The Firefly

Darkness. The sound of scattered dry leaves blown against each other pierced the quiet hum of the wind. Trees responded to the wind as they also rustled and waved their arms. As the cold breath of nature reached her skin, it sent a chill across her body that numbed her spine. She realized her teeth were gritting subconsciously because of the chill. Since she loved being in the cold, she forced her jaws to relax, which instantly tricked her nerves into feeling slightly warmer. Dim, silver light spilled itself scarcely on the tops of the tallest trees and the boulders that shone in the clearing where she stood. The misty, cold scent of the night entered the girl's lungs as she breathed in deeply. On the ground just beneath her feet lay scattered, curled-up leaves. Underneath them, was a layer of flat, damp leaves all clinging to each other. Hugging the roots and trunks of the trees were emerald moss clumps, soft and fuzzy. The darkness seemed to thicken immensely by every inch beyond this tiny clearing. She studied the darkness all around her. It was only a little shady where she stood, but as she looked further into the depths, darkness overcame her vision, and she could no longer make out the silhouette of a single tree.

That was before a faint, golden light caught her eye as she was studying her circumference. The light seemed fuzzy and distant, but close enough that she could still reach it. Her instincts urged her to investigate, so she did so. With every step, she seemed to get intensely closer. The light grew brighter, and its image became larger and clearer. It still felt so far away, however. It felt like she reached the light in only a heartbeat, but she'd been walking for at least a few minutes. As the girl got closer, she saw that it was made up of tiny little light specks flying around. Then, she realized that the light was actually a gathering of fireflies. They were all circling in place, like a sparkling sphere of dancing stars. Without even wondering why so many fireflies were in one place, she began to inch closer, overcome by her discovery.

Slowly, she stepped into the midst of the gathering. She wasn't scared the least, despite being around so many flying insects. Unsure but curious, she tried her best to avoid colliding with the strange fireflies. Finally, the girl was engulfed in a beautiful globe of dancing lights. As if she was moving through molasses, the girl's hand hesitantly floated up to a firefly. When it sensed her hand, it retreated, also hesitating a little. After studying her now-frozen hand, the firefly floated back to her and landed on her fingers.

As soon as its crawlers touched her skin, the dark forest and all the other fireflies disappeared in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, the girl was standing in a vast and sunny grass field with the firefly still on her hand. Now, the insect wasn't glowing anymore. The sky looked as if the time was around sunrise. The tips of the overgrown grass looked like they were dipped in rose gold paint. The field was an ocean: the tall, thin bodies of the grass rippled and swayed like green and gold waves. Each strand reached up to her waist, shading the rest of her body from the world. Looking around the ocean of grass, she felt insignificant and small compared to the massive field. She was just a little speck, a grain of sand in the endless field of green. Kind of like how the Earth was to the impossibly massive universe.

Far beyond the field were the shapes of dark green trees, interrupting the endless journey of the grass. Just being in the vicinity of this field made her feel a deep serenity, she could never know how to explain. Maybe it was the endlessness or the lighting that made her feel so inexplicably calm. Either way, the feeling this place gave her was more powerful than any drug could ever seduce her.

While she was caught up in her emotionless state, she hadn't realized that another girl was walking toward her in the distance. However, this girl appeared to be deeply focused on her destination and didn't seem to notice her. Without warning, the firefly that had been in her hand flew away and disappeared off in the girl's direction. I totally forgot about it, she thought. Why did it have to leave though? Taking a step, she squinted at the girl. I'm too far away, she thought. She took several more steps and squinted again. Suddenly, her eyes widened with surprise and disbelief. Now, the girl in the distance also saw her and froze in her tracks.