The young girl ran as fast as her legs would go but she pushed herself to go faster.
Snow was falling all around her, all she had on was a light gray jacket that met her waist.
As she reached a tall, proud tree she fell to her knees. The tree towered over her small frame as
snow continued to fall around her. She looked up at it as tears rolled down her pale cheeks.
She pushed a strand of dark hair back as she slowly pulled herself up and walked closer to the tree.
The girl placed her hand on the trunk then quietly sat down where the trunk met the earth.
"Butterflys..cry.." she muttered as she pulled her knees to her and hugged a teddy bear close
to her chest as she looked up at the sky

~

"Chou!" a boy's voice echoed. A young girl looked over her shoulder as a smiling face greeted her.
They exchanged Hellos as they started walking next to each other.
It was spring, the best time of year for a love to bloom within two souls. Love is something
that can effect anyone, Lover's, Family, or even as a Friendship.
The two children made small talk as they headed home from playing. As they reached the end of the
street, they stopped as the girl frowned. The boy noticed then smiled as he pulled her cheek.
"Don't be sad. We can play everyday!" the boy assured her as he did every day since the day they met.
He didn't know why but the girl always got sad when they had to say Goodbye. As a kid he thought
she just wanted to play hide and seek again. But, he would hug her then run off as his mother called for him.
The girl, Chou would slowly walk up the street some to reach her house. The closer she got the more
she felt her chest growing heavy. She entered the house and began to walk up the stairs til a voice
roared out at her.

The man stomped in her direction as she stood silently, gripping the banister tighter the closer
he got. "You're late! I said be home on time!"
This was every night, no matter what time she would arrive, Father would be furious when she did come home.
She would always try to be home earlier next time but for now, since her father always pointed out
these simple things as bad, she saw her self as a 'naughty' child and naugthy children must be punished.

The man threw his hand out and grabbed her by her dark hair, he swung her back causing her small
frame to fly back and smack against the front door she had just came in.
The girl rubbed the back of her head at the sting, she looked up to her Father as he prepared to finish
out the punishment of not arriving on time.
~

The girl sat on the edge of her bed as she hugged a teddy bear named Charlie. Her eye was blackened
as dark as her hair and she still felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. This was every night for her,
Father would punish her for doing wrong, sometimes he would get madder at her as he did because
no matter how bad the punishment, or the pain, Chou wouldn't cry. It's not that she refused, she just
wasn't sure why she didn't. She assumed that's just another thing she failed to do correctly. Maybe that
is why Father was always so mad at her? Chou just forgot the question and hugged Charlie again.
Til the boy moved in down the street,she had no one at all. Then after she met him she got a whole new friend, Charlie.

Charlie was a great friend. He didn't look at her strange when her skin was bruised, he never yelled at her, hit her and he never left..she felt blessed but even though Charlie was great, she did enjoy the company of another human being. She was happy.

~

Chou, who was now a few years older hummed as the boy who lived down the street, who was also
older, layed his head in her lap and watched as a butterfly fluttered by them.
The girl smiled as she finished and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. Sometimes the boy
would beg her to sing more to him and she would. She would probley do anything within her power
for the boy who lived down the street, he was truly a great friend. Of course after the years of their
friendship he had discovered of Father's punishment..but Chou didn't like talking about it.
So, they would just drop it for that time and head for the tree.
The tree was an old weeping willow that was forgotten deep in the woods. Chou and the boy just
found it out of random as they played tag when they were children.

~

The two walked quietly up the street as the sun was just starting to go down.
They stopped at the corner as they always have, the girl frowned as they heard the boy's mother
call for him. The boy smiled as he wrapped his arm's around her fragile frame, "It's ok. We can see
each other tomorrow." hearing him say this the girl looked up. "I've never missed a day have i?" he
laughed and leaned back from her. The girl felt a sudden warmth as he pulled back, "You can give it back
tomorrow. It's getting cold." he smiled as he held his hand up then ran towards his house.
The girl pulled at the jacket and began to walk.

She entered the house and began to head up stairs. "Where have you been?" her father roared out from
the kitchen. The girl froze on the steps. She didn't bother to explain anymore, or protest.
"Speak,Damn it!" the man yelled as he got closer. The girl looked down as she prepared for
what came next. "You litt-" the man huffed but Chou didn't catch the rest. All she heard was a thump
sound and as she did, she felt a stinging pain go up her body. It hurt. She knew she was late
but she didn't want to miss a second at the tree. To her, this was worth it.

~

Chou sat down on her bed, she held a rag to her nose. Father must of been extremely upset with her.
The girl grabbed the bear named Charlie and curled up, soon she fell asleep.

~

The girl stood under the tree waiting as she always did. She hummed quietly, clenching the
jacket around her waiting for the boy who lived down the street as she did since she was small
but..he never showed up.
It began to get dark so the girl headed home.

She reached the corner where she normally would say her goodbyes but this time she stopped
for something else. Flashing lights caught her eyes, she walked closer to see what would be happening
at this time of night. It was late, by this time she should be hugging Charlie but instead
she was staring at men rushing into her dear friends house. A man sat on the steps crying as they did.
Chou knew him, he was the boys father. Then she saw the men carry out something, the boys mother
cried out as they did and chased after them. Without thinking Chou had walked right up to the Amubulances
back door. She watched quietly as they carried the stretcher inside it. One of the men grabbed the boys
mother before she jumped inside behind them. "My son!" Chou felt her body grow heavy as the words
echoed in her ears. The girl quickly ran to the front of the doors and watched as they pulled back the
white sheet. She felt her heart stop for a second as everything was in slow motion. All she could hear
was the boys mother screaming. She felt a man trying to pull her away, she tried to fight back and
run to her dear friend but soon the boys father grabbed her. She was no much against
his grip on her, "Sleep Apnea." the girl looked up at the man as she saw tears roll down his face.

Then she watched as the Ambulance drove away, the boys father released her and went to his distressed wife.
Chou stood there as the Ambulance got out of sight.
~

She must have stood in the street for an hour or more. She felt..sad. She wasn't crying but she felt
different. How could this have happened? Why did her friend have to be taken from her?
The girl walked in her house, "You think you can stay out this late then come home?!" a voice roared out at her.
Before she could look up she fell back, he had hit her with his fist. Her cheek stung as she touched it.
She looked up at her father who stood above her as he glared down, she noticed he was holding something.
Then he pointed it towards her. "I'm sick of seeing you around!" the man yelled as he pointed a gun down.
The girl thought of how nice it would be. No more pain, no more punishment and maybe she would see
her dear friend again but in her head she heard a voice. It was something the boy who lived down the street
had told her before. "Don't let that man hurt you anymore,please.." she remembered that day.
It was when she was small and father had given her a black eye. The boy looked..sad when he saw it.

The girls once blank face now held rage, she refused to be punished from him again, she would do
the one thing her friend had begged her for. Chou lunged her body forward, knocking her father over and
the gun from his hands. The gun tumbled away from him.
The man growled and cussed under his breath as he began to reach for it. The girl quickly grabbed the gun away
and stood over him. He laughed, "What a pathetic sight you are!" the girl looked down at the gun she gripped in her
hands then back to her father. All she could think of is how she could have spent more time with her friend at
the tree with the boy...if her father wasn't around. Without much more thinking, a loud sound echoed
in the silence. Dogs in the neighborhood barked as the sound escaped the walls of that house.
The girl ran up stairs and grabbed the teddy bear named Charlie, she hugged him close as she ran down stairs
and out the door.
She ran as fast as she could down the street. Images and memories of the boy played inside her head.
~

The girl looked up at the boy who smiled at her, "I named him Charlie. He's for you, since you're always
so sad when we can't play no more."

As she rememebered that day for once in so many years, she felt a wet feeling trace down her face.
After the first one, tears rolled out as is she would cry out every ounce of water from her body.
The tears got worse as she finally got closer to the tree. It was almost in her veiw,

The boy laughed as the girl frowned, "Chou? Doesn't that mean butterfly?" the girl nodded at the
boy who had recently moved in the house down the street.

"Doesn't it hurt?" the boy asked as he poked the girls black eye. "Did you cry?" the girl shook
her head at the boys questions. The boy smiled, "Butterflys don't cry."