Something Beautiful
Chapter 2

Holding her tiny chin above her fist, Lalisa Bruschweiler noticed a yellow butterfly perched on the window sill of her grandfather's cottage, then turned her attention back to the white-haired man she loved, sitting at the table in front of him. "What did you say, Grandpapa? I didn't hear."

"I asked why today the butterfly is more attractive than Socrates" said the gracious old man, while giving her intelligent soft syneyum to the tiny thirteen-year-old girl shiny brown curls similar to the girl's mother and greenish hazel eyes belonging to the old man. In amusement, he tapped his finger at the book by Socrates which he assigned the girl to read.

Lisa smiled regretfully, but she did not argue that her attention was distracted, because, as her good and learned grandfather always said, "Lies are blatant insults to the soul, they are, and also underestimate the intelligence of the person who is lied to." And Lisa is willing to do anything but trivialize the kind-hearted man who has instilled the philosophy of life in her, following teaching mathematics, philosophy, history and Latin.

"I was wondering," I Lisa sighed with wishful thinking, "is it possible that I am now in the 'stage of becoming a caterpillar' and will one day turn into a beautiful butterfly?"

"What's wrong with being a caterpillar?" After all," his grandfather joked while quoting, "In this world no one is perfect." Her grandfather's eyes flashed a joke as he waited for Lisa to recognize the sentence she was quoting.

"Horace," Lisa chirped immediately, and smiled back.

His grandfather nodded in satisfaction, then said, "You don't have to worry about your appearance, my dear, because true beauty radiates from your heart and lives in your eyes."

Lisa shook her head, but she could not remember which philosopher said that phrase, both in the past and in the present, "Who said it?"

His grandfather laughed amusedly. "I."

Lisa returned with a cheerful laugh, filled the sun-drenched room with her melodious voice, then suddenly stopped. "Papa was disappointed that I wasn't beautiful, I could feel it every time he came to visit. She had good reason to expect me to be more beautiful, because Mama was beautiful, while Papa besides being handsome was also the fourth cousin of a noble, by marriage."

Can hardly hide his disinterest in the son-in-law and his unclear relationship with the nobility. Grandfather Bae quoted meaningfully, "Descendants are nothing without pride."

"Moliere." Lisa automatically mentions the name of the author of the sentence. "But." he continued grimly, again worried, "you must admit how unfair destiny was to give him a daughter whose face was very mediocre. Why," he continued, "I am not very tall and not blond? It's better to see than I am, as Papa always says."

The old man smiled at his grandson, "the cycle of life" was not so bad he thought.

If he had followed his heart to remain single and gave up his whole life just to study, instead of getting married, Lalisa Bruschweiler would not have been born in the world. Lisa is the most beautiful gift to the world. Award for him. The thought caught his spirits and made him careless because he seemed too arrogant. Nevertheless, he could not help the joy that flowed in his soul as he looked at the wavy-haired child sitting in front of him, Lisa just as he expected, even more. The child is a reflection of his tenderness and carefree nature, intelligent and full of vigor. Too excited, maybe, too sensitive. Because he was constantly trying hard to please his father who adngkal, if his father sometimes visit.

He wondered what kind of man would marry Lisa. Don't be like the one who married my son, she hopes with all her heart. Her own daughter did not have the wise nature of Lisa. I spoiled her too much, Grandpa Bae thought sadly. Lisa's mother is weak and selfish. She is married to a man who is exactly the same nature as her, but Lisa, will and deserves a much better man.

Sensitive as ever, Lisa realizes her grandfather's suddenly somber mood and immediately comforts him. "Are you not feeling well, Grandpapa? Your head is dizzy again? Want me to massage your leherm?"

"I am indeed somewhat dizzy," he replied as he dipped his quill pen into an ink bottle, writing words that would someday become "Complete Dissertation Regarding Voltaire's Life," Lisa walked up to her grandfather's back and with her tiny hands began to relieve the tension on the old man's shoulders and neck.

Shortly after the tiny hand stopped massaging, Grandpa Bae felt something tickle her cheek. Drowning in his work, he raised his hand and nonchalantly rubbed his amused cheek. A few minutes later, it was his neck and he rubbed it again. The tingling moved to his left ear, and Grandpa Bae smiled helplessly as he realized his grandson was tickling him with a quill pen. "Lisa, my dear," she said, "It seems that here is a naughty little bird, trying to distract me from work."

"Because you worked too hard" Lisa replied, but she landed a kiss on her grandfather's wrinkled cheek and returned to her seat to study Socrates. A little while later, his attention had turned to a worm that was crawling through the open door of the thatched-roofed hut. "If everything in this world was made by God for a certain purpose, why do you think He created the serpent? Serpents are ugly. It's even disgusting."

Bae's grandfather sighs at Lisa's curse, then puts down his pen, but he is not immune to the boy's bright smile. "I'll remember that to ask God if I meet Him later."

The shadow that her grandfather was about to die made Lisa suddenly moody, but the sound of a horse-drawn carriage coming closer towards the cottage made her jump to her feet and run to the open window. "That's Papa!" shouting happily. "Papa finally came from London."

"And it's time, too," grumbled Grandpa Bae, but Lisa didn't hear. Dressed in his favorite clothes in the form of knee-length pants and a loose shirt, he ran towards the doorway and jumped into his father's reluctant embrace.

***