Butterfly and Spiders

I never liked spiders. I was mortified if I ever saw even one spidery leg. And then I met Tommy. He's an insect lover :-) He does not believe in swatting a fly, stamping on a spider or crushing ants dead.
He found a butterfly once in the middle of a cold, snowy January in Oslo. It was a miracle that it survived in our office building in the dead of winter. The butterfly was struggling to live, a bit weak and not so quick to fly. Tommy placed it in an empty matchbox on my desk at work with a yellow post it note. I opened the box and yelped in fear. I spied a few insect legs peeping out and closed the box tightly shut. I contacted him on msn and asked him why he had left a bug on my desk.
Why he had left a bug on my desk!
He came around to me, smiled and picked up the box gently and asked me to accompany him outside. He opened it and the captive butterfly, suddenly realizing the importance of freedom, found the strength to fly.
A butterfly, colourful and lively flying around with all that snow in the backgound shielded by many glass windows.
It is one of the things I will always remember.
I don't mind spiders that much anymore.
That does not mean that I would sleep at all though, if I saw one crawling around nearby. Still.