“They say butterflies can migrant thousands of miles.” She crouches over the cactus, holds her finger out, nudges for the monarch to climb aboard. “They’ll fly to the ends of the earth and never get tired.” She lightly brushes the edge of its frayed, discolored wing with her knuckle.

“That one looks like it’s traveled quite a distance.” He chisels away at the sand and sediment.

“A delicate fossil,” she draws the butterfly to her puckered lips, “guiding us to the biggest archeological discover on American soil.”

“Maybe he knows buddy inside.” He blows away dust, carefully strokes his brush inside the grooves on the roof of the sarcophagus. “What do you think these markings mean?”

“Maybe our friend here can translate.”

He chuckles a pigeon’s coo, steps back to admire his work. The ancient gravesite three quarters excavated. “It’s possible he not only traveled thousands of miles, but thousands of—”

“Years,” she whispered. She blew it a kiss, extended her arm. The butterfly lowered its wings atop the archaic coffin.

word count: 171

—Nortina

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers is a weekly challenge where you write a story in 100-150 words (give or take 25 words) using the provided photo prompt as inspiration.