Look, It's Glowing / Short Story

While our family was enjoying cold soup, my daughter said suddenly.
"Hey, let's go see fireflies sometime."
When I asked, she said a close classmate of hers had gone recently. It seems there is a place where you can see them relatively nearby.
And so, our family's firefly viewing trip was planned.


The promised Friday arrived.
My daughter came home from school and busily started getting ready. She was fully prepared with bug repellent.

"Do fireflies glow during the day, too?"
Children think of such interesting things.
I wonder. Do they glow?
While I was thinking about that, the scheduled departure time approached.

The place where fireflies can be seen, while relatively nearby, is an area where a fair amount of nature is preserved.
On the drive there in our car, my daughter hummed "Hotaru no Hikari" (Auld Lang Syne) over and over. Though, after the first line, it was just humming every time.

By the time we arrived at our destination, the sun had just set.
We walked from the parking lot along the path toward the water.
It was pitch black all around. As I walked along holding my daughter's hand, we reached what was likely the intended spot.

As I stared intently, I saw small lights flickering softly.
Small cheers rose from the people around us as well.
My daughter knew the drill and spoke in a whisper.
"Oh, it glowed! It's beautiful."

At that moment, what was likely the climax of the evening arrived.
Multiple fireflies blinked at the same time.

The loudest cheer of the night leaked out from the crowd.
"Amazing! It's like space."
Before our eyes, a truly tiny universe was unfolding.

"Look, it's glowing. Is that the moon?"

I looked in the direction my daughter was pointing.

There, the head of a gentleman with almost zero hair was floating, illuminated by the faint light of a smartphone.

…My daughter, you have the talent of a poet.

I wrote this to participate in Haratokei-san's "Three-Line Dialogue Story" challenge.