The sun blazes into my eyes when I open them and I find a small, pale butterfly on my nose. Its wings are the color of silk, and I feel its inquisitive eyes staring at me. This only lasts for a second though, because the butterfly suddenly darts off. Without knowing why, I follow it. Since the butterfly got ahead of me, I have to run to catch up with it. My bare feet touch the soft thick grass as light as a deer’s. Blurs of pink whizz by me. “Cherry blossoms.”I say out loud. Out of nowhere, the butterfly abruptly stops and falls to the wet sand beneath my feet. I gingerly pick it up, careful not to break anything.

Wait a minute! Wet sand?! What happened to the forest full of cherry blossoms? I step forward to find myself in the shallow part of an ocean. Ocean waves lap at my ankles.


I stare back at my hand when I feel a sizzling sensation. The butterfly’s on fire! I quickly, but carefully place the butterfly in the water, only to see its ashes float away. Why did the butterfly burn to death? Why did it lead me here? Where is this? I check my surroundings. No calming ocean beach or peaceful forest now. I find myself in a burning apartment. I panic.“Help!” I call out.
Nobody responds. The roaring flames are deafening. Heat is sticking to my body and clothes, and I’m sweating heavily. My clothes aren’t catching fire, and I’m not hurt, but inside I feel as if everything is falling apart, like my world is crumbling before me. I am the burning butterfly, fragile and defenseless. The fiery apartment slowly fades to black.
My alarm beeps loudly, signaling the start of a new day. My body broke out into a cold sweat while I was sleeping, and my heart is thudding loudly. The shock from the alarm clock jolted me out of my dream, forcing me to get out of my bed and get ready for school. My heart still pounding, I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth.