Portals To Another World

=Fireflies=

The voice from the tv pauses, I hear a gasp,

Oh...
Some news just in, a woman's body has been found this morning near-

The screen zaps black as my dad puts down the remote before I can look up to see the picture. I frown at him and he looks at me solemnly, forced, his voice shallow,

"Sorry Jess. It's like the cops said."

My breath catches and I blink. I'm standing. When did I stand?

"Will you bring me back out a can of beer?"
His voice tries to follow me, I couldn't anyway, he drank the last of it this morning. I slip out the back door, my limbs controlling themselves.
The cold night breeze hits my skin and ripples my clothes, my legs bringing me to the street. It's around nine so the streets are empty, the lamp posts casting long shadows that form black cracks along the pavement. My hands are suddenly in my hair, tugging at loose strands as my thoughts rush by.

'A woman's body has been found this morning.'
'She's gone.'
'I'm sorry Jess, it's like the cops said.'
'Bring me back out a can of beer.'
'I love you and I'll always be here for you.'
'Some news just in.'

I fall to my knees in the middle of the street, my head in my hands. Tears streaming. The concrete cold and unyielding. My head replays a memory.

I watch from the stairs, looking through the wooden slots. My dad sits on his usual chair, across from him is a woman. Her hair pinned back in a tight bun. Her face stern and angular, her clothes a two piece suit. In her hands is a folder.
"And, as shown before, the records show no previous signs of this illness through her family. But I shall run more diagnostics to provide in court." The woman says. Even her voice is sharp.
My dad speaks then, no beer can in sight which surprises me,
"Thank you for all you've done. It's been hard knowing of her illness with Jess. I just hope she can last until Jess is old enough to understand."
"Of course Mr Cameron. But it is late and no doubt you have things to be getting on with. I shall contact the judge tomorrow morning and see when the court case is. I'll inform you as soon as we know."
With that she walks out, gets in her car and speeds away. My dad rubs his forehead and stays leaned over in his chair for a while. I sneak back upstairs, careful not the let the stairs creak.

A strong wind tunnels straight down the street. Blowing fiercely at my curled back. My eyes are shut tightly, tears still escaping. It feels like someone has grabbed my heart and is squeezing as hard as they can. She's gone. We don't even know why. Pain shatters through my mind, turmoil racing along with my thoughts. Ice ripping along my muscles. Everything goes faster and faster, scared that it'll get too fast and I'll die. Somehow it will kill me. I know it will I can't escape-

Stars. No, a star. It's light slowly brightening the back of my eyelids. The soft warm light leaving no trace of heat on my skin. My eyes slowly open, revealing the pavement, my knees. And a firefly. I slowly look up, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. The street is flooded with yellow green light. Millions of fireflies float around the street, their light like tiny stars on earth. They weren't there when I looked down. My cheeks wet with tears still, my thoughts slowing down.
Don't think about that now, I think to myself, just focus on the sight in front of you.
They light the area close to themselves, like tiny orbs of never ending light. Never ending to be a spark, just one singular flicker of light in even the darkest of nights. My breathing evens out and I take a shaky breath, standing up, pushing past the fog around my head. I can stand. A firefly whizzes past my face, illuminating my vision for just one second. That's all I need.

How come it only takes a spark to light a fire, when it takes a whole bucket of water to put said fire out?