Like the Wings of the Butterfly

By RD Armstrong

The miner, Wang Shu Bin,
tells the story of his last
hours with his wife:
trapped within the rubble
of his hospital ward
after a devastating earthquake
“My wife called to me
in the darkness, we were both pinned
under debris, “Wang Shu Bin! Are you
alive?’ I said “yes, can you move?”
She said, “I am pinned from the waist
down.” I began to claw away at the
cement blocks that buried me. It took
two days for me to reach her. She
was only three beds away
from me. I tried to get to her but a large
beam blocked her from me. I could only
touch her fingers. When she realized I was
beside her, she was so glad, her fingers
fluttered like the wings of a butterfly.
For two more days we talked of our past,
of our love for each other. Throughout
her fingers touched mine, speaking to my
heart, directly. Finally, she said one word to me.
‘Wang,’ and the butterfly ceased to flutter.