Glimpse of Hope

-Chapter IV-

As they were wandering through the trees' enormous shadows, the sound of the wind roaring captured their attention. It was getting really cold, and, at the sight of the warm coloured leaves laying all over the path, like a big, old-fashioned carpet, they were wondering how would it be if they had a blanket with them, or at least some warm clothes. They both saw this situation as helpless, but neither of them wanted to admit it, until one snapped:
"How do you think we'll end?" He asked. Caroline furrowed her eyebrows and formed a little O with her thick lips. She couldn't believe what she just heard.
"What? You are supposed to be the optimistic one here!"She pitched her voice.

"Oh? And why is that?" He snarled.
"I'm the one wearing black at the moment, FYI."

"Because the stupid grin plastered on your face says so!" She mumbled

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"You make no sense!"

"Why are we fighting?!"

"I don't know, you tell me!"She shouted.

"Stop it!"

"No, you stop it!"

They both made no sense. Again, like the previous incident, they were fighting for absolutely no reason. They both exhaled loudly to express their boiling anger. Maybe they didn't know each other, not yet, at least, but they were acing the impression of two 5 year old brothers fighting, and even they didn't know why.
After a while, they agreed to stop in front of one of the large pine trees and prepare for the incoming night, because the walk did not seem to lead them to anywhere.

"I'll light the fire!" Caroline said and then ran to pick up the fallen twigs near them.

'Are you sure you can handle it?'He wanted to ask. 'Oh, I forgot, you were supposed to be mad at one another.' His mind was trying to say.
After a few full minutes from the moment when she saw her disappear into the dark, his mind alerted : 'Something might happen to her out there, you fool! Get your selfish, childish butt out there and help her!'

"Okay, okay!" He whispered to himself and ran after her.

He checked the surroundings, but there was no trace of Carrie. He couldn't find his phone, therefore, he had no source of light to guide him further. He then wanted to go back to the spot, but, of course, he couldn't remember the whole path.

"Carrie?" He shouted with a trembling voice. "Carrie?!"He insisted, scared that something might have happened to her.

"Come here!"She cheered, giving Ethan his usually genuine grin back on his face. He ran as fast as he could, just to find a silouette jumping up and down.

"What happened?"He asked, trying to get rid of the worry in his tone, which made Caroline's mouth corners go slowly up.

"Look at that!" She pointed her finger in the distance. It was something there ... glowing, like an overly- decorated Christmas tree. Ethan was a bit skeptical about going further with the investigation, but a firm hand gripped his and dragged him along, leaving him no option but to obey.
Every step was a chance for them to fall and not get up. Still, Caroline had the strength to keep her teammate moving forward with an inexplicable balance, succeeding to avoid all the thick branches and roots - which were piercing the solid ground like an octopus with its tentacles diving in the ocean. Ethan was gasping for air and trying to keep up with the girl, because, even if his legs were long enough to give him a chance to win a marathon, Caroline was then pushing all of his limits. As they were approaching, he saw that there was not just one glowing thing- he couldn't identify them just yet- there were at least a hundred.

"Oh my goodness!"Caroline whispered loud enough for him to hear and brought her both hands to her cheeks. In front of their eyes, there were hundreds of fireflies roaming around a huge fir tree, decorating it with their star-like light. The atmosphere was magical, just like in a fairytale. Still, there was something a bit ... odd about their presence, Caroline being the first to notice that.

"I've never seen anything like this before!"She exclaimed, getting closer and closer to the tree.

"You've never seen fireflies before?" He asked kindly. If so, she wouldn't be the only one.

"It's not that. They're a lot ... bigger." She pointed to one of the fireflies standing on the soft grass."It is three times the size of a normal one."She stated, squinting her eyes to remember the time her friend showed her her insectarium. Her heart was racing as she saw Julie again, smiling at her as she handed her the notebook - where she used to describe and analyze every insect, every single type of plants, literally every living thing. Because of her, she became interested in biology.'But that was a long time ago', she thought, placing her hand on her heart to suppress the memory.

"Well, that wouldn't be surprising!" Ethan stated, placing his hand on her shoulder."But I still think we should sleep here tonight. It's safer than the first spot."

"You know better that animals are not afraid of the light, especially the one coming from some fireflies. That's why we should go back. Come on!"She demanded , but he didn't move.

"I doubt that you know the way back..."

"If it's there or in any other place, it doesn't really matter."

"That's what I thought." He grinned and took her hand in his, inviting her to sit beside the tree.

"No! We need to-"

"Look!"He interrupted."Either way, someone's gonna keep an eye on us. Considering how big this thing is- I mean, we walked and walked for hours. And for what?! To see the same trees all over again- to lose every glimpse of hope! I don't know how on Earth we got here, but it looks like we have to support the consequences. I say, let's just sit here and hope for the best!" He suggested, gazing in her eyes like he wanted his message to go deep within her soul.

"Fine!" She growled, clenching her fists to show her anger.

Ethan was right, because someone, somewhere, was watching their moves. They will soon begin to realize that the journey is just about to start. There was no turning back.