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"The Tale of the Butterfly Warrior" is a rich fable about how those who leave the earth too soon.

"The Tale of the Butterfly Warrior" is the story of Grey Eagle, whose untimely death has left his mother, Green Willow, a broken woman. His attempts to communicate with her from beyond result in wondrous weather on Earth.

As Grey Eagle sits on a cloud in the heavens with other babies, children, and young-almost-adults who left the earthly world before their time, he can see his clan below going about the business of everyday life, but his heart is broken to see his mother, Green Willow, is no longer the calm and loving person she was when he was with her.

Grey Eagle was unable to ease his mother's pain, and he became more and more irritated with the passing of time. His tears of frustration became gentle rain to cool his mother's face. His fists beat into the clouds and caused blinding snowstorms, but they became soft silken snowflakes silently kissing the ground and creating lacy mantles of white covering his mother's raven-black hair. Grey Eagle's pattern of hurt, anger, and deep frustration had been unchanged for many moons. Pleas and requests for help from the Great Spirit are a last resort for Grey Eagle and Green Willow, but will he listen?

Patrick's touching tale was inspired by a story Patrick's mother told her about Butterfly Heaven. Thoughtfully researched at the Cherokee Indian Museum in North Carolina, Patrick's story holds true to the clothing styles, celebrations, dances, tools, and locations of her own Cherokee ancestry.