Does that butterfly just happen to flutter by for no reason?
STORY AND DRAWINGS BY ELS LECLERCQ Translation into English by Janet Lee and Isabelle Delbruyère
ISBN 978946494900 Original title: Vlinderkind Author: Els Leclercq Illustrations and design: Els Leclercq Printed at Drukkerij Room, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium Deposit number D/2022/ElsLeclercq First published in Dutch as Vlinderkind Translation into English by Janet Lee and Isabelle Delbruyère ©2022. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an automated data file and/or made public in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher. Ligatura - Els Leclercq, Weertstraat 20, 2880 Bornem, Belgium. www.elsleclercq.be
STORY AND DRAWINGS BY ELS LECLERCQ
Ella isn’t sleeping. Ella is dead. Her little body might feel cold, but her heart is warm...
Next to her, something is moving... or is it someone? Could it be a butterfly? Or is it a child? It’s Toby. Toby is a butterfly boy.
Two tiny wings appear on Ella’s back.
“I’m Toby. Come with me and don’t be afraid”, he whispers. He takes Ella with him. Toby is really strong and his wings are incredibly beautiful. “I’m Ella”, she says. “I know”, says Toby smiling.
Ella loses track of how long they have been travelling or how far they go. The world around them is getting lighter, more beautiful and more colourful. There are flowers everywhere. Ella has never seen so many flowers. And butterflies! Or no, not actually butterflies. There are butterfly boys and girls everywhere, just like Toby.
“Wait”, says Toby, “we can rest here for a while”. Ella is standing on the sunshine heart of a flower and feels her wings quiver. Hey, what was that? It feels itchy. It’s tickling. “Look Ella, there’s a splash of colour on your wings.” Ella pulls a face. A stain on her wings? “Oh no, a stain on my wings! How come? How did that get there? Do I need to wash it away?”
“You are turning into a butterfly girl”, Toby explains. “Little by little, your wings will grow and become more colourful”. “So how do I get beautiful strong wings like yours?” Toby laughs: “I’m not going to tell you. You’ll have to work that out for yourself.”
Then Ella sees that her feet are covered in pollen. “Oh, I see, I need pollen to colour my wings.” She picks some up and throws it over her shoulder. A yellow cloud tumbles over her, but her wings... they stay completely white. How is that possible?
“Here, take this!”, Toby laughs and he throws her another handful. “Try again! And again, and again and again.” Before long, Toby and Ella are surrounded by clouds of bright powder. But her wings still stay white.
But then, she feels another tickle going through her wings and yes, they are getting a little bit bigger and more beautiful. Ella doesn’t understand it at all. “Come on”, says Toby, “let’s get moving. There is so much more I want to show you. Our world is full of amazing things for you to discover.”
“And will I learn to fly like you?” “Yes, of course. Try it.” Ella is taken aback. “But I don’t know how to fly!” “Just gently move your wings. You’ll quickly get the hang of it.”
Just at that moment, Ella feels her wings quiver again. And once again, they become a little bit bigger and stronger. But why are they always itching? Ella doesn’t understand it, but this time, she manages to use those strong wings. She stands on her toes, flaps her wings and off she goes. “It’s working! I’m flying, I’m flying, look Toby!”
Soon she is making one pirouette after another, then somersaults and backflips. She flies far away and then back, letting herself be tossed by the wind and then takes a nosedive. “I didn’t know flying was such fun!”
Toby flutters along with her through this magical world. Ella is really enjoying herself. It’s so wonderful to glide on the warm wind. Over the flowers, over the water.
Ella sees her reflection in the water and notices that her wings have become magnificent! “I am so beautiful”, she whispers. Toby nods: “I knew that you would become a beautiful butterfly girl.” “Wow! And I have even got feelers coming out of my head!”
She steals a glance at Toby. How could he be so sure that my wings would be beautiful, she wonders. She looks, thinks, frowns, stares at his wings and then, at that very moment, she sees it. Those wings were already beautiful and strong when she first saw him. But now they have become even more beautiful! Especially more colourful. Really amazing.
And just as she is thinking about that, she notices Toby’s wings quiver. Then a splash appears that wasn’t there before!
It seems like... No, that’s impossible! Ella wonders whether she dares to say it. It sounds so crazy. “When my wings quivered, and my feelers tickled, well, for a moment I thought that someone was thinking about me.” Toby smiles. His eyes light up.
Suddenly she understands. She jumps up straight. “Oh really? Can that be true?” “Oh, it is true”, Ella whispers. Carefully, she says out loud what she is thinking.
“They are thinking about me! And they keep thinking about me. That’s why my wings keep getting more beautiful. I’m growing with them.”
Toby nods. “Love is what makes us beautiful. There will always be someone who is thinking about you Ella.” “Always, Toby?”
“Yes. Always.”
STORY AND DRAWINGS BY ELS LECLERCQ Translation into English by Janet Lee and Isabelle Delbruyère
Ella isn’t sleeping. Ella is dead. Her little body might feel cold, But her heart is warm… This is a book about Ella, who turns into a butterfly girl. But it’s not that easy. How do you get strong, beautiful wings? Do you have to learn how to fly? Ella doesn’t know, but with help from her friend Toby, she finds answers and grows into what she will become. BUTTERFLY WINGS is a story about grieving. It allows the reader to acknowledge intense feelings of sadness and loss, but in a fantasy world full of warmth and love, giving you the chance to imagine a life after death, although still recognizing the harsh reality of bereavement. Does that butterfly just happen to flutter by for no reason? Or is there more to it? Els Leclerq (°1976) has been working as a freelance graphic designer, calligrapher and illustrator since 2002. BUTTERFLY WINGS is her second illustrated book.
www.elsleclercq.be
ISBN 978946494900