Butterfly
Once, long ago, there had been butterflies.
Back on Earth, before it was turned into a wasteland.
Alan had never seen one, except in holos, but his spirit ached for their beauty.
There was no beauty on this mining asteroid except the jewels in the sky.
Alan spent every spare credit on bits of metal, bending and shaping them into the forms of extinct animals in his spare time.
When he found a crystal like a frozen rainbow, worthless to anyone but him, he shaped it with love, giving it wings of silver wire .
His butterfly floated above his bed.
You conveyed a lot in very few words. I really liked it.