Childlike Wonder

Her small form is obscured by the tall grasses and overgrown milkweed. She squats, balanced on her thin legs, tousled blonde hair blowing free and wild with the wind.

“Sarah?” I call, but she stays crouched, low to the ground.

“Sarah!” I call again, and she half-turns, her fat, toddler-cheeks dimpled and delighted.

“Look mama!” she chirps. She lifts her cupped hands high into the air for me to see. I walk closer to crouch beside her, kissing the tangled locks and open brow.

She shrugs me off impatiently. “Look what I got mama!” Tenderly, cautiously, she unclenches her small fist, displaying its contents with glee.

“Look! Look!”

I look down on the crushed legs and beautiful, crumpled wings giving a final fluttering effort.

“A butterfly! How wonderful” I smile and she returns it fully, filled with pink-cheeked childish wonder.