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Today my father came upon an idea for us to go to Kuala Selangor (in Malaysia) to view a dance of fireflies. As the event only took place at night, we left in the early hours of the evening. The journey took us through many miles, far away from our home and the hustle and bustle of the city, into a dark and quiet jungle. Once there, we proceeded to get lost, but fortunately we bumped into some native people who were more than happy to direct us to the site of the fireflies. As we proceeded further into the void, we could only feel trepidation of events to come in such unfamiliar territory. After continued travel, we finally came upon a cute chalet known as “The Firefly Resort”. Our last stop on my journey with fireflies.

After paying a very reasonable admission price to enter into the compound, our first thought was that the journey was long and that we required to release our excess fluids. Subsequently, after relieving ourselves, we began a short walk through a dark and unkempt forest path towards the pier, our only source of light being a reasonably strong flashlight from my sister’s mobile phone. Reaching the pier, we began to don the proper firefly viewing attire, aka life jackets, and began our descent down a rickety bridge to a dark and murky lake. From there, we boarded a boat of questionable safety and an image of the Boat of the River Styx flashed through my mind. Once the boat left the safety of the pier, it was then that I realized there was no turning back. So I looked forward, to my journey with fireflies.

Trepidation and anxiety filled me as our boat moved further into the black lagoon, but all of it melted away and was replaced with awe. Within the bushes and trees surrounding the lake, fireflies were twinkling in and out like a million grounded stars. As I gazed in awe at the miracle of nature, a sense of warmth filled the very cores of my being. I realized that this vision is a wonder which no man-made equipment could copy, a phenomenon which can only be fully enjoyed by human eyes alone. As we continued on our tour a vision of a forest city, with as many lights as a man-made one, burst into view before me. I took in each scene as our boat re-approached the pier, and once it stopped, so had my journey with fireflies.

Or has it? As I continued to see the image of the tiny little creatures in my mind’s eye, I thought of their perseverance and strong will to live even though fireflies only lived for a day. They continued to work for the greater good of their community despite their extremely short life spans, to make sure that their society does not die out. This filled me with a whole new respect and view for these creations of nature, which I will forever keep in mind as I continue living my days. And so, I start my journey with fireflies.

Hope you enjoyed this story!
Recommended Anime:
Grave of the Fireflies