A Summer Night in the Orchard Fields

by Nick Yee

The grass, adorned with dewdrops, glistens under the summer moon. The orchard fields become a shimmering sea of lights. A small girl prances through the fields, sprinkling specks of silver into the indigo.

     "Xiao-Hong, don't run too far," Father shouts out.
     "Come catch me Papa," the small girl teases.

Father chases Xiao-Hong playfully, and finally catches her and lifts her up in his arms. Xiao-Hong giggles out loud, her cheeks misted with dew. Suddenly, Xiao-Hong's face glitters from the warm glow of a firefly.

     "Papa, look, a firefly." And as she points excitedly, the orchard fields come alive with a swirling phantasmagoria of dancing lights. The air trembles with the gentle calm of a steady pulse. Xiao-Hong spins around slowly in the midst of the amber light, mesmerized by the symphony.

She crouches down and gazes at a firefly resting on a blade of grass, her face bathed in a rhythmic glow. She reaches out and cups her hands around the firefly. Slivers of light slip through her fingers. Peeking between her hands, her face fills with a sense of wonder. She whispers.

     "I'll take you home with me. I'll take care of you during the day, and at night, you can frighten away the darkness in my room."

     "Come, Xiao-Hong, it is time to go home." Father brushes her hair back.
     "Papa, I think I've fallen in love with the firefly," she says slowly with a smile.

Father smiles. He peers longingly into the night.

     "The baby firefly has to go home too. Her parents are probably worrying about her," he says gently.
     "Awww, Papa," she says with a sad frown.
     "Sometimes loving is not about holding on, but letting go," he whispers to the night.

Xiao-Hong rises to her feet. Then with a sudden resolve she opens her hands.

     "Fly home baby firefly."

The drop of amber glow disappears into the night.