Chapter 12

Jim awoke the following morning to sunlight streaming into the bedroom window. When he turned over he found an empty place in the bed beside him. He saw a note pinned to the pillow.

"Good morning sweetheart,

I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed last night. You are a wonderful and caring lover. You were sleeping so nice that I didn't want to wake you. Give me a call when you get up sleepyhead!

Love J"

Jim fell back on the pillow with a smile on his face. She certainly had it wrong about who was the caring lover he thought. When he turned and looked at the clock, his smile faded as his eyes fell on a picture of Sally. A cloud of overwhelming guilt suddenly enveloped him. He closed his eyes and sighed then looked at the clock. It was already 11 am on Sunday morning. He would normally have been at Sally's gravesite for his weekly visit by this time.

Jim got up, his muscles aching and his head still buzzing from his alcoholic binge. He dressed quickly and hurried downstairs. He stopped at a table that held the many photos of Sally and picked up a locket that Sally had often worn. Inside was a photo of Sally and him taken not long after they were married. It was the two of them, cheek to cheek, squeezed into one of those cheap carnival photo machines.

As Jim stood there looking at the locket, a feeling like he had never experienced before came over him. It was a feeling of warmth and comfort, like everything was going to be okay. He suddenly knew what he had to do.

With the locket in his hand Jim left the house for the cemetery. He stopped at a roadside flower stand like he did every Sunday and picked up a bouquet of flowers.

It was a beautiful mid-September morning when Jim stepped out of the car. He looked around at the still green trees, their leaves not yet showing any hint of the fall season that was just around the corner. There was a gentle breeze rustling the leaves and the sun was shinning brightly in the crystal blue sky.

Jim walked on weak legs up a grassy knoll to Sally's grave. This was the place that Jim had come every week since Sally had died. It was his place of solace, a place he could talk with Sally, his light in his darkest hours.

Jim held the flowers in his hand and opened the locket to look at the photo again. He felt comfortable here; his little talks with Sally always left him feeling better. But today the emotions were somehow different. There was a strange feeling surrounding him, sad but yet happy, almost like this wasn't his place anymore.

Suddenly from out of nowhere, Jim was surrounded by thousands of colorful butterflies, flapping their wings in a frenzy of activity. Jim couldn't help but smile.

Then almost in unison, they landed on the grass around him, with the exception of one lone butterfly. It landed on the open locked Jim held in his hand. Jim gazed at the beautiful butterfly as it sat silently, slowly moved its wings. When the butterfly didn't move, Jim knelt and placed the locket and flowers on the grave marker. When he stood back up, the butterfly flew from the locket and as if by some unheard signal, all the other butterflies flew back into the air in a whirlwind of color.

Jim watched in amazement as the kaleidoscope of color moved again in unison, floating on the gentle breeze, climbing toward the top of a large oak tree. Soon they were so high that they disappeared in the blue September sky. Strangely with the movement of the butterflies Jim felt his guilt lift from him like a blanket, his heart soaring on the breeze that carried them away. He turned, leaving the locket and flowers on the grave and began to walk back down the hill. As he passed an old couple that he often saw at the cemetery he said, "Did you see all those beautiful butterflies?"

The old couple looked at him and shook their heads. "Butterflies?" The old man said. "I don't think there are many butterflies around this time of the year."

"Oh really?" Jim said in surprise and looked one last time above the oak tree at the empty sky. He thought he saw one lone butterfly hover atop the tree then disappear. He smiled at the old couple and said goodbye and walked away, feeling an exuberance that he hadn't felt in years. Everything was going to be alright now.