The Cries of the Butterfly - A LOVE STORY (7 page)

Well, I can go on, but more after we know each other better.

What I’m looking for...

Although I’m not looking for a Wolf Butcher or someone like that (they happen only in fantasies…and I’m not into that), you should have a good personality, with decent manners and habits. You should have a sense of humor, but also know when to be serious. Should not have a chip on your shoulders. Nothing is more off-putting than a person hauling a huge baggage. Although you don’t have to be an Art Butcher or a Bill Gates, you should be financially stable. Basically someone who can be my best friend and soul-mate. No mind games please! You should be loyal to me in the same way that I shall be completely loyal to you. I am a one-man woman and expect reciprocity. Cool?

Well, not too bad, Savannah thought. She had met some interesting men, but she had been wary. A lot of people on the Internet were fake and you could get really hurt if you weren’t careful.

At first, she had been hesitant going on such sites and slapping down her ‘Profile’. Somehow it had seemed
cheap.
...
But hey, what the heck, see it as an adventure,
she had told herself, and thereafter she had become totally hooked. It had been great fun really—meeting new people, discovering new cultures, lifestyles, perspectives... The high-point of this adventure had doubtlessly been meeting this man, who’d gone by the nick ‘Lu’.

She now went onto the profile of the man who had so uplifted her, checking it out again.

Hi! I’m Lu.

I’m a 30 year old Caucasian male from Los Angeles, looking for friendship with women.

Eyes: brown. Hair: short and brown. Height: average. Weight: average. Education: college degree. Annual income: about $50k.

That’s all?
she had thought.
Oh, so terse, so boring.

Now, she yawned and stretched herself.
Where are you, Lucio Edilson?
What should I do? He may not turn up at all for the rest of the evening and it was almost six pm.
That’s nearly seven in LA.

And then her laptop tinkled. A little note on the lower right hand corner of the screen said: ‘Lu has just signed in’. A little something kicked in Savannah’s bosom. And then he was paging her.

She clicked on the message and the Fly Messenger board came alive.

Lu says: hey girl the power turned a trick uh?

She pressed the keys frantically.

Sav says: right. sorry about it.

Lu says: so wassup?

Sav says: not much.

Lu says: ok.

Sav says: look lu u were sayin somethin b4 the power conked off.

Lu says: v r rather desperate 2 know arent we?

Sav says: inquisitive, not desperate. so spill.

Sav says: lu...u there???

Lu says: no its my corpse here.

Sav says: LU QUIT!!!

Lu says: k, k...but i m just 2 nervous!

Oh, here we go again!
she thought.

Sav says: pls dont b. dont u trust me lu? v hav bcum such gud friends that u know u can say anything 2 me. whatever it...

Lu says: i luv u babe.

She stopped breathing.

Lu says: i know its bizarre n stupid n strange n ridiculous n ull think ive totally lost it but i think i m in luv with u sav. somehow i just am. even i cant figure it out myself…i feel so f…ing stupid.

She remained frozen.

Lu says: this is what i wanted 2 say all along n couldnt, but now its out in the open n ur silence tells its own story n i m feelin like a real heel. i m mortified n ashamed n feel real cheap n if only the earth below me wud open up ... so gudby savannah n i m truly sorry i embarrassed u, but not my fault entirely. u practically compelled me 2 confess.

Sav says: WAIT!

Sav says: DONT GO LU!

Sav says: theres NOTHING 2 b ashamed/embarrassed about!!!

Sav says: LU?????

Lu says: yes.

She exhaled.

Sav says: u read what i said?

Lu says: yah.

Sav says: now dont b so meek. like i said u hav nothin 2 b ashamed/embarrassed about. u voiced ur innermost feelings n thots n i admire u 4 that. its a rare quality 4 a human 2 hav n its 2 b valued n cherished.

Lu says: wow u do hav a nak of makin a bloke feel gud.

Say says: i m just bein honest here sir.

Lu says: thax a lot sav.

Sav says: & look lu…these things happen. certain things r beyond human control…or reason. luv tops dat list. “inexplicable phenomenon”, like u like to say.

Lu says: great! lol.

A pause. Then...

Lu says: lets talk on the phone sav.

The abruptness of that made Savannah blink.

Lu says: sav?

Sav says: yes.

Lu says: lets talk real time…voice.

Sav says: u really want that?

Lu says: about time dont u think?

Well, that’s a new one!
she thought.

Sav says: i dont exactly hav ur phone nos u know.

Lu says: i’ll call u.

You
still
don’t want me to have your number? What’s the deal, Lucio Edilson?

Sav says: k. lets do it then. call me in 10 mins. … & on my fixed-line.

Lu says: why not 5 mam?

Sav says: bcaus i need 2 go 2 the loo 1st.

Lu says: u need a pee b4 u can talk 2 me???

Sav says: u r such a genius lu!

And she quickly logged off. Then she dashed to the bedroom and to the loo.

Lu Edilson had implied right—she
was
suddenly nervous. But more, in a sort of a daze. It was all too sudden.

The phone bell rang as she lowered her panties and she froze.
I told him ten minutes, didn’t I?
She listened, but after two rings it stopped. Savannah went ahead with her task.

The phone buzzed again as she was putting her panties back on.
Shucks!
Again it ceased after two rings. So Lu had decided to play with her a little before they actually spoke.
The prick!
Didn’t he realize he was making her even more nervous?

She sat down on the edge of her bed, next to the bedside table, and checked the wall clock. Seven minutes still before he was supposed to call. Now she wished he would call before time. She found her hands were shaking just a little.
Mary, what’s this!
She felt like a teenage girl going on the first date of her life. Come to think of it—when was the last time she’d been with a man? She couldn’t remember. She felt like a born-again virgin. And they weren’t even going to meet...just talk, and long distance at that.

The phone began to ring then. The same routine: heart galloping, breath in abeyance, skin bristling... She picked up the receiver very gently.

“Savannah?”

Her stomach tightened instantly.
I have heard this voice before!

“Yes...Lucio, right?” she fumbled, her mind suddenly alight with uncertainty.
Where have I heard this voice?

“No, this is Lucio’s grandfather.” And the low giggle that followed sent a worm sprinting up her back. It was so familiar, so distinctive. And yet, again, she couldn’t really place it right now.

“So how are you, Sav? I mean, I may call you Sav, right?”

“That’s my name,” she said.

“No, your name is Savannah. But I may call you Sav?” he tittered.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance.
Whatever!
“Yes,” she said tersely.

There was sudden silence at the other end.

“Lu? You there?”

“Yes, Miss.” A short pause, then, “Savannah, I have a confession to make.”

“Really?”

“I’m not in LA right now.”

“Do not say it.”

“Guess where I am.”

“Mars?”

“Phew, that was close,” he laughed. “But not close enough. Actually, I’m in New Halcyon.”

“Neat. But quit fooling, will you?”

“Not joking, Miss. Dead serious this time around.”

This time it was Savannah’s turn to die.

“Sav?”

“Yes... Are you serious, Lu?”

“Very. ... Do you want us to meet?”

“How come you never told me this before?”

“Wanted to amaze you, Miss.”

Oh, that you’ve managed...startlingly well.

“So what do you say?” he said.

“Which hotel?”

“Not telling...yet,” he laughed.

Oh, ever so mysterious. First, he won’t video chat with me, then he won’t give me his phone number, now this...

“Alright, have it your way,” she said coldly. “When do you want us to meet?”

“Tonight?”

She checked her watch. It was seven-fifty pm.

“
Where
do you want us to meet?” she asked.

“Your place?”

“My place?” she blurted, startled.

“Not good?”

She recovered quickly. “No, my place will be fine. Say in an hour?” She had to get organized first.

“Right,” he said. “I know you live by yourself, but you’re completely safe with me. I mean, I’m a gentleman to the core.”

Mary, what’s he yapping about?
she thought, a little piqued. “I know,” she said curtly. “You have my address, right?”

“The same one you gave me over email?”

Which other would there be, dumbo?
“Yes,” she said.

“Fine, catch you in an hour then.”

“Look, Lu, make it nine-thirty instead, okay?”

After the line was cut, she took an extended inhalation and blew air through her mouth. This was all a bit too abrupt. She looked around her compact one-bedroom apartment. It was a mess. The laundry had piled up, the house begged to be swept and mopped, the washroom cried for attention...a zillion things. And she needed a quick shower too.