When Darkness Illuminates

My journal passage from last year which describes my fascination with all things nocturnal...

Enchanting.

        The word conjures up thoughts of my deepest loves and fantasies stemming back from when I was young. For a week during the summer of when I was nine years old, my mother and I drove to West Virgina to visit an old friend of hers. As we neared Myra's house, our car climbed low mountains shrouded in mist, and the thick forest covering the land around us was lush yet ominous. We arrived at the wooden cabin at dusk, greeted by Myra and hundreds of twinkling fireflies. They seemed to be like white lights strung about the property, flashing in the trees and bushes. These insects were a rare phenomenon to me... and still are. I grew up in South Florida, never spotting one of the beautiful lightning bugs until that moment.

        While Myra and my mother migrated inside, I became lost in the realm of twilight. I waded through tall feathery grass and sat down beneath the darkening trees to admire my magical surroundings. The fireflies danced around me to an unheard waltz, one giving me the pleasure of landing on my palm and lighting up in greeting. As the creatures of twilight came out to play, the dark cobalt sky gave way to sparkling stars, light years away, but just as magical as my earthly delights here. My nine year old imagination pictured little fairies waking up from their day-long slumber and flitting out of their hiding places in the trees. They would swirl and fly amongst the fireflies, creating a symphony of light for only my eyes to witness. But then eventually, to my dismay, the glow of the lightning bugs would slowly fade away. Little by little, they all disappeared for the night, and the fairies of my imagination danced away to a forest world that my human soul could not enter. I was left alone in the darkness to stare up at the beautiful infinity until my mother finally called me in to the warm flooding light of the cabin. After that moment, all I could think about was the next evening when I would be able to escape into my world of enchantment once again.


         After ten more years in Florida, I had forgotten about the effect of twilight on me... until this evening. As I walked up to the door of my new apartment in Georgia and began to unlock the door, I saw a twinkle of light in the corner of my eye. I turned and was met by dozens of blinking fireflies glowing in the impending darkness... and then all of the magic came back to me.

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        As you can see, fireflies will always be a source of delight and wonder which most adults don't seem to have enough of. So why don't you sit outside in the silence of the oncoming night and watch for the beautiful blinking bugs? Maybe catch a few in your hand? Or how 'bout you visit the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to witness this amazing natural spectacle of lights:

I can't wait to go see this one day! I would be in heaven. Anyways, let me know your thoughts and tell me something that you find completely enchanting! Photos are from Firefly.org and knoxnews.com.