//------------------------------// // A Butterfly in the Rain // Story: A Butterfly in the Rain // by LunchBox Pony //------------------------------// There was a forecast of a storm hitting but I didn't think it would be here so quick, or get this bad. I continued running through the storm holding the plastic bag that contained my shopping. Lightning flashed and quickly after, the sound of thunder followed. The wind blew with all it's might, trying to lift me off my feet. The rain was making it difficult to see ahead of me. I wasn't able to see a car pass until I saw its head lights only a few meters away. I heard a loud crack and assumed it was another crack of thunder, but was mistaken. A large tree branch landed a meter in front of me and did a fair bit of damage to the unsuspecting post box. It was clear it was getting dangerous, and quickly. I needed to find somewhere to take shelter and wait out the storm. I looked around as I continued forward; soon I spotted some lights that were on. Running over I found myself standing at the animal shelter. The sign on the door read closed but I could still see someone inside. Knocking on the door with a bit more force then I intended, I saw the person inside physically jump from the sound. Their head turned towards the door and they seemed to have gasped before they ran over to the door to let me in. The bell above the door gave a delicate little ring as the door was opened and closed. "Thank you." I said, grateful to the person. I finally noticed that it was a girl looking to be around my age. "Do you mind if I stay here until the storm passes. It's getting pretty dangerous out there?" The girl seemed to retreat behind her long, rose pink hair, averting her eyes. She didn't answer as she seemed to be thinking on how to answer. I saw her lips move but I didn't hear her over the rain hitting the building. "Sorry I didn't quite get that." I tentatively replied, not wanting to frighten the girl for some reason. "U-um... S-sure." the timid girl moved her mouth and I was able to hear some sort of sound come from it. "Um... Can you, repeat that one more time." I asked sheepishly. "... S-sure." her first clear words were spoken. I gave the girl a friendly and thankful smile. "Thank you, um..." "Oh-um... I'm Fluttershy" she somehow went even further behind her hair. "I'm R. It's nice to meet you." I continued my friendly smile. We stood there in complete awkward silence, neither of us uttering another word. I started to quickly look around the room to find a topic to talk about. As I looked, an obvious topic came to mind very quickly. "So are you a volunteer at the animal shelter?" I asked, trying to kick start a conversation. She nodded for her answer. "So you like animals?" She just answered with another nod. "Isn't it a bit early to be closed?" "…Um... It's because of the storm." Words were spoken, hallelujah. As another silence started to descend I took note of the girl in more detail. She wore a light yellow sweater and a thick, light green skirt that went down to about her shin. I was able to make out a pair of light green boots as well. She had pale yellow skin and seemed to be so fragile that the storm outside would just destroy her. I moved my gaze around the shelter trying to find something else to pass the time. My eyes landed on a little fenced area where there was a small dog looking at us, with what would be described as a goofy grin, as it's tong hung out. I walked past the girl towards the canine. "Who's this little guy?" I asked. The girl followed me to the dog. "Oh this is Buster." Flutthershy answered, seeming to get over her shy demeanor from earlier. "It's nice to meet you Buster." I greeted the dog which, I received a bark back. I gave a smile as an idea popped into my head. I took a few steps and looked at the dog square in the eyes. I narrowed my eyes at him and put my hands to my side like a was getting ready to draw a gun. "Well… do you feel lucky, Buster." The dog went low as it glared back at me and gave a bark. I heard the timid girl give a soft giggle at our antics. The two of us stared at each other down waiting for the other to make the first move. I drew my finger pistol and fired a round. "Bang." I called out. Buster gave a wine and fell on his back. I blew the imaginary smoke and holstered my fingers. The room was silent, me thinking I had won. The dog tilted his head up and gave a bark. "Ah... You got me..." I collapsed to my knees. "You... You are the fastest dog in the west." I gave my final words as I slumped to the floor. I could hear Fluttershy giggling which was a nice change to the dreary sound of the storm. “Well that was fun.” I said still laying on the floor. I got back to my feet and went over to my murderer and gave him a good pat. “Good shooting Buster.” The dog barked in appreciation. “You two seem to get along well.” The timid girl stated seeming to have come out of her shell a bit. “Yeah. My little sister would love this guy. The problem is the apartment building doesn’t allow pets.” I sadly stated. “Oh…” She seemed more disappointed then me. “I take it the shelter isn’t doing so well?” She shook her head. “It’s getting hard to find these guys a good home. Most people adopt them and find out a pet is a huge responsibility and bring them back.” I could hear the pain in her voice as she explained the situation. “Buster’s been here for a while now. I hope someone can give him a good home one day.” She scratched said dog, behind the ears. “But I’m afraid that he won’t get the chance as it seems the shelter may close down.” “Why’s that?” I asked with some surprise. “We haven’t been able to get much money as of late and this place is in need of some repairs.” She pointed out to the store and that was when I noticed that it did look a little worse for wear. “The main issue is the hole in the roof causing a few leaks.” I followed her finger to see a wet patch on the roof. Drops of water would fall almost every second. I also noticed that the counter was also in need of repairs. The timid girl gave a sigh as she quickly became depressed. I looked at the saddened girl and my heart broke. I’m succour for a cute face. I let out a small sigh as I looked at my phone. Going through my contacts I found the number I wanted. I prepared the number and looked at the time before I put my phone away. It was well past normal closing hours, looking out side the storm had stopped. “Looks like the storm has stopped.” I stated breaking the girl out of her depression. “Oh… Um. I guess I’ll see you around?” She phrased more like a question. “I’m pretty sure we’ll see one another at school. See ya Fluttershy.” I gave a wave goodbye to the girl and left. I pulled out my phone and hit the call button. *** Fluttershy’s POV The next morning Fluttershy walked up to the animal shelter’s door and put away her umbrella, opening the door like normal. But as she closed the door behind her, almost about to start getting ready for the day she gave a small eep and jumped back into the closed door. Her eyes were locked on the now slumbering figure of R, the boy that waited out the storm the night before. She looked at him curiously and slowly approached. She heard his quite rhythmic breathing, as she got closer. The room was quite and as she listened out some more, she noticed there was no water drop sound. She looked where the leak was to find it was no longer there. She turned here attention back to the boy asleep at the front counter to see it completely repaired. Being quick to put all the pieces together she gave a soft smile as she quietly went into the back room to look for a blanket for R. She was interrupted as she heard the door’s bell ring. Quickly leaving her task of finding a blanket, she checked to see who it could be and found no one. She looked to the counter to see the boy was gone and where his head once lay was now a note with a key. I contacted Tree Hugger to give me a key so I could get in. Can you give it back to her for me. Thanks R On the bottom right corner was a simple drawing of R’s face with a thumbs up. End