Lighting The Way Home

It had been a long time since anyone went to see them, and they didn’t mind. They understood that it was painful to slow down busy lives long enough to notice their absence. It just made everyone sad, so they rather no one came at all, and they took no offense to it.

It was pleasant, and they didn’t feel the pain of missing anyone or the pain of age or illness. They spent most days dancing among the flowers, and among the stars at night.

They lived a full life, though it might have been nice to live longer or do greater things, but they weren’t sure anymore. The longer they were gone, the less they felt tethered to the physical world, and the less they were hindered by it.

They recalled being parents and grandparents. Those were happy memories, but the desire to be anywhere seemed less and less.

An evening came when joy overwhelmed them. They felt as if they could explode. She ran her hand across the top of their headstone, and it felt so foreign, rough at first but then quickly became intangible. Her hand appeared transparent, but it didn’t concern her.

Suddenly fireflies surrounded them, so many that it almost seemed like daylight again. They fluttered around and gently tickled their skin. He spread his arms out and spun slowly taking them all in.

They felt weightless as their feet unexpectedly lifted from the ground. They smiled at one another. They were quickly enmeshed in the glow, and with sheer delight, they burst into a multitude of tiny celestial lights and were dispersed by the breeze into the heavens.

– Written for YeahWrite.me fiction|poetry #269. Prompt up sentence, “For a long time no one went to see them.” WC 275. Photo by controltheweb. “Lighting The Way Home” was named 3rd place in this contest.