Ten Million Fireflies

• Cindy Yuan, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2010

She closed her glistening, green eyes as she reflected back to her old memories. Lovely moments started to flow through her mind. All the joy and laughs they shared, all the times they had spent together. Suddenly those moments faded as she heard the frightening voice of the demon.

"Why are you still waiting? If you want them to stay in this world, you have to sacrifice yourself," it boomed.

Charlotte didn't reply, she didn't care. She just wanted to enjoy the last moments without any distraction. The last moments of her whole life. The freezing wind picked up and blew her curly, dark brown hair over her face. She was only wearing a stripped, white and navy dress, but she wasn't cold. Something was protecting her. She could feel it. As a tear escaped from her limpid eye, she suddenly saw a light out of nowhere. A bright light that shone through the darkness that filled the night. And she saw more from the corner of her eye.

"You can't wait. I can't wait. Time can't wait..." the voice of demon faded as Charlotte gazed at the tiny balls of light floating in the air. She admired how beautiful they were, but, it was then that she realised she had no more time to waste.

She lifted her feet of the floor and relaxed as she felt the cool wind blowing against her face. She knew what will happen to her, but she wasn't regretting. Because she was not doing this for nothing. She was doing this for her loved ones. It's just a deep sleep without any dreams, she thought, and then down she went, with ten million fireflies following and covering her body from sight.