All is fair, in Nature.

If nature was a woman, she'd be the kind you see strutting down her street, immaculately dressed , her hair flowing out behind her like a mane of fiery blossoms. She'd walk right towards you and you had better get out of her way, because she takes no prisoners, and she certainly doesn't take no for an answer. A sidelong glance could knock you over, winded by the immense pressure of a torrential downpour...Nature doesn't care, who you are, what you do, or where you come from. She doesn't care if you're a starving child from the third world, scrounging through the trash for your every meal or if you're a beautiful blonde heiress, partying it hard and throwing cash around as if you owned the world. Nature doesn't care and she bestows her blessings, as does she mete out her fury with as much callous unpredictability as a game of Russian Roulette. If there is one thing that nature is, she is fair. Nature is fair, and fair can only be fair if it is random.  I released a butterfly today, consecrating it to Nature as a token of my gratitude and sent it to Her with my wishes and prayers. I whispered to the insect, cupped inside my palms and opened them, coaxing it to go on its way. "Accept my offering Mother," I said and raised my palms to the air. The butterfly flicked its antenna, once, twice, then started to flutter away. Up it went, ascending from my palms opened before it like a blossoming flower, circling higher and higher and higher when, SNAP! A bird, brilliantly colorful, resplendent in hues of green and orange and blue (A blue-tailed bee-eater! [Merops phillippinus]) picked it out of the air, right in front of my eyes. I could not help but offer a smile. It may seem unnerving that I had not mourned the passing of the butterfly, but I knew that it would go on to feed the bird and also its offspring. That was how the world works, that was Nature.  The bird cocked its head and looked me briefly in the eye. It let out a chirp and swallowed the butterfly whole. I had my answer. This time, She accepts.