The Whyte Butterfly Ch. 01

Chapter 1:

"The Grand Lesson"

It was a warm and sunny day on the trendy shopping district of Whyte Avenue in Edmonton, Canada. This part of town was always busy, especially on warm spring days, like this particular Saturday. Two people milling amongst the crowd of shoppers were two long-time friends, who regularly frequented this part of town. Both of them loved the tree-lined streets, old buildings and unique shops of the trendy and famous Whyte Avenue.

The taller of the two women was named "Benita" but her friends called her "Ben" for short. She was a little tall for a girl and had an athletic physique, which included a smaller set of breasts, yet still a respectable B cup. While she resented her breast size, she knew that she was pretty and was proud of her slender body which she liked to show off with tight clothes. Her chestnut hair fell straight and reached just past her shoulders, when she was still enough to let it. Her hair was light and fine and always seemed to be in motion. Her brown eyes sparkled with life as she smiled, which was most of the time.

Benita was quite a charming woman, and was the life of the party. She sought out the spotlight in each room she was in, and usually found it. This of course garnered her: a wide circle of friends, and more than her share of male attention, all of which she lapped up.

The woman walking with Benita was her best friend, Carmen. Carmen was Benita's best friend and confidant. Carmen's curves were fuller and more rounded than Benita's. While Carmen had an hourglass figure, it was accentuated by a little more of her. As a result her breasts, like the rest of her body, were larger and more generous than the average woman's; her breasts were a full and round D cup. Her light brown hair had a natural wave which flowed down past her shoulder blades and was quite thick. Her green eyes darted this way and that as she carefully examined the world around her.

Carmen was much more mature than Benita and served not only as her friend and confidant, but also as her councillor. Yet Carmen's confidence and self-image was much lower than Benita's. As a result Carmen was more reserved than the bubbly Benita.

Carmen and Benita had been friends since childhood and they were both pretty women. Both of the women were in their last year of high school and were eighteen years old, yet Carmen was older by a few months.

Both of the women were left to their own supervision most of the time, but for different reasons. Benita's parents both worked in high-paying jobs so they were always working late as they climbed the corporate ladder.

Carmen's father had left her mother when Carmen was a young child so, Susan, Carmen's mother, was working two jobs to pay the bills. Carmen wanted to work and help pay the bills but Susan refused, saying that high school was Carmen's job. As a result, Carmen always made sure to get good grades in school.

Benita always had more money to spend than Carmen did, but did not flaunt this; she quietly paid for things when Carmen wasn't looking. Carmen offered Benita friendship, support and guidance in return and the pair remained fast friends since elementary school.

"So you had to walk home?" Carmen asked in shock as she walked beside Benita while they crossed the street.

"Yeah he kicked me out of the car! He sat there and demanded a blowjob, saying that I 'owed him!' Can you believe that! Where does it say that just because a woman goes out with a man that she owes him sex!" Benita ranted as she shook her head before glaring at Carmen.

"Did he pay for dinner?" Carmen asked carefully.

"Dinner and the movie, so what?" Benita scoffed.

"How many dates did this make?" Carmen asked curiously.

"Seven! So what?" Benita scowled at Carmen, clearly miffed at where this conversation was going.

"Well, you have spent a lot of time together, and he has he spent a lot of money on you. You might have given him 'Thank you head'," Carmen said regretfully looking at Benita in a sorrowful manner. "Or at least a 'hand-job'," she quickly added.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Benita shouted in shock. "What the hell for?" Benita added in a disgusted scoff.

"Well, look at it from his point of view," Carmen started to say but was cut off by an angry Benita.

"Oh I know his point of view just fine! All he saw me for was a piece of ass! All he wanted to do was to fuck me! All men ever want to do with a woman is fuck! They don't care about her, or if she wants it, or if she is in the mood, all they want is a pussy to stick their cocks into! I want to be more than just a conquest or piece of ass!" Benita shouted a little too loud as a pair of old ladies looked at Benita in shock as they walked by.

"All men aren't like that," Carmen replied calmly.

"ALL Men are obsessed with their own dicks!" Benita snorted as she started to walk more briskly down the avenue sidewalk.

"Most men may have sex on the brain a majority of the time, I'll give you that, but not all men are like that," Carmen said as she strode quicker to catch up with Benita. "I've dated more than a few of them," Carmen added knowingly.

"What do you know?" Benita scoffed.

"Hey, I may not be as pretty as you, but I've still had my share of guys try to get into my pants!" Carmen retorted angrily as she grasped Benita's arm and made Benita stop and face her.

Benita's face drained of anger. She paused and sighed heavily before looking up into Carmen's face with sincerity. It was clear, even to Carmen, that this was no act. Carmen had seen Benita's fake apologies to others before; this was Benita being genuinely sorry.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a little on edge about last night," Benita said with genuine sincerity in her eyes and ringing in her voice as she looked her best friend in the eyes.

"It's okay, I understand, but you really need to learn that not all guys are the same," Carmen said as she let go of Benita's arm and the pair resumed walking again.

"I know, but lately it seems that every guy I go out with seems to want one thing," Benita complained with a sigh as Carmen put her arm around Benita.

"Well, you're the one who dresses in tight clothes all the time and flirts with every guy you meet. What do you expect?" Carmen said with a laugh as she tugged on the far side of the slim-fitting shirt Benita was wearing before letting it snap back into shape.

"I'm a flirt who likes to be the centre of attention, that's who I am. Sure, I like to go out with guys and have them spend time and money on me. That doesn't mean that I'm gonna have sex with any and all guys who take me out a few times," Benita said with sincerity, as she looked into Carmen's eyes with a look that wanted to be understood.

"But you haven't had any sex with anyone!" Carmen said with a laugh.

"You're a virgin, too!" Benita retorted, slightly offended.

"You don't have to go all the way with a guy to have a bit of fun. You can mess around a bit and still keep your virginity," Carmen said calmly and with a smirk on her face before she added, "I have."

"I haven't met any guy that I've wanted to risk going all the way with. I'm afraid that once I get started I may not be able to stop before it's too late," Benita said in a slightly sheepish manner.

"Come," a strange voice whispered on the wind in Benita's ears.

Benita knew that nobody had spoken aloud . . . this voice was in her head. Benita was about to shake it off as a figment of her imagination, but it seems the voice wouldn't be denied.

"Come," the strange voice from the wind repeated.

At that moment Benita felt a strange pull to a nearby shop. Benita looked up and then rather intently at a small storefront not far up the avenue. Benita didn't know how to explain either the voice in her head or the pull towards this shop, so she didn't try.

"What is it?" Carmen asked with concern in her voice and on her face.

Carmen was about to talk when Benita, and Benita alone, heard the voice on the wind. It was the shocked expression on Benita's face which made Carmen fall silent. The distracted and uneasy expression on her best friend's face made Carmen concerned.

"Let's check this place out," Benita replied, trying to look and sound calm as she pointed at the shop she felt drawn to.

The shop Benita felt drawn to was in an old brick building, not unlike any of the others on Whyte Avenue. The sign above the shop read, "The Spirit Guide. Offering The Grand Lesson! Change your life for only $99" They walked over to and entered the shop, not sure why they were doing so.

Inside the shop, the front area matched what they saw in the window, the mood was, dark, foreboding and mystical. There was stuff everywhere: beads, crystals, trinkets of every size and shape adorned a few old display counters. Along the walls were bookshelves with titles that seemed to be on either spirituality or mysticism. On shelves on the wall behind the display counter were jars with handwritten labels, most, if not all, were hard to read from a distance. The contents of the jars were either powders of varying colour, consistency and texture, or the oddest things dried out so they twisted and distorted into the weirdest shapes imaginable. In front of one section of the counter were three wooden stools and the area approximately resembled a bar counter.

Carmen and Benita had just finished looking the store over when they heard the sound of beads rattling. From the back of the store, through a bead curtain, came an old black woman. She had a sense of warmth, calm and great wisdom about her. Her eccentric clothes were well suited to her and this shop, but on the street, however, her outfit might have drawn attention.

"Welcome, my dears, come for your lesson, I see?" The old woman asked charmingly, in a thick Haitian accent.

"What?" Benita asked in confusion.

"You've come to start your grand lesson, no?" The old woman asked with a warm smile.

"We . . ." Benita started to reply but fell silent, not sure how to answer that question and not sound like a nutcase.

"We were walking by and . . . noticed your shop so we thought we'd come in," Carmen answered with a touch of nervousness in her voice as she glanced around the shop.

"You heard the call, didn't you?" The old woman asked both Benita and Carmen in a direct and knowing manner, her eyes darting between the two friends.

"What?" Carmen asked with wide eyes of nervousness.

"You heard a voice on the wind call you to come in here, didn't you? You felt a pull, so you complied, didn't you?" The old woman said in a knowing, yet warm and calming manner.

"No," Carmen replied with a bit of a chuckle.

"Yes," Benita replied before she could catch the words coming out of her mouth. "How'd you do that?" she asked in a blunt and unnerved manner.

"It wasn't me, it was the spirits. They sent you here, because you have something to learn, something very important," The old woman said with a nod as began walking.

The old woman walked behind the counter and pulled a few small jars down off the shelf and started to fix three cups of tea.

"The 'grand lesson,' I suppose?" Carmen asked in a sceptical manner as she crossed her arms.

"Yes," the old woman nodded as she poured some hot water into each cup from a nearby kettle which just reached boiling.

"What is the grand lesson?" Benita asked curiously as she took a step towards the old woman.

"It is something different for each person, but it is something important, something that you need to learn," the old woman said as she turned and placed the three cups of tea on the counter, near the stools. "Sit down, have some tea and we'll talk about it," she added with a smile.

"Thank you," Benita said as she walked towards the counter and sat down.

As Carmen followed, Benita still wondered why she was here. What was she doing in this strange shop? Why did she have a need to know what this old woman wanted to tell her? Benita didn't usually go for this spirituality stuff so she was certainly out of her element to be in a place such as this. There was something compelling, not controlling, her to be here, so she listened with rapt attention.

"Okay, fine, tell us all about this 'grand lesson'," Carmen said in a warm manner, yet underneath there was a touch of nervousness and disrespect.

At that, Carmen sat down on the stool next to Benita and picked up the last cup of tea brought it to her lips and sipped.

"The grand lesson is not something to be undertaken lightly, it is something very serious, and it will change your life and help you to become a better person," The old woman said in a serious manner.

"I think I heard this on an infomercial once," Carmen said to Benita with a light chuckle and rolled her eyes.

"This is serious! Trust me, what I offer, you can't get anywhere else! I guarantee results!" The old woman said in an offended tone of voice before she took a brief moment to calm down. "I did not bring you here! If you are here it is because the spirits want you to learn something, not I!" she added in a less offended tone of voice.

"Okay then, what to the 'spirits' want me to learn?" Benita asked in a charming, yet slightly unnerved manner.

"I can't tell you, but it is something which is preventing you from developing into a better person . . . something which is holding you back," The old woman said with certainty.

"Why can't you tell me? If it is that important, if it is something that I need to learn, why can't you tell me what it is I need to learn?" Benita asked in a polite, yet challenging manner.

"The spirits called you here, so they know what you need to learn," The old woman said as she sipped on her tea.

"Do we need to do a séance or something, in order to talk to the spirits?" Carmen asked with a touch of disrespect in her voice.

"All you need to do is be calm, and be receptive to what they have to say. If they called you here, then you can already hear them, you just need to be open to them," The old woman said with a firm and authoritative tone. "Finish your tea," she added and then busied herself with cleaning up the shop sipping on her tea occasionally.

As Benita and Carmen sat there and sipped on their teas both women fell silent and enjoyed the peace of the moment. While Carmen wanted to get up and leave, she could sense that Benita wanted to be here, so she stayed for her friend. Benita also wanted to leave but still felt as if she was supposed to be here for some, as yet, unknown reason. The longer they sat there, the calmer and more subdued both women got. By the time their tea was finished, both Carmen and Benita were completely calm and at peace. In all this time the old woman didn't do or say anything to break that calm. It wasn't for a moment after the teas were done, that someone broke the silence.

"I am selfish," Benita said in a calm and almost monotone tone of voice. "I don't think of others or consider their point of view at all. All I ever think of is me," she added and then paused for a brief moment, almost in thought. "I don't trust men at all and think that they are obsessed with sex all the time," Benita continued in the same monotone tone of voice, not looking at anyone, just staring straight ahead.

"I don't stand up for myself. I let others, particularly Benita, push me around," Carmen added in the same drained tone of voice, while staring blankly at the wall of jars ahead of her.

"See, you can hear the spirits, if you listen carefully enough, Are you both ready to undertake the grand lesson?" The old woman asked in a knowing tone of voice as she walked back to where the women were sitting and sipped on her tea.

"I . . . I don't know," Benita said in a worried tone of voice as she snapped out of the daze she was in.

"You've already identified what is holding you back from being a better person. What do you have to lose, other than what you need to discard anyways?" the old woman asked in a leading and expectant tone of voice.

"Well," Benita replied in a somewhat convinced manner.

"Ben, I don't know about this," Carmen said as she too came out of her funk and put her hand on Benita's arm, looking at her friend in a worried manner.

"What exactly is involved in the grand lesson, and how long does it take?" Benita asked cautiously as she glanced between Carmen and the old woman.

"The grand lesson takes as long as it needs to take, and it is not something you can learn at night school. The spirits themselves are your teacher for the grand lesson. All I do is give you an obstacle to overcome which will force you to learn what you need to learn," the old woman said with confidence.

"So for us, what would you do?" Benita asked curiously.

"Nothing you can't handle, dear. If you embark on the grand lesson, you will not know what is coming nor that you are even on the grand lesson," The old woman said with a nod of her head and a sparkle in her eye.

"What?" Carmen asked with confusion, "But we'll remember coming in here and asking you to do this for us.

In response the old woman simply shook her head and smiled knowingly. Both Carmen and Benita looked at the old woman in confusion, with slight worry.

"If you know that a test is coming, and what you are to learn from it, then you will simply act the way you think you should act and not learn anything. The only way to truly learn what you need to learn is not know that you are on the grand lesson or what you are to learn from it. That is why you will not remember even coming in here," The old woman said with quiet confidence.

"I see," Benita said and nodded. "How do we get started?" she asked with a cock of her head before looking up into the old woman's eyes with a serious expression.

"I will make a special drink, just for you. I will then take you in the back, one at a time and perform an incantation on you. The combination of the drink and the incantation is what starts you on your grand lesson. Are you ready to begin?" The old woman said with confidence and assurance as she glanced between Carmen and Benita.

"Ben, are you sure about this?" Carmen asked as she leaned in to talk quietly to Benita.

"The decision to embark on the grand lesson is one each of you must make on your own, but since you're such good friends, I'll only charge you for one lesson. What say you, are you each ready to begin?" the old woman said and then looked back and forth between Carmen and Benita, silently demanding a response.

"Yes," Benita said with just a touch of uneasiness in her manner, and pulled the money out of her purse and put it on the counter.

Benita was still somewhat surprised that she was doing this, but it felt right. The other odd thing was that it did not feel like she was being controlled or influenced in doing so. Deep down, Benita had always known she was selfish and that she should change, but never really wanted to, so she never did. Isn't becoming a better person what people are supposed to strive their whole lives to be?

"Sure," Carmen said and fidgeted in her seat a bit.

"Excellent, my dears," The old woman said with a wide and warm smile.

At that, the old woman walked over to a small bookshelf accessible only from behind the counter and pulled a large old tome off of it and began flipping through the pages, deeply in thought for an uncomfortably protracted moment. When she fell on a certain page she smiled to herself and began to pulling a number of jars down off the shelf and removing a small portion of its contents, placing it into one of two bowls. Once the selection of the ingredients was complete she ground up the contents of each bowl until it was in a fine powder. Finally she poured a small amount of water to make it a drink of some kind.

"You first, dear," the old woman said to Benita as she picked up one of the drinks and walked into the back.