10:01 PM
I looked out my window. It was dark at night, the summer night breeze barely there. I wish we would go somewhere and not just stay at home all day. We just had dinner and I decided to go straight to sleep. So I walked to my bed and jumped on it. I left my sheets by my feet, it’s warm enough. And I try to sleep.
But I couldn’t. I tried to count sheep, but it doesn’t work. It makes me feel so insomniac. Hmm.
Suddenly, I saw something light up in the dark. It sort of winked, twinkled for a second and went off. I frowned. Then it came again, only at a different spot. And it didn’t go off. Instead, a few more lit up. They were on the wall next to my bed. They lit and blinked. Fireflies. When I got up on my bed, they started flying everywhere. They look like small yellow beads. My eyes lit up of their beauty. I stare as they fly around, as if caught inside a jar.
After a while, they found the crack on my door and just flew off. I sighed. I went back to my bed. I wonder if they were real, and as I do, my eyes shut slowly, heavy.
I blink. And blink again. I look around the next night, and instead of fireflies, there were these other bugs. They lit up as well, but not as bright. They sting too. A couple of them stung me on my forearms. Then after a while, more and more stung me. Then they stung my back. So I stood up, furious, but I couldn’t say anything, they’re bugs. Then suddenly I noticed something. They were dancing.
I could see two together flying from side to side, as if in sequence. Then some of them stung me some more, and if I just let them and let my reflexes handle the movement of my body, I notice I was following the two bugs that were dancing. So I tried to catch up.
I was getting better, except I didn’t have a partner like the bugs do. So I had to hold air and walked in my own sequence.
Then after a while, I yawned of tire. As if understanding what this means, the bugs flew off the same way the fireflies did yesterday, through my door crack. I got the message and went to sleep, wondering what will happen tomorrow.
I left my door open a little tonight, special for the fireflies or the bugs to come in easily. I slept for a while, trusting the fireflies to wake me up.
After a while, I heard a knocking on my window. My eyes open wide, my brain wondering who it is. I walk to my window and outside, I see a girl dress in her night dress, smiling at me nervously, fireflies around her. I opened the window.
“Hello,” she said, a hint of shyness in her voice.
“Hi,” I replied, confused.
“Umm… The fireflies and lightning bugs have been teaching me how to dance, but I couldn’t dance properly because I was alone, so the fireflies brought me here.”
I stared at her for a while. She’s pretty, sweet looking. But hair’s messed up, most probably from sleep. Then I climbed out of the window, still in my shorts and t-shirt. The fireflies flew more randomly, as if excited that I’ve decided to dance with the girl. Then the lightning bugs, I think is the name, came and showed us the demo again. We followed. The fireflies lit up the dark, being the yellow beads flying everywhere that they were before in my room. We danced for a while and it got awkward.
“So… What’s your name?” I ask the girl. She blushed, and looked down for a while.
“Rachel,” she replied.
“I’m Jake.” I smiled at her and she smiled back.
I never remembered how that night ended, but every night I wait for the fireflies or lightning bugs to come. If not them, maybe even the girl, Rachel. But they never did. But sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, I look out the window and the fireflies are there, little yellow beads, flying everywhere. I want to join them, but before I could sit up, I fall back to sleep, going back into my dreams where I dance with the girl, all night, the fireflies accompanying us.
Author's note: My first story based on a song. Fireflies by Owl City.
Labels: fantasy, the unreal
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