The Stars of the Forest
by Salzard · 10 things on NewTwos
- I remember, some ten years ago, running around on a cool July night catching lightning bugs. The sun, much too far below the trees to be seen, could barely light up the small patch of yard. Dark blue shadows painted the world around me, transforming the world into its late evening counterpart. The trees and bushes seemed to cast impossibly dark shadows, making it difficult to see much of anything.
- On nights like this one, the stars spilled out of the sky and danced around the bushes. With small mason jars and bug cages, nets and sometimes even just my hands, I chased the tiny lights—desperately trying to capture them. Eventually one, or a few, would end up in my hands. They never panicked, the fireflies would simply wander around, turning the long black antennae atop their bright red heads. They hauled their long black bodies across my palms and used their bright yellow abdomens to flash secret codes the the others flying through the sky.
- I miss the fireflies. I feel like it’s been forever since they’ve graced the summer shadows with their lovely glows.
- With the sun hanging barely above the horizon, I wandered outside. The heat and humidity of the previous day slowly dissipated—blown away by the cool evening breeze. Of course, it didn’t get THAT cool out (it is the middle of summer after all), but it was a much more comfortable temperature than the high 90s of the day. As the sun slowly sank in the sky, it painted the clouds various oranges and yellows and transformed the bright blues above me into gentle purple gradient. It cast rays, both golden and fiery, across the grassy slope in front of me.
- There was a singular goal in my mind as I strolled across our yard, glancing at the scattered trees: to lock our flocks of chickens and quails in their coops—a simple safety measure to prevent any unwanted guests from enjoying a midnight feast. The chickens would wander into the coop at their own rate, but the quails tend to be less than thrilled about having a bedtime—especially since they love sleeping in the dirt under their coop (rather than inside it).
- I watched and waited for the chickens to meander into their coop. One, jet black and shimmering green in the setting sun, decided it was a good time to clean its feathers instead of, you know, going to bed. The other, white and speckled with gray and black, was simply wandering around. Neither bird seemed to care that the rest of the flock had fallen asleep at this point. So, I waited… and waited… and waited some more—these birds really liked to take their time. My mind wandered a bit as the chicken preened it’s feathers—this seems like it would be the perfect night for fireflies to appear, yet they weren’t here. They were missing.
- The sun continued sinking lower—soon falling below the distant hill, leaving only a faint light to paint the yard surrounding me. The golden rays had all but faded away, giving space for the evening shadows to begin their decent across the hill. I waited some more watching, waiting, and begging the birds to go to sleep already. The black chicken continued clacking it’s beak and cleaning it’s feathers. I stared at the bird hoping it would soon head to bed, when a faint flash of yellow light appeared in the corner of my eye.
- My head whipped towards the source of this flashing light only to see a deep shadow below a set of low hanging trees. I thought I must have been seeing things; until a second flash appeared! I continued watching as more and more of these tiny lights popped out of the shadowy void. They twinkled and danced under the trees, like tiny stars. My previously bored and exhausted expression gently softened into a smile as I realized what they were: fireflies.
- Their glows multiplied with each passing minute, filling the shadows of the trees and hovering above the garden beds. They seemed to sparkle in waves before taking a short break and glowing again. With the chickens in their coop and forgotten, my attention had shifted to the spectacular light-show in front of me. Suddenly, I wasn’t in a rush to go inside of finish up for the evening; I decided to simply sit outside and watch the shadows a bit, for every few moments, another flash would appear.
- It had been such a long time since I saw fireflies paint the darkness of night. I truly wondered, what happened in these past few years? Had they really vanished, or was I simply too ignorant and busy—constantly rushing about and talking to friends—to stop and appreciate the wonders that surrounded me—to enjoy those small parts of life and everyday magic that I used to love oh-so-much? No matter what happened in the past, my mind was clear right now. This was a moment to enjoy and appreciate. The dancing lights that zipped around me deserved my full attention. After all, one day I might realize that they truly are vanishing before my very eyes—flickering out and never truly relighting.