Chapter 29.5 - Butterfly, Butterfly

The notebook of a low ranking government official in Zibernetika

-Today, my daughter is born. Inda Devas. Her name is as strong as the thunderous cry she emitted after her birth.

(October 28, XXX)

-My daughter is a healthy girl. She is as beautiful as her mother. She was born with the genes for electricity magic, just as I had expected. My coworkers suggested some books that would help her read.

(February 19, XXX)

-Inda has taken an interest in a picture book. It was a book that I had read as a child before. “Butterfly, Butterfly, Fly Away” is the name of it. It follows the story of a caterpillar who couldn’t be free. Leaf after leaf, it grew and grew. But it could not fly until its wings were discovered. But, its metamorphosis was halted. It got arrested for a DUI and was sent to jail. That was a joke. That didn’t happen. My apologies. But, he did get sent to jail. It wasn’t his fault, for the only goal was to protect it from the outside world. Its companions, who were already butterflies, would die when it stepped outside. So it stayed inside. I don’t know if Inda understands it or not, because she can barely read at this moment,

(January 21, XXX)

-Inda is now 4 years old. She still loves this book, but I haven’t had time to read it to her recently. Work is exhausting, and her mother has been missing for a year. I don’t know how much longer I can handle this.

(November 2, XXX)

-A cage is necessary to keep the world in order. Inda was eating clay on my desk, only stopping to ask me a question. She said “If you found a caterpillar in your yard, would you put it in a cage to protect it? Or would you let it explore the world and grow its wings, knowing that it may die?” This, of course, shocked me. She was only 4 years old and was speaking like this. But, I gave an honest answer. “Put it in a cage. No being deserves a life that will make it suffer. Freedom is a curse, Inda.” She nodded, and went back to eating clay.

(November 5, XXX)

-I have quit my job. Zibernetika deserves to fall. In no world is this freedom gifted by the gods humane. My eyes are falling apart and my mind is stunted. I cannot do this. I cannot do this. I cannot do this. I cannot do this.

(November 6, XXX)

-I love you, Inda. Your father’s wings have been cut, and I will fall out of my jail.

This is the end of freedom. When will it take me up again?

(November 12, XXX)

A notebook found by the Prime Minister of Zibernetika on the top floor of the previous owner’s office building

-Azadi, I will hold your notebook for you. Your memories will be free, and your suffering will fly away. I will take care of your child for you. This is the end of freedom.

(November 14, XXX)

-Inda has not left the house. Inda is a curious girl, but is a caterpillar at heart. Her father’s death is hard to explain. But, I will try my best. She is the reason for your death. She is the reason your freedom is limited. You do not love her. She held you back from achieving everything you wished to achieve. This can only be labeled in one way. “World Cage Disease”. I wish you the best in the afterlife. I will make sure nobody else gets hurt by this child, my friend.

(November 30, XXX)

-A conflict is inevitable with Cittaglia. I I II I I cannot do anything, I cannot. This is the end. This is the end of freedom. This is the end of life, and this is the end of advancement. They are rippinga caagge and tttthey cannot FUCKING THINK. I will end your life, Forskare Aqlli. I am a ruler. I am strong. Inda is 17 now. She will come with me on the battlefield. The World Cage will obliterate all that surrounds her, and the caterpillar will never get her cursed fucking wings.

(January 19, XXX)

-I write before I leave for the battlefield. Inda refuses to come outside. I do not care. I will drag her outside by her hair if she does not leave. All these doctors do is lie. They lie and lie, they say I’m not fit to be a ruler. They say Inda is fine, and they say that children need freedom. What children need is a cage. This isn’t the end of freedom.

Because freedom never began.

(January 20, XXX)

A notebook found in the pocket of the dead Prime Minister of Zibernetika, which had been picked up by Forskare Aqlli- King of Cittaglia

-None of your foolish ideas deserve the light of day. Insanity is not befitting a ruler, nor is this level of harm. Inda is an extraordinary girl. This level of suffering and control is not correct to afflict a child like this with. I will try to free her, but this is unrepairable. You broke this child, and I’m afraid her wings will never grow. But I will give her a cocoon in the hopes of her flying one day.

This is the beginning of freedom. A freedom that all humans have.

(January 30, XXX)

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Inda had returned to the palace she lived in. She ran past the guards to her home, and entered her dark room. She shut the door, laid down on her bed, and grabbed a box from under it.

Inside the box were three items. The first of the three was a paper that Inda stared at before setting aside.

The second was a picture book with a butterfly on the front, labeled Butterfly, Butterfly, Fly Away.

And the third was a journal.

This wasn’t her first time seeing this journal. It was kept under her bed, so she could read it over and over again.

She picked it up and began to read.

“-Today, my daughter is born. Inda Devas. Her name is as strong as the thunderous cry she emitted after her birth.

(October 28, XXX)”

And she began to cry.

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