A Magical Light

Esclarmonde

Two months later, it was a sunny day in April and pleasantly warm, Casia, dressed only in a shirt and three-quarter trousers, made her way back to the botanical garden after the lectures.

If her head was full of new knowledge from her studies, the best way to unravel the chaos was at her newly chosen favorite place.In order to slip through the covered small entrance, Casia crouched, the low hanging branches of the broad-stemmed cypress had formed on one of the side paths. There she put down her backpack, pulled out a picnic blanket and put it down. Walking around the trunk, she touched the bark and checked every time whether something had changed. She thought that the light had disappeared beneath it back then. Would it ever show up again? Noticing anything unusual, she loosened the cable elastic from her ash-brown hair and lay down with a sigh. Here she could stay for hours. Birds chirped and now and then a narrow beam of light got lost in the dark branches. Every quarter of an hour the sound of the bells blew out of the city to her. The wind sent her spicy rosemary scent. The place was well chosen because it was hidden from prying eyes. Nobody got lost here and disturbed them in their dreams.

A crackle woke her from sleep.
She was startled when she realized that it was pitch black all around. She sat up, disoriented, until she recognized where she was from the rustling of the cypress. She had slept through. Ironically. What a shame, Casia thought and got up. She shook her limbs, stiffened by the cold, and pulled her fleece jacket out of her backpack. How should she get home now?

The garden closed at 6 p.m. Now good advice was expensive. She remembered a side exit. When her mother was still alive, they once visited the zoo in Rostock. At the end of their visit, the stalls and restaurants were deserted and deserted, the ticket booth was vacant and the souvenir shop was closed long ago. She had been sad because she had wanted to buy a little reminder of her pocket money. She panicked that they couldn't get out of the zoo and her father annoyed her with it.Then he pretended to have magical powers. With a "Simsalabim!" They went through a gray turnstile that released them. She had been infinitely relieved.Maybe she was lucky and there was a similar exit here that led visitors out but didn't let anyone in. As far as she remembered, there were three or four side gates in the surrounding old wall. She would try her luck.

Casia quickly packed up her things, shouldered her backpack and wanted to step out of the branches. But before her eyes, fireflies after one turned on. Thousands had gathered around her and turned the night into day. Fascinated, she paused, tried to touch her, and slowly spun around her axis with her arms outstretched. One of the animals sat on the back of her right hand. She paused and didn't dare move. Before she knew it, his glowing abdomen made a burning mark on her skin. Casia wanted to pull her hand away in pain as he faded away as if nothing had ever happened. Gradually it grew dark again around them. She shook her head, laughed softly and didn't know how to match what she had experienced, then resolutely stepped onto the main path. The bouncing light at that time was a firefly. And in the warmth of Tuscany, it was definitely not unusual to meet one in February. In Germany, of course, that was different. The pebbles crunched loudly treacherously and she decided to walk next to it on the meadow. Her stomach growled. Sure, she hadn't had dinner and had nothing with her. She hastily drank several sips of water, which should reduce the gnawing feeling in the stomach. What kind of focaccia would she not give and imagined her almost flowing into the airy bread in her mouth. With little success. A deep grumble emanated from her ten steps later. Now she understood the german phrase "to have a bear hunger".

Flickering lights shone through the night. Casia had to be careful not to be seen by the night watch. If she was caught, it was by no means unpunished. At least one fine was due and she didn't feel like it. Footsteps approached on the gravel and Casia stopped with a pounding heart. At that moment her hungry stomach spoke up.