A caterpillar, plump and verdant, rests on a leaf. He gazes at the moving clouds, seeing how their white compositions lay out a blank slate for endless possibilities. Gliding around is a kaleidoscope of butterflies returning from their voyage from the south—oh, how beautiful are they with their vibrant wings! If only the caterpillar could possess such elegance.

The caterpillar returns back to the tree in which it resides. He turns to his sister and wonders why she’s so different from him. Sure, they were only a few months apart, but how has she already begun searching for a suitable resting place? How come she is rapidly changing into someone different from what he once knew? He inches towards her with a curious expression.

“Please tell me, dear sister, why is it that you’re not the same as when we were young?” 

The sister ponders about how to answer his question. It isn’t a difficult question to answer at all. After moments of silence, she had her answer.

“Change,” she states simply. “As we grow, we stray away from the past versions of ourselves. I remember when you were in diapers! Look at you now.”

“But…what if I like me now?” the caterpillar asks. “Can’t I stay like this forever?”

“You can…” the sister replies. However, the questions make her quite uneasy. It’s not easy to explain the essence of life, and instead of explaining the importance of change, the sister decides to allow her brother to make his own discoveries. “Actually, why don’t you head back out, brother? I’m sure your friends are getting impatient.”

The caterpillar heads out of his stump and begins to inch towards a branch with fuzzy clusters. Butterflies swarm the blooming aspen flower in its oddity. Again, the caterpillar sees the vibrant crimson and apricot hues that plaster the wings of each butterfly that passes. One particular butterfly approaches the caterpillar.

“Look! Look!” it yells enthusiastically. “Don’t you recognize me? Look at my wings!”

The caterpillar squints at the sight, puzzled by what the butterfly means. Then, it clicks. His friend glides around him to show its new-found form. It was beautiful, but this wasn’t the friend he once knew. He squirms away, not fully convinced that this new butterfly was a caterpillar he once knew. It was scary not recognizing someone he knew so well; the caterpillar wonders if he’ll become unrecognizable himself one day.

As time goes on, the caterpillar becomes more and more hungry. He searches for sufficient food supplies and even a resting place for a chrysalis. Once he finds a suitable place to rest, the caterpillar attempts to hang upside down. Whoops! He accidentally slips and plummets down. 

Squeaaaaaaak! Squeaaaaaaaak!

Luckily, the silk the caterpillar produces is strong enough to pull him up back under the branch. As the caterpillar swings, he begins to shed his skin. Within a few weeks, the caterpillar has fully formed a cozy cocoon. Inside the cocoon is the apprehensive caterpillar. Suddenly, a figure of mist appears before him.

“Isn’t this exciting?” it asks enthusiastically. “You’re beginning to transform!”

The caterpillar shakes his head.

“I’m not sure what will happen to me,” he replies.

“Think about it! You’ll grow gorgeous wings and be able to fly around. The possibilities are endless when you’re able to get up and fly.”

The caterpillar ponders, his thoughts still occupied by the fear of not recognizing himself.

“You’ll only become something beautiful if you simply allow yourself to transform,” the mist adds. “So let go, be beautiful.”

As the warmth of the rising sun hugs the cocoon, coral dahlias bloom on the branch in which the caterpillar resides. The mist melds into the pupa, its figure a perfect replica. Eventually, the cocoon begins to shatter, slowly revealing sapphire wings with sooted edges. Oh how beautiful he is with his vibrant wings! The newly transformed butterfly glides around, taking in the endless clear skies. He reconvenes with his friends that had last seen him as a caterpillar. He shows off his new wings the same way he had seen his friends do weeks prior.

In the midst of his excitement, he notices a young caterpillar on a nearby branch. It watched the butterflies in awe while also having uncertainty plastered on its expression. The butterfly flies down to the level of the caterpillar with sympathy.

“You know, you can be the same if you allow yourself to” the butterfly says reassuringly.

“But what if I like me now?” the caterpillar replies. “Can’t I stay like this forever?”

“You can, but imagine the endless possibilities you’re preventing yourself from experiencing!” 

With a tender expression, the butterfly glides closer. Staring him in the face is his past, a young and naive caterpillar who wanted nothing more than for life to remain the same. He understands now what it takes to become a butterfly. 

“So let go, become beautiful” the butterfly’s voice rings with conviction rather than the apprehension he constantly felt as a caterpillar. With his last piece of advice, the butterfly flies towards his friends. He flies through the skies, free and accepting of the new life he dreamt of for so long.