The Butterfly Guy

According to my usual routine, I got on the last bus, it was relatively empty, yet I grabbed the last seat. I was looking out from the window and it was raining.

As I moved with the bus towards my stop, I was absorbed in my world. There were few people in the bus and all of them looked so tired. Their faces were all trying to convey a certain story. I felt that this bus ride is like a peaceful break for them as it is from me. The bus wasn't just saving them from the rain, but also from the life that awaits after the ride ends. The only person who is not the part of this break session was the bus driver.

A voice suddenly interrupted my reverie, asking, "Can I have that seat?"

Well, initially I was flustered because more or less the whole bus was empty so I wasn’t expecting any companion beside me and I didn’t even notice anyone to get up. He was still looking at me waiting for my approval to let him sit. I gently replied “Ye- Yeah Sure”.

He sat down and I felt awkward like always. After every un planed interaction, I feel like this I don’t know what to do next.

But anyways as I was having my internal monologue and dealing with my chatty head.

My eyes fell on this guy’s tattoo on his wrist. It was a butterfly tattoo flapping its wing. Butterfly as a tattoo is not something unconventional but this tattoo is drawn in such a way that in spite of being two dimensional, it somehow captured the flapping action of the butterfly. Somehow the ink on his skin seemed captivating.

While I was busy by subtlety checking out his tattoo. He asked me, “how was your day?”

On hearing that question I looked towards his towards his face in a surprised manner. I mean a stranger asking me the quality of my day out of nowhere, made me a little vigilant.  His face was covered with a mask like mine only his eyes were visible. I must say they were beautiful. I contemplated that this person must have a pretty face.

But then I remembered his question. I answered “It was okay”. “How was yours?”

He replied, “It was a long day”.

I understood, it wasn’t about me, he wanted to talk it out and must have found a stranger to be the most consoling person to have a conversation with.

He said, “I hope I am not making you uncomfortable, I mean I generally don’t strike up a conversation like this but today I felt a strong urge to do so.”

I replied “What made your day long?”

Him: “Too many things .My dog’s death in the morning, my boss’s outburst for no apparent reason and of course my jackass co-worker.”

* Over sharing I thought but then I had nothing to do so being a big ear for then seemed alright*

 Me: Well I am sorry to hear that but you are doing alright, right?

Him: I am trying to but I am realizing that this is tough. I am getting used to this process of adulting. Living alone is tough as it is, on top of that, today I lost my only companion, Buzo, in this loud and lonesome city.

Me: Buzo?

Him: My Dog….After so many years….I…I will experience that feeling again. The feeling of returning to an empty house, a house where no one would be waiting for me. A quiet house where no one is there to get excited on seeing me. A house that is just empty.

* I was quietly sitting there not knowing how to respond. It seemed like he was going to have his break down. After sometimes when I felt he had toughened up a little, I asked him…*

 

Me : How old was Buzo?

Him : Seven, he was not that old but I guess, God liked him too much.

 

Him: I…I…(his voice was becoming heavy)…..When I came here alone, I was so lonely, I was walking down these busy streets yet I felt there was no one around me. That’s when I found him. I saw me in him. He was there sitting all lone beside the body of his mother. He wasn’t crying or howling. He was just sitting there licking his mother's body as if he was trying to wake her up.

The only difference that we had was, I was among living people yet I was alone and he was with his dead mother but thought he wasn’t alone.

I got him from there. From then he accompanied me for five years, the toughest years of my life, he was there with me but now when I thought that we were going to have some good time, he left.

Me: Then he was an angle. He accompanied you when you needed him the most but now his purpose was fulfilled so he had to go.

* I knew it was a childish thing to say but I felt this would make him feel a little better or maybe he would find my words funny*

He: Indeed he was an angle.

*We became silent for a while, I did not know what to say and he was just sitting there as if he was trying to get himself together. Strangely this silence was a comfortable silence.*

Him: I am sorry, I must have ruined your ride with all these crying and lamenting. I really needed to let it out so I just did it without even realizing.

Me: Are you feeling better?

Him: Strangely, yes.

Me: Then I am obliged to hear you out.                

*He smiled a little at that.*

I thought of changing the subject.

Me: By the way, your tattoo looks great. Where did you get this from?

He looked at his tattoo, there was a hint of pride and smile in his eyes.

Him: I made it.

Me: SERIOUSY!!

Him:Hmm….(He smiled again, I understood it through his eye smile)

*His eye smile had a hint of innocence and childlike emotion, it made me feel giddy* 

Him: Do you know what it signifies?

Me: Butterfly….is beautiful. So does it signify beauty?

* His eyes wrinkled again which means he smiled again.*

Him: Butterfly Effect…

(I repeated what he said trying to decipher the meaning of the unknown effect.)

Him: Do you know the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil could trigger a tornado in Texas.

Me: Umm, what? (I chuckled a little at that and then realized it was rude.)…I am sorry.

Him: Its funny right or may be too unrealistic to be considered as truth….Well but this meteorologist guy Edward Lorenz proved it so by some complex mathematical derivation under Chaos theory.

*I kept looking at him*

Him: He looked at me and said, I am sorry, I used too many technical terms. Well in short and simple term, the philosophical aspect of the theory suggests that little insignificant events can lead to significant results over time. To put it another way, small variances in initial conditions can have profound and widely divergent effects on a system.

I found this so cool that I thought of imprinting it on my wrist. I want to get reminded how my smallest of actions are significant enough to brought about a revolution. I don’t want to question the rationality of the theory, frankly I don’t care because my belief matters and I believe in this theory.

*I saw him getting all excited while talking about it as if he wasn’t the same person I saw before. It kind of made me feel relieved.*

Me: Are you a tattoo artist?

He looked towards me and answered. I do it as a hobby for now though sometimes I go to my friend’s parlour to help him out.

Then he took out a card and handed it to me. Please, visit someday.

*Then I heard the bus horn. Saw my stop arriving.*

Me: My stop…I looked towards him and said.

He: It’s bad…I did all the talking.

Me: Don’t worry…you will be here right?...I said while looking at the card.

He: Most probably yes….if not…ask the owner to call me.

The bus stopped and I got up in a hurry. I got down from the bus. Stood in front of the widow where I was sitting. He shifted to my seat near the widow. I waved him and he waved me back. The bus left with him in it.

I remembered I don’t know his name and then I looked at the card.

I thought it was a strange ride.

Will this ride have unpredictable effects on my life or is it a strange encounter with a stranger that I will remember for a while.

While thinking all these, I saw my roommate coming for picking me up. I hop on her scooty.

She asked me “Why are you zoning out? Did something happened?”

No,nothing…I said.

Then we went to our shared living space like usual.