Quote:
The Fireflies (6) : In the warm summer nights, little glowing lights begin to bob and dart through the city. Fireflies are mating, so this isn't uncommon in itself; in the past few days you've probably seen hundreds of fireflies. What makes these lights so unique is that they seem to change color; you might see a blue one, a green one, a red one. They flicker randomly, and something just seems off with them. If you come into contact with one, you will find yourself with a strange electric jolt. They cannot be caught, and will flicker away if you pursue too aggressively. This isn’t the first time they’ve appeared in Destiny City, but no one’s been able to tell where they came from or where they’re going. No matter how quickly you chase them, they always seem to disappear before you can find any answers.
The city smelled. It smelled like a city. Exhaust. Dirt. Pee. Dirty water. Food. Trash. It had a smell that was all its own that was for sure. Mel had missed it. He had been out doing things and somehow ended up across the country! Like seriously how dare the train move while he was chasing a mouse! It was rude! RUDE!
But still, why did it take so long to get back? Because… that’s why. No other reason than ‘because’. It was Mel afterall. The fact that he made it back at all was more surprising. He had spent quite some time just wandering, encountering a great many people and creatures. Some nice, most not. And yet he sat there in the shadow of a building once again in Destiny City, this time hitching a ride from a trucker. A nice sort of bloke who happily chatted to the guardian while driving. The human seemed to just want companionship, he mentioned his dog had just passed on and he hadn’t really thought he was ready for another ride-along pet but when he saw the ‘poor lost kitty’ he couldn’t help it. Mel felt a bit bad for that one, at least when he hopped out at a rest stop and disappeared on the guy. But…. But Mel did leave behind a twenty he found so at least the guy got paid! It wasn’t a total loss for the guy! The guardian let out a soft, sad whine as he remembered the nice trucker. He really was sad he ditched him that way but Mel knew they were as close to his ‘home’ city as he was ever going to get.
And now Mel was back… and he was hungry. He needed to find a local place that would let the guardian scrounge up some grub. With his stomach directing him, the cat got up and galloped out into the city looking for a good spot to chow down when he came across fireflies. They were flickering on and off in the grassy patch of a ‘park’. It was a small little square with a tree and a bush. And apparently fireflies. Yellow on… yellow off… yellow on… red on, blue on, yellow off. The best things ever!
The desire for food had faded as he started to chase after the blinking bugs. The little lights scattered as the guardian bounded into their mist. He swatted at a blue one only to start when he got a little zap. Strange! The red one did the same. The yellow ones didn’t though. Mel continued to chase the glowing little bugs, getting zapped occasionally, until the smell of pizza wafted across the small green space. The cat landed from a particularly acrobatic jump on all four feet, nose high in the air, his ears flicking like mad trying to locate the direction of the glorious, delicious, magical, yesty, goodness. Once he thought he had the right location the guardian took off running, kicking up a small metal charm that flashed in the dim park lighting, mentally humming along the way. Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! All thoughts of zappy colored lightning bugs are lost to the brain fog of ‘FOOD’. Especially when his tummy rumbled in anger at being put to the back burner of playing.
((Word Count: 552))
