Memories of a Butterfly

By Ivan Vlasov

Irina and Jinne are roommates and friends, but at the same time they are complete opposites. Irina is a hard-working and serious young woman while Jinne, being a freelance artist, has always had her head full of weird ideas. One night Jinne decides to disappear, and wants Irina to find her. Unwillingly Irina begins the search, and gets deeper and deeper into Jinne's private life... But actually, is it really her friend that she is trying to find? Or maybe this is nothing but the path to her own self.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ivan Vlasov
• Release date: Apr 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370124176

Ivan Vlasov

Ivan Vlasov was born in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Two years after graduating from a University in his home town, he moved to Saint-Petersburg, Russia to work as a software engineer, and that's where he met his future wife. In the spring of 2010, Ivan and his family, that now also included his 4-month-old son, relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, where Ivan worked on a temporary basis. However, already in early 2012, being lured by a big company, Ivan moved again, this time to Montreal. This multicultural city became the place of birth of his second son, and that's where Ivan and his family reside at the moment.

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Memories of a Butterfly

By Ivan Vlasov

Copyright © 2016 Ivan Vlasov

Table of Contents

The Night Call

The Weird Disappearance

The Pencil Sketch

The Inconceivable Logic

The Edge of the Earth

The Thankful Neighbor

The Heat Effect

The Wrong Body

The Butterfly Dream

The Laughing Past

The Professional Help

The Forgotten Clue

The White Square

The Blocking Rock

The Never-ending Path

The Dark Treasury

The Broken Cocoon

The Not So Vacant Room

To my wife Ksenia

Thanks for your support and patience

The Night Call

Something woke her up in the middle of the night. It took Irina a few seconds to fully regain consciousness, and finally realize that her cell phone was ringing. Receiving a call at such a late time was an absolutely unusual event.

Who could it be? she thought, vexed.

The sound was coming from her bedside table. Irina stretched her hand in that direction, and, having found the phone there, brought it to her face. Its screen glowed brightly in the darkness of the bedroom, and her drowsy eyes, not being able to adapt so quickly, squinted shut. The ringing went on and on without stopping all the while her vision was adjusting to the light. Eventually she managed to open her eyes wide enough to discern the caller name. It turned out to be Jinne - her roommate and best friend.

Oh, God! Why is she calling so late? Irina uttered in a sleepy voice. Words struggled, coming out of her mouth. She rolled over to her back, and pressed the accept button on the touch screen. Wondering where Jinne might be at this time, and hoping that she wasn’t in trouble, Irina put the phone to her ear.

Hey, Jinne, she said slowly, staring at the dark ceiling.

There were a few seconds of silence, and then her friend’s lively voice responded, Hi, Irina! I guess, I woke you up. Sorry for that, but I just absolutely have to share this with you! I’m outside, taking a walk. It is such a beautiful night! This street is so quiet, and calm. I can actually hear trees, rustling in the wind. Jinne sighed deeply, with an apparent pleasure, and then continued unhurriedly, Try to imagine this. There are almost no lampposts in this place, and the light is very scarce. This makes everything look and feel completely different than during the day. I think, I can sense some mystery in all those gloomy tones and creepy shadows all around.

This is very interesting, Irina said, and her voice sounded more firm now. But I thought you had something really important to wake me up so late.

Yes, yes. I will have something very important for you tonight, but first I just wanted to share with you my impressions of the nighttime Montreal. Jinne’s voice had changed ever so slightly, but that was already enough for Irina to realize that her friend was smiling, saying this. There are two-storey houses placed in a row along each side of the street. All the windows are dark, so it feels rather spooky here. And actually it's pretty weird to realize how loud my voice is compared to the tranquility of this place. Jinne chuckled softly.

Irina knew her friend very well, and figured that this strange impression sharing might take quite some time. She sat up in her bed, and leaned her back against the wall, ready to continue listening. The lonely moon was shining with a pale silvery light in the dark sky outside the window. Her eyes slid over the built-in wardrobe, and the door opening into the corridor. With the bed, and the bedside table being the only pieces of furniture in it, the room looked rather bare. All the walls were painted plain white, adding to the feeling of the emptiness of the space. Irina closed her eyes tightly, thinking that she actually wouldn’t have minded this bizarre night call very much, if only tomorrow hadn’t been a work day.

In the meantime Jinne carried on talking in a relaxed voice, But wait... ahead of me I see lights of a bigger street, they gleam so attractively in the distance. From time to time I can catch a glimpse of a car, zooming by; and now I can't wait to get there after all the stillness of this sleepy place. I bet, something extraordinary is waiting for me there. Oh, yeah! Her voice was full of joy, and excitement. I’m getting closer… Actually, did you just hear the whoosh of a car?

Yes, I did. That was just an ordinary noise of an ordinary car. Irina’s voice sounded slightly annoyed.

But Jinne didn’t seem to notice that at all. She continued, I'm almost there... And now I'm starting to feel the vibe of this street. It's so... refreshing, so... full of promises of change. I’m approaching those tempting lights... Finally, I’m walking into them.

There came a few moments of silence, and then Irina began to hear muffled sounds of cars, passing somewhere in the background - apparently Jinne had come out to this bigger street.

So what do you see there? Irina asked skeptically. Any miracles?

Well… The wind is much stronger here. I feel its cooling freshness on my face and arms. And there are no trees to block the view of the sky here anymore, so that I can actually see the moon. The stars though are very pale, and barely noticeable. I guess it’s because of the overall brightness of the place. Also, the street itself is quite different, the ground levels of the buildings are occupied by various shops and stores. And still, as far as I can see, there is no one around, only cars are passing by from time to time...

Jinne’s voice had gradually been getting less and less excited, and when she paused for a little while, Irina began to hope that this might be it, and she would be able to get back to sleep soon.

But no, the next moment Jinne yelled passionately, Wait… I think I see something interesting. I just need to cross the street, hold on for a few secs please.

Irina shook her head in silent disappointment. This weird night talk didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, and so she started thinking of suggesting her friend to continue the walk without her on the line. She had already been searching for appropriate words to do so when Jinne’s voice distracted her, Oh my God! It smells so good! Irina heard a distinct sound of a deep inhale. I’m standing near a small coffee shop. It’s actually closed now, but the aroma of the roasted beans is so strong here, and it’s so fresh, so... stimulating! It even seems to me that I feel the neurons in my brain start vibrating! Jinne inhaled again, this time even deeper, and longer; then she let out a long moan filled with pleasure. A few moments later she added, Oh yeah... the smell of coffee seems more intense at night, it’s so… inspiring. I’m absolutely thrilled now. You must be hearing it in my voice…

Irina used that short pause to insert a few words, Hey Jinne! This all is so very cool, but I think that I need to get back to sleep right now. You know, I have to work tomorrow, right?

But Jinne completely ignored what Irina had just said. She went on in a very excited tone, Oh my! I think there is someone coming my way… It seems to be a young man… Yes, it is. And he looks very fine. He is wearing shorts and a t-shirt. They nicely emphasize his athletic body. Hold on, there is something written on the t-shirt… It’s a single word - Obey. Interesting… I think that I like him.

There came a short pause, but Irina said nothing - her attention was attracted to the image of the young man formed in her mind. In a few seconds Jinne continued, He is coming closer, and I’m just standing here in the middle of the street, waiting for him to pass by! I’m feeling a bit tense… Oh! I have just locked my eyes with him. It lasted for only a brief instant, but that was already enough to make me so, so jittery… She heaved a deep sigh as though to help herself calm down. Wait now, he is passing by...

And then silence followed. Irina was waiting patiently with bated breath. The pause had already started to seem too long when it finally ended, and Irina heard her friend’s another sigh. A moment later Jinne’s voice on the phone said, He has passed. Phew… I couldn't stop staring at him while he was walking by. We looked each other in the eyes, and… his glance seemed to me too arrogant, too... demanding. She sounded slightly disappointed now. It made me feel a certain discomfort... So no, in the end I didn't like him that much.

Finally Irina emerged from her speechless stupor, feeling really annoyed. Sorry Jinne, but I really need to have some rest now. You will tell me about all of that tomorrow evening, she uttered insistently. Alright?

Wait, just a couple more things, Jinne tried to stop her from hanging up.

But Irina was absolutely determined to end this meaningless word flood, she added a short, Talk to you tomorrow, Jinne. Bye, and quickly pressed the disconnect button on her phone.

Having lifted her head, she found herself sitting in the darkness oh her bedroom again. The silvery moon was shining softly through the window just like before. Irina sighed with relief, and tossed the phone carelessly on the bedside table. She felt a slight regret for terminating the call so abruptly, but at the end of the day Jinne also should have known better than to call her in the middle of the night without a visible reason.

Irina lied down, and closed her eyes, trying to take her mind off the images brought by the talk with Jinne. Quite soon her body relaxed, and slowly she began to sink into sleep. The dark emptiness had almost swallowed her when the phone rang again.

Letting out a frustrated groan, she thought, Jinne! Please no!

With a single swift movement Irina stretched her arm, and grabbed the noisy device. A brief glance at the screen confirmed that it was her friend again. Alright, this time the talk would be quick, she would just ask Jinne not to call her anymore. Her thumb pressed the accept button, and then she uttered into the phone, Jinne! I know this all is so very exciting, but can you please just stop cal...

Irina couldn't finish her thought, because Jinne's voice interrupted her brusquely, Please, don't hang up again! I really have something very important to tell you!

Alright, Irina said hesitatingly, But can you finally tell me what it is?

I will. I just would like to find a place to sit first... Oh, actually I think I can see a bench ahead. Only… Hmm… It seems that there is someone already sitting on it. A lamppost stands right next to the bench, so the spot is pretty well lit, and I can discern the figure of that person.

Jinne lowered her voice, and Irina suddenly realized that there were no background sounds anymore, so apparently her friend had walked away from busy streets.

In the meantime Jinne continued, It is a man. I’m still far from him, but I’m coming closer... He is wearing a long gray coat. Hmm, it's actually quite weird, considering such a warm weather, don't you think? He has long hair, and it’s also gray... Wait. No, his coat is actually not gray, it is slightly reddish. I believe it used to be red once, but now it’s so old and dusty that it became almost completely gray. This makes me think that the guy is... homeless.

And then there reigned silence. Irina