Before we start, I'd like to apologize about the lack of illustrations. But I don't really think they're needed here. All you have to do is go catch a butterfly...Go on, catch one.
Did you get it? It's in your hands right now, right? You're treating it gently, right? Remember that butterflies are delicate creatures, so don't handle it roughly. It might...disappear.
Look at its wings. On the outside, they are black, or gray. At least dark. But as you go in, it becomes lighter and lighter shades of blue. Like a sun coming out from behind a cloud, don't you think? Aren't they beautiful?
Once there were no butterflies in Ur. And once Cosma had all her memories sealed up in a cloud, where she could open it up and view them and remember whenever she wished. But then one day she imagined Butterflies.
Now, Friendly had already imagined Batterflies by then, and so of course he was angry. It looked rather suspicious. Cosma had stolen his creatures' design, and their name, and changed them just a little so they were prettier and much more agreeable. Who wouldn't prefer the light, floaty, bright-blue butterflies to the dark batterflies? Butterflies only needed massages, and batterflies greedily demanded food.
Butterfly milk soon became a staple of Glitchen diet. And then it could be shook into butter! Even better. Better butter. Ha-ha.
Friendly was furious that his marvelous creatures had been stolen. And slowly, Glitchen began to forget batterflies.
Thus, one day, Friendly got to Cosma's memory-cloud and opened it up. But instead of taking out the memories, he scattered them to the wind. Unfortunately, he forgot that Cosma controlled the wind. Once she realized that her memories were free, she tried to get them back into the cloud. But it was too late. She couldn't. So she did the next best thing: she set them on the wings of butterflies. And thus butterflies became Cosma's memories.
Well, in moments she had forgotten about putting the memories on, and in a few more moments she had forgotten about the butterflies, so Friendly felt a little better. But Zille had seen all this, and decided to punish Friendly: she locked up the batterflies in caverns. They never got out.
Thus, butterflies are Cosma's memories. If they die, so will the memories, lost forever. Over time, they will, because memories eventually fade away. But when Glitchen sing to them, they live a little longer, and when Glitchen make new butterflies, old butterflies can pass the memories on. So only a few memories have ever gotten lost. They're there. The only thing is, Cosma doesn't know that they are.
The first thing Cosma forgot, you know, was putting the memories on the butterflies, but since butterflies float on wind, she really always had her memories. But the second thing she forgot was the butterflies. And she forgot of her memories. What use are memories, if they exist, if you don't remember that they do?
That butterfly in your hand...sing to it, please.
Did you?
Did you hear what it said?
Cosma does not remember the butterflies...but we remember her.