At the beginning of May 2019, Cole Shinsky was going through a rough time. The college baseball pitcher had been having shoulder problems. He was also having a hard time at college, and he was deciding if he should switch schools. The person he wanted to talk to most about these issues was his mom, but unfortunately, she passed away nine years ago.
Before she passed away, Cole’s mom told him something that stuck with him. She said she would come back as a yellow butterfly one day.
Yellow butterflies are considered to be a sign of guidance and hope in some cultures. Other cultures say that yellow butterflies are a sign that a departed soul is resting easily in the afterlife.
Since she passed away, Cole has always kept his eye out for yellow butterflies. While he has seen some in the wild, none ever got close to him before. Until Mother’s Day 2019.
Cole was at his aunt’s house, helping her build a dock. Suddenly, she walked over to him holding something in her cupped hands.
“I was fishing off the dock at my aunt’s house and she started walking down to me with her hands cupped together,” Cole told The Dodo. “She said, ‘Guess who came to visit?’”
Cole’s aunt opened her hands, and the yellow butterfly gently flew over to Cole’s arm. It started climbing up his arm until it was perched on his shoulder. Cole walked inside the house, and the butterfly stayed put. Cole teared up as the butterfly settled onto his shoulder.
“This is incredible… Mother passed away 9 years ago and she mentioned she’d be a yellow butterfly one day,” Cole wrote on Twitter. “For 9 years I have been mezmorized every time I see one but I have never been close enough to touch one. Today… this happened!”
https://twitter.com/coleshinsky/status/1127755261144387585
After a little while, Cole walked back outside. The butterfly stayed on his shoulder a bit longer, and then it flew away. Cole felt much lighter after this encounter with the butterfly.
“She was just letting me know that she is still here.”
Cole posted a photo of the yellow butterfly on Twitter, and it quickly went viral, receiving over a million likes and retweets. Everyone was touched by Cole’s story.
While the butterfly may be gone, Cole has thought of the perfect way to commemorate his mother: he plans to get a tattoo of two yellow butterflies on his shoulder. This way, his mom will always be with him.
This incredible encounter shows that Cole’s mother is always looking out for him. We’re so glad that this butterfly was there for Cole during a tough time in his life.
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