It's fine, go ahead and play

Even though I hadn't opened the window, there was a butterfly in the room.

The first place I found it was around the sunroom.
I keep houseplants there, so that might be why.

It was strange, but I didn't feel like getting rid of it.
I just decided to keep an eye on it for a while.

I turned on a small fan to circulate the air in the sunroom.
Amidst that, the butterfly remained there quietly.

It looked like a cabbage white butterfly.

I couldn't find any sign of a caterpillar.
Where could it have come from?
As I watched it while thinking about that, I found myself feeling a little comforted.

From when I got home last night until this morning.
The butterfly stayed by the same window the whole time.

It was sitting still, and it even looked a little listless.

I tried opening the window glass, which I almost never open.
I wondered if it would go outside now.

However, the butterfly did not move.

I tried gently blowing on it.
Then, it finally moved its wings.

Even so, it did not fly away immediately.

I wonder if it still wants to be here.

That is what I thought.

At that moment, words naturally came to mind.

It's okay, go play.

Did I say it out loud, or was it just in my heart?
Now, it's a bit hazy.

But after I said those words,
the butterfly seemed to become suddenly lighter.
Then, it went out the window,
and flew away high into the sky.

I thought it would disappear from my sight immediately.
But that wasn't the case.

It landed on someone else's bicycle in front of me,
and it looked as if it were watching me for a while.

Of course, I don't know if they were really watching.
But that's how it looked to me.

Just because of that, the time that morning
became more than just an ordinary event.

I left the window open
and watched the scene for a while.

I wonder if they'll come back.

I even thought something like that.

But they won't come back.

Even so, I left the window open
and prepared breakfast.

I finished my preparations and went back to the window.
The butterfly was no longer there.

It was only for a brief moment.

And yet, while I ate my breakfast,
I remained in a long-lasting afterglow.

It had set off on a journey into the natural world.

Perhaps that is all it was.
Perhaps it was nothing special.

But, tears spilled from my eyes.

Maybe I felt something like a relay of life.
No, perhaps it wasn't such a grand thing as that.

It just moved my heart.

That much was certain.

Since the butterfly is an adult, it surely won't live long.
Thinking that makes me a little sad.

Even so, I'm glad it was able to fly out into the world.

And then, I suddenly thought.

Perhaps that butterfly
was here to teach me that the habit of opening the window glass is important.

It is not just the windows of the room.

Aren't there windows somewhere in your heart,
that you have kept closed for a long time?

I thought about that, too.

I hope that someday, it will quietly perch outside the window again.

If it brings even one friend along,
I will let them in quietly then, too.

And when it wants to go home,
I think I will surely say the same thing again.

It's alright, go play.