Butterflies in Winter

By Sam Biswas

Riya Sen, a Bengali author living in Linford City. After writing two novels, she started dealing with writer's block and fallen out of writing. Until she meets a literature student, Johnny Miller who's one of her fans and finds a newfound of appreciation of life and everything in it. Can Johnny help Riya write a new novel?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ukiyoto Publishing
• Release date: Mar 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9789360494285

Book preview

Butterflies in Winter

Sam Biswas

Ukiyoto Publishing

All global publishing rights are held by

Ukiyoto Publishing

Published in 2023

Content Copyright © Sam Biswas

ISBN

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.

To everyone who has supported me

Characters

1. Riya Sen – 32, Height – 5’9". A Bengali author immigrated to Linford City dealing with writer’s block.

2. Johnny Miller – 24, Height – 5’8" . An orphan grew up in the countryside and moved to Linford City. Loves reading and listening to Walkman.

3. Christie Adler – 43, Height – 6’2". Aunt of Jade and owner of Queen Baker. Loves to cook and read novels.

4. Jade Adler – 24, Height – 5’6" . Nephew of Christie and a renowned digital artist is known for his romantic artworks. Loves to draw and play retro games.

We delight in the beauty of a butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

- Maya Angelou

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

About the Author

Chapter 1

It was a chilly winter morning in Linford City. The sun had risen way up north and the city was already busy with its daily schedule except for someone living in the student apartment close to Johanna University. His name was Johnny Miller. He was resting on his bed, looking at the off-white ceiling. His apartment was a one-bedroom apartment with a hall and a kitchen. As a believer in minimalism, he had only one table by his bed with a small gaming laptop where he wrote his homework and fan fiction. On the table, there was a shelf with books that were in his curriculum of English Literature, and the drawers under the table were filled with books he chose to read.

Johnny Miller sat up on his bed and rubbed his hair. He looked out of the window. The street he could see was empty. All of his neighbors were in class but he decided to rest for a day. He got up from his bed and walked to his bag. His bag was lying on the floor next to the door leading to the kitchen. He opened up the bag and took out his Walkman, an EX-5 model along with his mixtape. He put on the headphones and pressed play. The first song was The Man Who Sold The World by Midge Ure. As the music started, he walked into his kitchen to cook instant noodles for lunch along with scrambled eggs and chopped chicken sausages as toppings.

As he finished cooking, he poured everything into a bowl and stuck a fork in it. He took the bowl to his bed to eat while watching out the street. To listen to some music, he unplugged the headphones from his Walkman and plugged them into his speaker followed by rewinding the tape and playing the song again. Then he started slurping his noodles and looked out into the sky. It was cloudless and barren like the deserts of Metal Gear Solid 5 the song reminded him of. The noodles along with eggs and sausages warmed his body and he felt rejuvenated. He developed a knack for cooking after months of living away from his family. He barely spoke with them until he needed money and that was a rarity too.

After finishing his noodles, he decided to take a shower. He walked to his bathroom and looked in the mirror. Johnny was a boy in his early twenties, he had a slim figure, a fringe haircut with bangs on his face, and an Asian look. His bathroom only had a shower and a toilet. He didn’t take much time in his shower but he decided to take a long warm one while he soaped his body and shampooed his hair. While showering, he listened to the music playing in his apartment which he preferred having over the deafening silence during the middle of the day. Then he thought about the classes that were supposed to happen today and if skipping them was a good idea.

He walked out of his bathroom and picked up a novel while drying his hair. The novel was 170 pages long and was named Love Thy Creator by Riya Sen. He threw the book on his bed and took a blue t-shirt and shorts out of the closet. He wore them and opened the first page. The book was given to him by his boss at a cafe near Linnet St where Johnny worked part-time.

I dream of a world where I had no roots, where I was not seeded by someone, especially not by people for whom I was an accident. An accident that happened after a passionate night where they forgot to prevent me from ever being born in this cruel world.

This was the opening paragraph of the book. Johnny was surprised by the disrelish of the main character towards her parents.

Woah! Calm down, sister. At least you know who your parents are. Johnny said out loud. He continued reading the book. The main character was a woman named Kriti who had a hard time being ping-ponged from mother to father after their divorce when she was a child. His mother had custody but her father had the right to meet her every month.

My father and mother didn’t think of me as a human with emotions, thoughts, or autonomy. I didn’t use the word parents because it kind of implies they live together. I had to do whatever was told to me by whoever’s turn it was. I wanted to break free. I wanted to run away. I’m screaming at the top of my lungs but no noise came out because no one cared enough to listen to it.

Johnny had a hard time rooting for the main character as she was moody and an arrogant child but he did empathize with her pain. Being born to a couple that didn’t want her and then the subsequent tug-of-war with her after their divorce, he tried to understand what the writer went through while writing this. He looked at the dust jacket of the book where the author’s information was written along with her photo. There it was, Riya Sen. A Bengali woman with sharp eyes and barely any smile on her face. She looked annoyed, frustrated and didn’t want her photo to be taken.

So that’s where the angst came from. Johnny said. He wondered what it would be like to be her. He read her bio. Riya Sen. Born 35 years ago. Had a degree in both English and Bengali literature. Born in Kolkata now moved to this country.

I wish I could meet her and give her a nice warm hug. Johnny continued reading.

Johnny finished half of the novel. He loved the florid writing style of the book and felt the same despair Kriti felt in that book. Even after that, he still had to take a break because the writing became more and more depressing. It was 4 in the afternoon. His phone rang up. It was Mr. Nakagawa who owned a shop called Hearty Tunes.

"Konnichiwa, Nakagawa San."

"You idiot. You should say moshi-moshi and it's not morning anymore." Nakagawa said from the other side.

Oh, I’m sorry.

Nakagawa laughed. Anyway your mixtape is ready. Come to my shop.

Right away!

Great. I’m making tea. Do you wanna have a chit-chat over tea?

Yeah, I am hankering for some tea and you’re too, right?

Yes. Now, get your ass over here. The call disconnected.

Johnny was walking through Newbridge Market. Many schoolchildren were rushing out of their schools and were spending their buffer time in the market to have fast food or card games before they went to their home or tuition. Johnny looked at those children and thought about the days back in his small town when he didn’t have the opportunity to indulge in activities like these. He had a messenger bag that had the book he was reading, some biscuits, and water.

He stood in front of Hearty Tunes and looked at its sign. It was shining. Nakagawa recently cleaned it for the new year. Johnny opened the door which rang the bell notifying Nakagawa of his entrance.

Johnny! Nakagawa said while he was organizing the CD section.

Hey, Mr. Nakagawa. Johnny peeked at him.

Sit there! Your cassette’s on the deck. Johnny sat by the counter and inspected a cassette case. It had a cassette with the words HYDE: MIXTAPE written on it. Johnny asked Nakagawa to record his favorite HYDE songs on a cassette. It wasn’t something Nakagawa liked to do but Johnny insisted as he preferred the obsolete medium.

The shop was decorated with string lights of various colors, an