Seeing in darkness

The obscured & glowing winged creatures of the night

I woke up to a lot of commontion emanating from the backyard. Men were digging a hole beside the mabolo tree & from which sloshy caramel-colored water was gushing out. It was flooded where they worked. Nearby, onlookers conversed about the cost of installing a pump or the potability of ground water nowadays.

That was the morning a well was discovered behind our house.

But a few days went by & the plans to cement the well did not materialize. Instead of pozo, a makeshift lid of dos por dos & corrugated roof scraps sat atop the excavation.

One night after dinner, as I was looking over the mabolo tree, anticipating the nightly flyby of winged creatures, I noticed pulsating dots of bright lime green gathering above the well. Fireflies. Somebody said fireflies could sense the presence of water & therefore offered a sure sign that the well had sufficient water supply from below.

However, not long after, the glowing insects darted into the dark alley of mango trees outside our wooden fence, their light getting smaller & smaller with each passing moment. At the end of that overgrown trail was a shallow river, I was told. I didn't know for sure for I had never ventured beyond.

I stepped outside to check if all of the fireflies had indeed left. To my surprise there was one crawling on the makeshift lid. My eyes followed its soft glow zigzagging on that humble cover in an almost childlike, gentle manner. Before I knelt to pick it up, it ascended & went off towards the direction of its companions.

Above me there was a sudden flapping of wings, signaling the arrival of our mysterious visitors. But the creatures left as soon as they came. As it was pitch dark I failed to see them or even take notice of their outline. I therefore couldn't tell whether they were mayas or panikis.

My attention turned to a faraway neighbor's house. In the only lighted window, there was a woman's silhouette against a yellowish backdrop, probably from a bedside lamp. It was the woman whom I heard many stories about. They said she was a kind spinster owning tracts of lands. But not once had I seen her. This was my first time encountering a proof of her existence, not that my validation was necessary.

I gazed back into the dark alley beyond the fence where the fireflies set off for. Maybe they were right about our well. But that's okay. They probably headed for the shallow river, which must therefore exist. I took comfort in that.