Blind Butterfly (Part 1) – Alejandro Gaitán Andrade

ME – Main Character, Detective.

CLAUDIA – Childhood Friend, Afflicted.

“Ghosts do not exist. They are but a product of the human imagination, as are all the other supposed paranormal entities.”

That is a statement proven true time and time again, and it has been globally accepted for centuries. However, there are still people who keep denying the undeniable.

Me?

I’m not one of them. You’ll find me dead in the ground before I admit to their existence. Actually, I have had so much experience with supernatural entities that I can say without the shadow of a doubt that they do not exist. All events related to the supernatural are, without exception, tricks our minds play on us, with the simplest possible explanations.

However.

Yes, however.

As much as I loathe everything that can’t be explained with logic and hard facts, common sense is indeed the least common of senses. Or maybe it is my definition of “common sense” that is flawed, and that’s the reason it is so uncommon in my surroundings.

It’s almost been a year now since people have started coming to me with seemingly absurd, illogical “supernatural issues”, every one more stupid than the previous.

And, inevitably, solving these issues has granted me an undesired reputation as an “exorcist” of sorts.

An unpleasant thing to be known as, certainly. Especially for someone whose only desire is to finish his high school education and move on to pursue his life-long dream of being a movie director.

Regardless, this time I shall tell one of many tales featuring paranormal happenings, in the hope that they can at least be entertaining to whatever audience they find.

There’s no particular reason why I chose this story in particular, nor do I remember it especially vividly, save for the beginning and end of it.

It was 2:45 PM, school had just ended and I could not wait to get home and devote myself to my usual procrastination.

Just as I thought of playing videogames, watching TV or any mundane thing of the sort, I felt someone shouting at me from behind.

Or well, maybe they were calling out to someone else – I thought before that hope shattered the moment I realized who it was, and the fact that there was nobody else in that direction.

The closest thing I ever had to a female childhood friend was right there, running towards me with a worried expression on her face.

When she finally reached me and started recovering her breath, I was too dumbfounded to say or do anything. Actually I wouldn’t notice until later that I had stopped walking.

After all, she had spent months without ever talking to me in person.

And it had been my fault, exclusively mine, so mine that you’d wonder if anyone else was even involved – which they definitely were. But that’s a story for another day.

“Please, I need you to come with me”, she said.

“What is it?! What happened?!”

“No need to be so worried before I’ve even said anything. I just need your help is all.”

“… Okay, I’m sorry. What do you need?”

“You’re not going to like it… It’s another one of those. How did you use to call them… ‘Paranormal nonsense’ or something.”

“… You should know better than anyone, better than me even. Those don’t exist.”

I was ready to turn around and leave her there. I wanted nothing to do with any of that stuff if it wasn’t unavoidable.

“Please. I know they don’t exist, and that’s the reason I’m asking you. Please.”

…I wanted to refuse. But. She was trusting me, just like she had back then.

Maybe this time I would be able to not let her down.

I accepted, reluctantly.

By Alejandro Gaitán Andrada (1º Bachillerato B)