Chapter 001- A LadyBug's Wings

"Good job. It took you forever, Koat, but you finally did it."

Koat stood tall, admiring his now-finished product.

"Not bad, if I do say so myself. I've been meaning to repaint this fence for a while now, Kenji."

Koat slumped down next to Kenji. His hands began to run through the freshly cut grass. As they did, a bright red ladybug crawled onto his finger.

"Hey there little guy. Or…maybe you're a girl?"

"I know I look a lot like my sister, but I'm definitely not a girl."

Koat shook his head.

"I wasn't talking about you kid. Look at this ladybug. Ain't it badass?"

Koat raised his finger, proudly displaying his newly made friend. Kenji scanned it up and down.

"What's so badass about that thing? It's just a ladybug."

Koat lifted the ladybug up to the sky. The suns light bounced off it's shell, making it shimmer like a ruby. He found himself lost in it's magnificence.

"What's not cool about it, kid? I guess to someone like you, it probably is just a bug. But to me, I don't know, It just feels like more."

Kenji sunk back into the grass, his arms crossed beneath his head.

"Another one of your long speeches? Kill me already."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, you got places to be. You're young and free, The opposite of this old man. But if I explain it to you, even you'll wanna be like this here ladybug."

Kenji let out a long sigh.

"Go on."

"Why thank you little sir. Tell me, boy, what would you do if you had wings?"

Kenji thought to himself for a moment.

"I'd probably fly away from this conversation."

Koat let out a hearty chuckle.

"That'd be nice, huh? But you don't have wings. And you never will. Whenever you wanna go see the world, you gotta buy a ticket to do it. If you wanna drive somewhere, you gotta pay for gas. Hell, you probably can't get to school nowadays without a bike. And yet, this little bug has the power to do all those things. A little insect can reach heights we could only dream of. Tell me how that ain't badass?"

Kenji, now somewhat intrigued with the conversation, sat up straight.

"Because, Koat, it's still just a bug. Sure, it can fly, and that's cool, but if it's still a worthless little ladybug, what's it good for? I doubt it has enough brainpower to know where it's headed next."

Koat stared deeply at the ladybug, still perched up on his finger. To Kenji's words, he couldn't respond.

"Koat?"

Kenji looked over, waiting for the old man to say something. After what seemed like an eternity, he decided to break the silence.

"Uhh, so, what would you do if you had wings?"

The ladybugs wings began to flutter, and it lifted its tiny body into the air. Koat watched as it flew away, towards the vast, endless sky.










"I don't know."