A Letter from My Grand Daughter (on the Moon)

I saw a butterfly today.

It was amazing. So beautiful, so fragile. Delicate. Like a little flower with wings.

They’ve started letting them fly around now. The dome’s been finished a while of course, but they wanted to make sure the butterflies and other insects wouldn’t get caught in the vents.

I guess they figured it out. Because there she was.

I was up on the ramp, near the rim. It goes all the way around the crater. I guess she flew up from the grove. It’s a place they‘ve let go a bit wild. They say it’s kind of like the way most of Earth used to be. Wild.

We looked at each other. Her wings were slowly opening and closing. She was so beautiful. Orange and red, like the EVA suits the emergency people wear.

I’ve been told that people were surprised at how easy it was for the bugs and butterflies to adapt. Kind of like me I guess. Except that they tell me I’m taller than I’d be on Earth, and her wings are smaller than they would be down there, or that’s what Ms. Anson says anyway. Not as much gravity to push against. Same with me. I don’t have to push against it either. Good. Sounds like a lot of work. You on Earth must get tired a lot.

Speaking of Earth. What made it all so cool was that it was Earthrise. That’s why I was there. I love watching Earthrise. The blues and greens of your world are so…they stand out against the black. It’s hard to see in here, but I’m told on the surface when the sun is down and the Earth is up there’s a blue green color to everything. Dad says it’s called EarthLight.

What was the coolest though was when the butterfly landed on the glass of the inner dome right where the Earth was. Maybe she saw it too and thought it was a flower? It’s a little blurry, as the rad glass isn’t as clear like the glasses we drink from. Anyway, for just a second or two it was like she was holding the Earth, her wings slowly moving, lifting your whole world higher into space.

Then she flew away and down towards the grove. I stayed a while longer.

I love looking at Earth. It really is like a little blue and green flower floating in the dark.

It rises and falls.

But it always rises again.

Beautiful.