<font color="magenta" size="05">Fireflies In A Jar</font>

First Glow...........

Once upon a time a few summers back, I had just finished another night surfing the web. I shut down the computer and as the room went dark as it clicked off I prepared to turn in for the night. I turned around and noticed the glow from the almost full moon and how its luminescent lit up the back yard and surrounding area.

All at once I noticed out in a far corner of the garden, a firefly flashed its light and then another. I stood there and watched as one after another kept signaling their presence by illuminating for a second. I think I counted to twenty before I decided I'd take a walk out and get a better look. I quickly and silently walked out back and headed for my garden. I could see them flashing out in the far corner as I walked ever closer.

Once out there and sort of close I was amazed at the congregation of fireflies I witnessed. I stood and watched as perhaps 50 lit up and then went dark, and then I heard a soft sound. My eyes were still adjusting to the darkness, but my ears could focus in on the direction of the sound.

I heard what sounded like soft weeping and then I spotted her. A thin dark haired girl dressed in what appeared to be brown was sitting on a log stump off behind a lilac bush. I stood there and listened and watched for about 10 minutes. Finally, I decided to walk over and see her up close. She never saw me coming, yet once I got close, she spoke.

"What do you want ?".

I said "excuse me?" , not really sure how to react to someone sitting in my garden late at night.

She spoke softly again, "You heard me, why have you come out here to watch me weep" ?

I replied. "Well I came out to watch the fireflies and saw you. Why are you crying " ?

She sat there and informed me that she was supposed to claim another mate that night, but that she had not mourned enough yet the passing her last one. I stood there in disbelief, running those words through my mind a few dozen times before I said something really intelligent like, "what?"

She stood up quickly and turned toward me and spoke, "I knew you wouldn't ever understand !" , and started to walk away.

"Wait, where are you headed?" I asked quickly.

She stopped and turned to face me and said, "I am off to find a proper mate, against all my wishes, but I must obey my Queen."

Now, I'd been sober for about 8 yrs about then, and know I hadn't had any good spleef in far too long, so I know I heard her right. It was about then I said another really smart thing, I said "Queen who ?"

Ever have those moments that you say something and as they look at you in disbelief, your already reliving it 10 times over ?

Well I seemed to be full of them that night. She did turn and look away as she replied, "why Queen Lampyrida, of course", by which I blurted out another good one, "Who T F is that?"

She turned toward me again and started to giggle as she walked toward me a few steps, then turned around, and started to dance around in small circles, circles getting larger as she danced. She waltzed around for about 5 minutes and then stopped and looked me square in the eye, smiled and started to walk away. Half way out the gate she turned toward me and says, "Are you coming?".........