Memories

Wait!...There it is. Where??
No. Wait! There it is again! Did you see it?
What is it?
Is it a star? I don’t think so….
Is it a fire ember floating through the trees???
I’m not sure…….There it is again! Did you see it?
What is it?

At dusk we chase them; my cousins and I. We run through the grass clutching our glass mason jar in one hand and the lid in the other. We grasp at the air or crouch near the ground in the hope to catch our prize. The prize? Fireflies!! Little nondescript fliers who by day are mousy coloured and drab but at night dazzle and trick the eyes of those who watch them when their abdomens ends light up as if by magic.

I caught one!! My cousins gather around me and we pass the glass jar around; each of us marveling at the firefly as though it were one of the Seven Wonders of the World. To us who had never seen them they were a marvel. A miracle even! They filled us with wonderment. How do they do that, that lighting up bit? Does it hurt them? Why do they do that?

I caught one too!! my cousin exclaimed. There were so many of these fireflies. It made your eyes dizzy to watch them! Each cousin caught a twinkling bug, some were lucky enough to catch two or three in their jar. One by one we lined up our captive fireflies in their glass mason jars on the porch railing of my grandparent’s house. We sat transfixed on the porch swing and chairs watching with our grandpa the efforts of our quest. We sat in still and quiet amazement. We feared moving or saying too much lest these beautiful fireflies would quit lighting up. All that was ever said was an odd “Oooo” or a quiet “Wow”. Watching their abdomens light up was like watching miniature fireworks. It was a magnificent display.

This night too they were putting on a magnificent display. In the tops of the trees I could see them twinkling; at other times they looked like falling stars. Alan and I went and stood out on the road and as we gazed up we were treated to a magnificent display of firefly fireworks.

Before we went to bed, my cousins and I would unscrew the lids off the mason jars to let the fireflies go. We would say goodnight to each one as it flew off. I remember thanking them in my head for the beautiful show and asked them to forgive me if I had hurt them.

Alan and I crawled into bed tired after a lovely day. I unzipped the canvas so I could look through the screen up to the treetops and stars. I could see them twinkling in the tree tops; their little abdomens blinking in the night. As I had done as a child I once again thanked the fireflies for the beautiful show and now I thanked them for the memories of times gone by. They twinkled their answer to me.