Afterglow

Chapter 2:

When she opens her eyes, she finds herself in a warm place. As her eyes get adjusted to the dim surrounding she figured out that it is a dingy hole on a tree trunk. The early light of the sun trickled through the small hole. Aglow tries to get up, but her head and arms feel like they will explode with the slightest movement. She battles the pain and stands on her feet. As she inched towards the opening, the strong smell of almond greeted her nose. She closed her eyes and felt her stomach growl. How long has she been starving?

“10 hours”, a voice echoed. 

The voice startled Aglow soo much she almost tripped. She swirled around and was facing a pair of eyes the colour of almond. 

“Who…who are you?” she stammered.

“The bug whose bed you were sleeping on”, he replied with a smirk.

Aglow has always been within her own herd and had never met anyone she doesn’t know. This wiry, tall, and slightly slouching firefly is a stranger, and she didn’t know what to say or do. But she cannot possibly stand there like a statue, so she managed to ask, ‘Who are you?’ and immediately cringed realizing she had already asked this few seconds back.

The bug came a step closer to Aglow. There was a hint of a smile on his lips while he handed her a small almond shell filled with some liquid. “Drink this”, he said. “This will help your pain go away”. 

To her wildest surprise, Aglow took the liquid from the complete stranger and drank it in one gulp. All the warnings she heard from her mother and the elders of the herd about not eating anything from strangers, flew straight out of the hole on the trunk. But something  about him felt strange. Aglow just couldn’t put a finger on what exactly that is. The sun slowly crept out of its slumber and is peeping through the clouds. She stepped towards the exit.

“Going out now is not a great idea. The beetle must be hiding somewhere around.”

The chase from last night came rushing back and Aglow sat down to steady herself. “I thought the bug got me. How did I end up here?”

“Well, he almost did get you. But just when he was about to pounce on you, you were lucky enough to fall on my trap net. Last evening was full moon night, and usually on full moon I prefer to star gaze. So while I was singing my favourite Celine Dion number and enjoying the moonlit sky, you fell straight out of the sky.  Once I realized you were unconscious, I put you on my roller-skate and got you to my bachelor pad.”

Aglow repeated the words ‘trap net’, ‘Celine Dion’, ‘roller skate’, ‘bachelor pad’ and stared blankly at him. 

He threw his hands in exasperation, “Were you born just yesterday?”

And then very slowly, as if explaining to a kid, he said, “ A ‘trap net’ is like a trap I have made using twigs, tendrils and spider web. I use it to trap smaller insects and eat them.  ‘Celine Dion’ is a famous singer, she has the voice of an angel. Haven’t you heard her? This is a ‘bachelor pad’ because I stay here alone. And ohh, ‘roller skate’ is like a piece of wooden board used b humans to move faster. I have seen it and devised a smaller version made out of almond shells. You wanna try a ride?”

Aglow, swallowed hard and said, “Why do you stay alone? What happened to your herd, to your family?”

At this point, the bug’s face tightened and he looked out of the cubby hole. “ I don’t have a herd”, his voice was a whisper. “I left them because I was tired of their routine, and I wanted to see the world. So I have learned the ways of life and I live on my own terms.”

For the first time in her life Aglow could hear her heart beat. She heard the rhythmic beat for a while and looked at the pair of almond eyes. The words she wanted to say kept echoing within the deepest recess of her heart, but she couldn’t say it aloud. Instead she heard herself say,”‘When you came in, how did you know I was thinking about when I had eaten last?”

He shrugged and said, “I could hear your stomach growl from across the lake. What else could you have been thinking about?”

She smiled, and he smiled back. And somewhere they both knew that this will not be the last time that he will understand her without she speaking a word.

The potion seems to have been working really well, as by afternoon Aglow could feel the strength coming back to her limbs, and the head was also hurting less. She slept for few more hours and woke up as the birds sleepily made their way home. The couple of times she woke up in the middle of the day, the den seemed quiet and she couldn’t see the bug around. Finally when the light outside started retreating into its cosy shell, the chattering of the birds stopped and she could hear a faint sound. It was a melodious tune. Aglow gingerly stepped out of the hole and tried locating the music. She slowly glided towards the highest branch of the chestnut tree and saw him playing a reed, his eyes closed and the half smile still hanging at the corner of his lips. She slowly sat beside him.

“This is my spot”, he said, “I come here when I’m happy, sad, hurting or excited.”

“Don’t you have friends?”, she asked.

He didn’t reply. His jaws tightened.

Aglow realized she must have stepped in sticky water and so she tried to distract him by talking about herself.”I have some friends too”, she said. “In fact last night I was trying to save one of them and landed in the Willowy grove.”  The image of the giant beetle chasing her clouded her mind again and she closed her eyes tight to get them out of her head.

“Ohh is it? But I never saw any glow-worm this side of the woods, except you. Where is your friend now?” he sounded concerned.

“I don’t know, once I took the turn at the far corner of the grove, I lost him. I was looking around for him when the beetle attacked me”, tears welled up in her eyes. She looked up at the sky and suddenly sat up straight. “But I can find out if he’s alright.”

“How will you do that?” he asked.

“Every night my friends fly up there, and I see them from my spot. Today if I can see him up there with his friends, I will know that he’s safe”.

“Is he not part of your herd?”, he asked

“Ohh no, he’s nothing like us. He’s bright, big and magical. He has this glowing red light and he soars so high up above us all”, her eyes turned dreamy thinking of all the nights she waved out to him.

“Red light???” he sounded surprised. “Fireflies do not have red light. Have you met him ever?”

“No I have not, but I will…soon. It is my secret wish and I will fulfill it at any cost. Will you…”. But before she could complete her sentence her eyes caught the light, an as she looked up, she could see him. There he was, flying in all his glory with his friends. Her heart leapt. She grabbed his hand and pointed up, “look..look there he is”.

As he looked up, his heart sank. He looked at her glowing face and his words failed him. His soul basked in the warmth of her gaze, though he knew that the warmth was for someone else. He placed his hand on hers and sat quietly.

“Will you take me to meet him”, her voice was small but hopeful. 

He looked away. “We should go back now.  You need to rest.”

He couldn’t sleep the whole night. He sat outside his cubby hole staring at her peaceful sleeping face. Whenever life threw him in a dilemma he always remembered his dad’s words ‘Do the right thing, son’. That is what he did when he left his herd to live his life. On many lonely nights, when he yearned for the warmth of his family, his father’s word gives him the strength, because he knows that he might be doing a hard thing, but it is the right thing. 

“Wake up sleepy head, we need to hustle.”

Aglow woke up and stretched her sleepy limbs. “Where are we going?”

“To meet your friend.” If only she could see his face now, she would know how pain looks like.

His words made her blood rush soo fast that she felt dizzy. She leapt with joy and hugged him tight. “Thank you…thank you….thank you….” She paused. “You never told me your name”, she added. 

He faced her and bowed a little, “I’m Ray, I add the glow on Aglow.”

They left early, as they had to cross the woods before sunset. It was a long flight, and they took stops, since Aglow has never flown so far. As they crossed the woods, they could see a big serene lake ahead. Around the lake there were mulberry bushes, and Ray signaled Aglow to move towards the bushes. They stopped to take a breather, and just when he sat on the soft, ripe fruit, he heard a deadly scream from the other side. He rushed immediately to see Aglow sitting with her eyes shut and shivering like a dry leaf.

“What is the matter? Are you ok?”

“I saw them…I saw them. They are so close.” Her teeth chattered. 

“Who are close? What are you saying?” He held her close so she can calm down.

“The humans”, she blurted out.

Ray looked up and saw some kids playing near the bushes. Their high-pitched voice filled the evening sky with mirth. “They re kids, they will do you no harm”.

“But Grandpa Bug always told us to stay away from humans. They will either kill us or capture us and put us in a jar”, hot tears rolled down her cheek.

He sighed, “well some humans do us harm, but not all of them. These are kids, they will not do us any harm. Here you are safe, I come here all the time. Here by the lake, the humans come for picnic. They listen to songs, play with their kids, eat food and have a nice time. You are safe here.”

She stopped crying and looked at him. “You come here alone?”

“Yes I do…ohh can you hear, they are playing my favourite song. Come with me, we will dance.” With these words he pulled her towards the row of pine trees. They landed on a soft branch, and Aglow could hear music around her. As she looked down, she saw a group of humans were standing and the music was coming from somewhere around them.

“Who is singing?” she asked puzzled.

“No one”, he smiled, “the music is being played from the music player. That big square thing on the table.”

Aglow was amazed. And before she could see more, Ray pulled her and started dancing. Their heads swayed, eyes met, hands circled, wings brushed and bodies got entwined with one another. It was the most magical moment of her life. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer, so this moment can become a star in the sky and stay there forever. Even after they are gone.

It was well past midnight, when they reached a big open ground. Ray sat on a wall, and Aglow sat beside him.

“We are here,” he said.

She looked around, and asked, “What is this place?”

“You will see him soon.”

Silence settled around, and embraced them in a cosy hug. Aglow stared into the darkness and remembered all the nights she spent looking at him. Will she really meet him today? What will she say? How will she say? There were so many questions in her mind, that she almost missed his voice, when he said, “look ahead Aglow”.

Before she could see anything, a deafening noise cut through the silence of the night. A huge white monster was running past them. There were many lights blinking along its body. It ran for a while and then started flying, higher and higher, till it was almost invisible, except the blinking lights on its tail. 

“I don’t understand”, she said, “where is he?”

“Keep looking”, he whispered and held her hand.

Aglow looked back towards the direction of the flying monster. But nothing can be seen high above the sky except….

“Ohh…there he is! There he is”, she cried out. “But he’s still so far away. You said I can meet him…’ She stopped abruptly, and looked at Ray. Tears welled up in her eyes. “No, this can’t be true, please tell me this is not true. I don’t understand anything. You are playing a prank.”

Ray held her, “I’m sorry little one, but this is the truth. I knew when you showed me last night, but I wanted you to see with your own eyes. He is not a firefly. This big white monster you saw, is an airplane which carries humans from one place to another. When the airplanes fly at night they have these lights blinking on them, so other airplanes can mark them. The red blinking light, you saw every night is the light of an airplane.” His voice became hoarse as he stifled a sob. Seeing her in pain wrenched his heart, and he felt a sudden need to protect her forever.

Aglow felt numb, as if her whole world crashed around her. Is this why she left home, her family, her herd? What will she tell them, how will she go back home?

“Can you lose something you never had?” she asked.

Ray felt a sting pierce through his heart. “What did you lose?”

“A friend”, she replied

He held out his hand and smiled, “I don’t agree. I think you just made one”. 

--- The End ---