On the 14th day, a short story
This story isn’t very good. I had the idea but I just couldn’t quite make it work the way I wanted it to. Oh well, it’s a thing.
Summer Lights
It is summer, perhaps late June or early July. The exact date is immaterial, but the fact that it is still light after 9PM helps set the stage for the tale. It is just before twilight, and warm. Soon, but not yet, the fireflies will be out. Until then, we watch the children at play.
The children, all of them boys, are running around a large lawn. They are playing some sort of tag. There is a tree at one end of the lawn, and atop a small hill. Very small, probably about two feet of rise over 15 feet of turf. But this is land that was flattened by glaciers millenia ago, and more recently by developers bull dozers. This tree appears to be a safe zone, as the boys huddle around it at various times, until the one who appears to be it backs off, attempting to catch them away from their safety.
The sun is dipping in the sky. The few clouds in the sky get darker, and turn a reddish golden color as it faded behind the horizon. The boys are oblivious to this, more content with their game. The beauty of nature is not lost on them completely, but it is for now. The kinetics of the moment are more compelling.
It is getting darker, but the game continues. Another boy is now it. The others again huddle by the tree on the hill. The boy draws outward towards the end of the lawn. Eventually boys leave the safety of the tree and approach the one who is it. He chases them and catches one. The rest make it back to the tree. The boy who is it is forced to retreat and wait for them to leave the tree.
It is finally dark out. It is no longer day. The creatures of the night emerge from their hiding spots. This is the suburbs, so these creatures are small. And the one we care about is quite small indeed. But they are distinctive. The lights of the fireflies peek out in the newly descended darkness. One of the boys at the tree notices them first. He runs off to catch one, and soon the other boys follow. The game of tag is forgotten, as the boys seek out the strange wonders of nature that are fireflies.
Last 5 posts by mrthotep
- Day 29 part 2 - I lose but... - March 1st, 2008
- ARGH - feb 29 - March 1st, 2008
- Day 27 - My last bag for my commenter friend - February 27th, 2008
- Day 26 - Dinner - February 26th, 2008
- Day 25 - yet another machinery doodle - February 26th, 2008
You certainly did capture something. Very pretty.