A question in the rain (100 word version)

A butterfly asks its brother
"Does the tree live?"
He replies
"How can it be? It hasn't changed in all of our lives!"

The butterfly asks the tree
"Are you alive?"
The tree answers
"Think of rain. I am but a raindrop in the ocean.
"I pass through life for a moment.
“Does that answer your question?”

but the butterfly was gone.

The tree asks the mountain
"Are you alive?"

The mountain thinks...
when the mountain answers,

it finds the tree is dust (the butterfly forgotten)

the mountain looks to the universe and asks
"are you alive?"

The universe thinks...

Original version 2009/06/20