“Neel, I thought this was going to be a happy story.”

“But there are songs that don’t need to be heard,” Neel continued his tale. “The shell’s hopes and longings were so strong that they seeped through its papery wings. Its song became color and pattern. Since then, the butterfly has flown silent. But it always wears its heart on its wings.”

Golden eyes smiled into silver ones. Petra kissed Neel, and as the wind streamed over them she understood the truth of something she had already known. It glittered like a jewel.

Before her lay the rest of her life.