Lina pressed her forehead to the windowpane, her breath fogging up the glass as the rain drizzled down the streets of Graywood City. The sky was the color of old dishwater, and the buildings outside stood like gray giants, unmoved and uninterested in the children who stared longingly out of their apartment windows. It was the last week of summer vacation, and Lina had hoped for sunshine and adventure—but the skies had offered nothing but clouds and drizzle for five straight days.
She sighed dramatically. Her mother, seated at the kitchen table behind her, was tapping away on her laptop, mumbling about deadlines and data reports. Lina's dad was away again on another business trip, and her older brother, Leo, was too glued to his phone to care about anything else.
She was bored. Utterly, hopelessly bored.
And then she saw it.
A flicker. A shimmer.
A butterfly.
It wasn't like any butterfly she'd seen before. This one glowed faintly, like the shimmer on bubbles when they catch the light just right. Its wings were long and graceful, painted in colors too vivid to be real—midnight blues, gold that sparkled, and hints of violet that pulsed like stars.
Lina blinked. The butterfly hovered just outside the window, wings fluttering silently in the rain. The weird part wasn't just that it was flying in the rain—but that the raindrops never touched it. They curved around it, like it had a tiny invisible umbrella made of magic.
She slowly opened the window. The cool scent of rain and wet concrete washed in. The butterfly hovered closer.
"Hey there," she whispered, holding out a finger. She didn't expect it to land—but it did.
It touched down lightly, and the moment it did, Lina felt something like a tingle spread through her hand. A soft hum filled her ears, and for a second, everything else faded—the noise of the city, her mother's typing, the rain. All gone.
The butterfly flapped once. Twice.
And then—
WHOOSH.
A gust of wind whooshed past her, even though the air was still. The butterfly lifted into the air again and darted out the window, disappearing around the corner of the building.
Lina didn't think.
She grabbed her raincoat and bolted for the door.
"Lina!" her mother called. "Where are you going?"
"Just for a walk!" she shouted back, already halfway down the hall.
She ran down the stairwell instead of waiting for the elevator, her feet pounding down each step with the rhythm of her racing heart. She flung open the lobby door and stepped into the rain, spinning in a slow circle.
Where did it go?
Then—there! Just down the block, by the park's black iron gate. The butterfly shimmered, hovered, and then flitted through the bars.
Lina ran after it.
The park was mostly empty because of the weather. Wet swings creaked in the wind, and puddles pooled along the gravel paths. Trees swayed gently above, their leaves whispering secrets. The butterfly darted down the main path, and Lina followed, dodging puddles and slipping on wet leaves.
It led her to the old stone fountain at the park's center—the one that had been dry for years and had moss growing between its cracks. The butterfly circled above it once… twice… and then, with a faint shimmer of gold dust, vanished.
Lina skidded to a halt.
"What?" she breathed.
She stepped closer. The fountain was silent, still. She looked into the dry basin—and noticed something odd.
A small glowing spiral etched into the stone at the bottom.
It pulsed softly, golden and warm. Like it was… waiting.
She climbed into the basin, ignoring how slippery it was. The moment she placed her hand on the spiral—
Flash.
Light erupted around her.
The world spun.
Her stomach lurched.
She felt like she was falling through feathers and fog and sunlight all at once—and then—
Thump.
She landed on soft grass. But it wasn't the park. It wasn't the city. It wasn't anywhere she knew.
Lina sat up, heart pounding. The sky above was a dazzling shade of lavender. The trees around her had leaves that shimmered silver. Strange bird-like creatures flitted between branches, their feathers glowing faintly.
"What… where…" she whispered.
And then she heard it—a soft flutter of wings.
The butterfly was there again. This time, it landed on a flower nearby and folded its wings, as if patiently waiting.
Lina stood up slowly.
"Did you bring me here?" she asked.
The butterfly gave no answer—but somehow, Lina felt like it had.
Somewhere, deep inside, a thrill of something new sparked in her chest. This wasn't just a butterfly.
This was the beginning of something.