The Dream of Butterflies in the Silence of the Forest: Lured Away
英語で音読
元記事は こちら
以下は、note運営さまによるものではなく
作者が個人的に、AI に依頼した翻訳文です。
The traveling man, having climbed the gentle hill, tethered his horse to the eaves of the small inn.
The surrounding grasslands stretched out, leading toward a distant forest shrouded in silence.
"Traveler, please make sure your horse is tied securely," said a woman who appeared from the back, gazing up at the distant sky.
She was not young, but she was a beautiful woman with a calm and composed air.
The afternoon sun was dyeing the surroundings in gold.
"Ah, I understand. Could I have a cup of tea?"
"Yes, please wait over there."
The woman smiled, pointing to a table and chairs placed near the entrance.
Before long, a drink with a mysterious aroma was brought to him, and the man felt completely at ease. A soft highland breeze blew through pleasantly.
As he was leisurely recovering from the fatigue of his journey, a swarm of bluish-purple butterflies suddenly emerged in the golden-dyed sky above the grassland.
The swarm swayed and shifted its shape, spreading across the landscape like a single living creature. Struck by its sheer beauty, the traveling man stood up instinctively.
"Oh, traveler, do not go near that."
A woman's sharp voice rang out from behind him.
"What?"
The man, who had been leaning over the roadside fence gazing at the dancing butterflies, turned around.
"It lures people in. Those who are enticed by it and enter the forest never return."
"That's impossible!"
"It is true. I have lived here a long time. They are dangerous creatures. You must not stare at them too long. In a remote place like this, such things do happen."
Though skeptical, the traveler stepped away from the fence as told, asked for a refill of tea, and took a breath. The woman disappeared into the back.
At that moment, a horse let out a high-pitched neigh. Perhaps the tether had come loose; the traveler's horse bolted toward the meadow beyond the fence, where the butterflies were dancing in a frenzy.
Wait!"
The man forgot himself and stepped into the meadow.
Instantly, the swarm of butterflies drifting nearby enveloped him.
The woman, emerging from the back, gasped as she watched the scene.
"Oh, after I warned him so many times..."
Both the horse and the traveler receded like a scene in a painting, beyond the point of no return.
They would become prey to the butterflies' dream.
They would sleep within the silence of that forest.
Memories of a distant past flickered through the woman's mind.
That day, during her own journey, when she encountered the dance of butterflies in this beautiful meadow—the man she was with had been carried away by the frenzied swarm.
Left behind, she had opened a small inn here and lived her life welcoming travelers.
The woman let out a faint, sorrowful smile and closed the door.
Was she merely an innkeeper, praying for her lost companion and watching over travelers?
Or had she become a servant of the butterflies?
Only the golden meadow knew the answer.