Ode To My Fireflies

I watched her run out into the garden. Thin and weak, she cloaked the roses and hummed softly. The leaves shivered beneath her touch, collecting her...condensing her. There...her white dress swirled gently, leaving traces of tears that sparkled like diamonds as they gathered and fell.

"Candle, you've gone too far again," I said. She stared out after Mist, her face dewy. I had never seen her so hollow.

"I'm tired of that name." She turned to me. "I don't want it anymore."

I took her in my hands and she curled her arms around them. Her skin was cold.

"There are fireflies in the garden," I told her.

I cupped my hands around her and took her to watch them. They danced through the air like fragments of burning paper, glowing dimly through Mist. Candles' wings began to pulse.

"They're love letters," she said. "You see...they are her forgotten words."

Thunder sounded like a war cry.

I turned and walked to the roses.

"Ah... Death arrives carrying the lamp." Mist raised her head and smiled.

Lightning came in quick flashes as Mist peered through my hands at Candle, her eyes bright and scornful.

"Some will crack in momentary flashes." Mist whispered, "but they are the brightest lights and can twist the shape of the earth." She looked over at the fireflies. "Others just glow dimly, and follow you at your feet."

Lightning flashed again, the light of the fireflies briefly lost in the glare.

Candle lifted my hand away and flew to Mist. She clung to Mist's hair as her wing began to glow in soft pastel shades.

"I love you," Candle told her.