Butterflies

January 2023

A smart man once wrote that everything we do in life will be insignificant but it is very important we do it. That same man wrote that our strength does not come from physical capacity but from an indomitable will. He also wrote that the weak cannot forgive because forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. I don't pretend to know anything about humanity but

A shout from somewhere inside the Restricted Section, no doubt from a book that had fallen from one of the shelves, broke Trowa's train of thought. He brought his eyes up and he rubbed each one with his fist before looking over at the librarian who smiled knowingly at him. Trowa returned the smile and dropped his quill into the crease of the middle of the book. A yawn escaped his mouth and he looked about himself, wondering where the time went. He certainly hadn't noticed the sun come up. First lesson, he was sure, would be starting in half an hour. There was no point going now. He'd woken too late.

"Would you like me to get you some breakfast, Trowa?"

He looked over at the desk to see the ageing Scottish woman step out from behind it. Trowa nodded, giving a mumble of 'please' and the librarian smiled at him. She strode away, her heels clip-clopping across the hardwood flooring. When the sound died away, Trowa was left in peace once more. He didn't dislike the woman but he liked his solitude.

Glancing down at the writing in the book, Trowa realised that it would be futile to continue when his train of thought was broken. Instead, all he wrote was:

Butterflies.

Before he threw down his quill.