Sparkler Snapshots

XX | Firefly Hour

"Are you sure that we are awake? It seems to me that yet we sleep, we dream." – William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Date:
June 21st, 2017 (Northern Hemisphere)
December 21st, 2017 (Southern Hemisphere)

Occasion: Summer Solstice

Country: Worldwide

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XX | Firefly Hour

The woods were still. Not even the wind dared to breathe as feet scurried through the clearing, and fading giggles trailed through the air as children left the forest.

At last, the area was deserted. The humans had left the woods to join their own celebrations. Upbeat music, though faint, could be heard from miles away.

The forest, however, stood silent. There were no birds singing trill tunes, nor the faint buzz of insects. For one second, the longest second one could experience, everything was frozen.

Then, the air quivered.

A faint rustle, which seemed to come from a nearby bush, broke the silence. The wind carried the sound through the forest, while the leaves began to whisper.

The transparent tip of a wing poked out from behind a maple tree. A tiny figure, to which the wings were attached, stepped out and glanced around for any sign of movement. After seeing that no one else was present, she turned around and let out a whistle.

At her signal, a crowd of various beings poured out from their homes. Animals, fairies, and everything in between, were peeking out of their hiding places.

Some of them, the more cautious ones, looked left and right to make sure no humans were there, while others muttered to one another in low voices of anticipation. Tiny birds, the size of large walnuts, fluttered down. They twittered excitedly and began to fly circles around the trees.

The woodland creatures usually kept to themselves. They stayed out of sight of humans, who were unaccustomed to seeing thousands of animals residing in one spot, much less the creatures whom they believed were fictional, such as fairies and talking gnomes.

However, on the day of the summer solstice, they couldn't help themselves. On the longest day of the year, the creatures would meet up and throw a festival. The party often lasted hours into the night, though, to be frank, there was far more light than darkness during this time.

The creatures had to make sure humans were out of sight and earshot, for fear of giving away their location, so they always chose the heart of the forest as their party site. With hundreds of thick trees obscuring them from view, there was no way any human would venture so far into the forest, especially when they were busy celebrating midsummer on their own.

Five gnomes ambled out of the large tree stump they had fashioned into a cottage, each carrying a pickaxe. If it were not for the fact that their faces were permanently stuck in a frown, they would be grinning at the chance to put their pickaxes to use.

"Gnomes!"

A silvery voice rang across the patch of forest on which they walked. A fairy with icy blue wings fluttered towards them, landing on a golden leaf without a sound. She was carrying five woven baskets, stacked on top of each other. After separating them, she handed each gnome a basket.