monarch pupa. I could see the outline of a black-and-orange wing inside the waxy casing.
The pupa should have been hanging from a twig or a branch; Olly must have disturbed it. Yet I wasn’t outraged – I was mesmerised as I watched the delicate creature struggling to break free from its selfmade womb.
I tried to keep my breathing shallow, so as not to disturb the birthing. Time seemed distorted, sped up. The pupa was like a lung, cracked at its base. With an expand and contract, it pushed itself out, head first. Its wings were small, wet and creased, its abdomen rounded with fluid. I waited until it beat its wings, pumping the stored liquid through its veins. And then up, up it flew. The sky had changed colour and was now the same orange as the monarch’s wings. Camouflaged, the butterfly was now invisible.
When I lowered my gaze, I saw Mum standing before me. Her long hair loose around her shoulders. She was wearing an orange cheongsam. I wanted to tell her that was the wrong colour, but I couldn’t speak. My throat was gripped by a raw longing for her. She took my hand and fastened a gold bracelet around my wrist; I knew it had been given to her on her wedding day. She kissed me on the forehead and told me everything was as it should be.
As she turned to leave, I tried to call to her, but no sound emerged. I kept trying, but the more I tried, the further she got, until she was gone.