Want to submit your own 500-word story to the Lafayette Writes challenge? Learn more and submit before Nov. 30!

“A Beautiful Life”

by Meghan F.

Caught between canines, the melody of the racing river eased him to stillness. It was the song of his birth. He remembered the way this water first breathed life into his gills. Above, butterflies had welcomed him, waving heavy wings.

He returned the next summer with his young in tow, but the butterflies had all gone. In its place was something wilder.

The beast’s mouth was slick and warm as it bit fins from flesh.

With a gaping mouth, he warned those who swarmed below.

Return to the place from which we came. I will welcome you there, a butterfly at last.