Illustration Friday: Swarm

People say, you should not have expectations..
I say, you have to have expectations, just expect the unexpected!

When I was about 6 yrs old, I spent a few weeks of summer vacation with my family in a rented cottage. It was a small colony of about ten cottages, ten families, no electricity, just kerosene lamps.
My mother used portable gas stove to cook her delicious melas on, and we took "showers" outdoors, under an iron water well pump.
Me and my sister ran around, smelling of summer sun. Trees and grass and buzzy bees and birds everywhere. Endless outdoors adventures. Exciting summer storms, that kept us indoors playing cards and board games, mushroom hunting..I could go on and on..wooonderfull summer!

One morning I woke up to find our grassy cottage front swarming with hundreds of orange butterflies.

They were all gone by mid day, besides one.
For some reason, one butterfly stayed, and followed me the whole day.. I think I gave him a name.
He flew away into the sunset right before my bedtime. I couldn't fall asleep. I got so attached to him.

The following day,  he was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, while I was playing in the grass, he came out of nowhere and sat on my shoulder!
I froze and called out for mom to come and look. I got up slowly and he stayed on me while I walked around. I felt so special!
Two more weeks till the end of the summer vacation in the cottage; he came back every day!

I was heart broken when we had to leave.
The following summer, I couldn't wait to see if he was back...  :)

This drawing is based on my memory of this one magical summer encounter.