Ladybug

Friday afternoon, I left my Pond to venture out of my bubble into the world around me for an interview. Normally at work, I prefer to do phone interviews. The office where I work is way out of the way for a lot of things, and I tend to get lost easily. Besides, phone interviews are much faster to do and I can get more stories written. Moving on.

I drove down to the interview and discovered no one was in the office. I was early, so I took a seat on the porch and waited. As I sat in the sunshine, I heard a tiny smack on my briefcase. I looked down and saw a ladybug crawling around. Using my finger, I gently scraped her off and she crawled about in the crevices of my hand.

As she inched up my arm, I felt her tiny feet racing up my arm. When she reached the crease of my elbow, she stopped.

"What are you, Giant?" she asked.

"I'm a girl," I answered back. "A person."

I heard a tiny sigh, no more audible than a single raindrop splashing against the ground.

"I didn't ask what your gender was or what kind of creature you were," the ladybug chided me. "I asked what you are."

"Oh," I said, throughly confused. "Well, I suppose I'm a writer. A storyteller."

"Wonderful," the ladybug said, inching her way up to my shoulder. "Tell me a story."

"What would you like the story to be about?" I asked.

"You're the storyteller," she said. "You're supposed to be telling the story to me."

So, I told her about the butterflies, and how they flew in giant clouds, swirling and dancing through the air gracefully, no heavier than a falling leaf.

"That was lovely," the ladybug sighed. "Do you tell all animals such wonderful stories?"

"No," I answered. "Usually, they want to tell me a story."

"Would you tell me another story?" the ladybug asked.

"Of course," I said.

"Not now, of course," the ladybug said. "I must go. But when I return, I'll hear another story."

"When are you coming back?" I asked.

"You'll see," the ladybug said. "You'll see."

And with that, her tiny little wings began beating rapidly and she flew away. As I sat on the porch, I watched her fly into the blue afternoon sky. Somehow, I knew she would be back soon.