…it is so unusual to sit in an empty congress hall where more than a thousand politicians, spiritual leaders, World Bank officials and advisers will debate their doubts, regrets, hopes and dreams for the future… tomorrow morning. All of the windows are open, but there is no sound coming from outside, just beautiful rays of light… and occasional butterfly.
I’m sitting here, in the chairman’s seat, just looking at the careless rays of sunshine filling up the room with more power than any human being can.
And I enjoy it, as does the butterfly, even if it seams that he is lost in this huge, huge room. He’s not lost, he’s free, and you can tell from the way his wings are ridding on the beams of light.
He doesn’t care about what will happen in this room tomorrow, even though his own future might be affected by it. Tonight, he is here just to explore. Tonight, he wants to smell the leather chairs, and touch the microphones with his fairy-wings. The sun has led him here, and that’s all he needs to know and all he cares about.
Tomorrow, while murmur of talk will take over this room and capture everyone in it, this butterfly will be free somewhere else. Perhaps alone, perhaps with the companion, he doesn’t know. But, there is so much to explore, so much to see, smell and touch before the earth takes him back into its arms.
Right there on the window, just a second before he sets out to another beautiful adventure, the butterfly turned and looked at me. “Hope to see you again” he said. “You have been a nice company and you eyes reflect the sunbeams perfectly… I haven’t seen that for a long time. Don’t lose it!”
And with those words, he disappeared again, lost in the light that turned almost red now, ready for another dive into the West. There are people waiting for the light on the other side, I thought, remembering the words of my gentle friend. “Maybe I’ll see you there one day” I said, though he was not here any more.
I stood up just as the maintenance man was entering the room. There are things to be repaired before the talk tomorrow, and he has no time to lose. I smiled to him gently as I passed by him, but he was too busy to notice it. I sent my quiet goodbyes to the room and closed the doors behind me.
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