"I can walk on my own, you know," I grumbled."Yes, I know, dear," she replied, unperturbed and relentless. "But there's no sense in taking chances, no..., is there?"Mom logic. There was no argument, and no cure. I could rail and protest, but it would be like complaining that the sun was making the world too bright. I accepted, with very little good grace, and they helped me slowly walk down the stairs.Later that afternoon, I was sprawled in my dad's easy chair, watching a boring football game on. She addressed the two men saying, "Stop whining, and start walking in that direction," She pointed and laughed.They trudged through the jungle in silence, soon moisture from the leaves and vines and their sweat combined to make all soaked to the bone. They crept up to a clearing and peering from the concealment of vines and bushes saw a gathering of human men and women. There was perhaps a dozen of each sex."This must be the small tribe we are here to save," Troy commented in a whisper to the. She flung her arms around me as I picked her up and swung her around, her presence filling up an empty place in my heart.I held her in a tight embrace that shifted into a warm kiss with my hands gently caressing her cheeks. A polite cough announced Derwen's arrival as she, watched our tender moment. Palus's earthy scent filled my nostrils as our wet kiss continued. I opened my eyes to see her beetle-black eyes filled with tears. Her long fingers took hold of my hands but Palus didn't want our. While he stood and meditated, the firefly flew toward him, and the young man struck at it with his stick, but the insect flew away and entered the garden adjoining his own.The next day he called at his neighbor's house, and was about to relate the experience of the previous night when the eldest daughter of the family entered the room, and exclaimed, "I had no idea you were here, and yet a moment ago you were in my mind. Last night I dreamt that I became a firefly. It was all very real and very.