The night was perfectly clear, not a single cloud in the sky, the soft light of the moon giving everything a glow as her eyes scanned the street. It was nights like these that Zuilla craved. Everything was quiet in the small town, no loud cars ripping through its darkened streets, no people shouting at each other, no harsh fluorescent glow of businesses trying to out do each other, there weren't even any feral dogs barking. The only sound was that of the denizens of night, going quietly about their business.

chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp

Zuilla shivered. Except for the crickets. The crickets had, it seemed, decided she deserved a personal thousand insect concert from the ground below. While usually she could ignore their incessant noise, it seemed with the almost surreal quietness of the rest of the town, the sound of crickets was just loud enough to make her black and red tufted ears twitch in increasing annoyance.

chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp

Her left eye began to twitch in annoyance. Zuilla couldn't take it anymore. She could only hope the park would be a little less... loud. She stood on the ledge of her apartment building and with the type of flourish only a bat could pull off she leapt, the wind immediately grabbing at her powerful wings, keeping her aloft. Within moments she was over the park, and dropped deftly onto it's path. Her ears twitched this way and that, and realized with joy the sound of crickets had stopped.

She walked with a grace born of the night, her green eyes effortlessly catching details of everything around her. With the soft moonlight, she could see as well as any diurnal animal could at noon. She stopped to look at a flower, one of several nearby, that was blooming in response to the gentle moonlight. These glowing blossoms always seemed to bring her peace, as they were at their best during the night, just like her. She leaned down, and took a deep breath of the flowers wet, soothing odor. With a smile, she continued down the path.

For a small town, the park was truly the centerpiece, with its own small lake in the center, and several community maintained gardens. She passed a pavilion, and noticed several couples stolen away here and there, enjoying small moments of peace. A pair of Deer walked by her, going the opposite direction barely noticing her as the buck leaned in and whispered something into the doe's ear, which she giggled and looked away from him shyly.

Of course, to her ears he might as well have spoken aloud, for she clearly heard him whisper about the 'halo being on the wrong woman'. Confused, she looked up, and noticed what seemed to be a ring of firefly's floating above her head, flashing their lights in perfect pattern to resemble a halo of moving light. As she noticed it, the fireflies moved to eye level, about four feet from her, and formed a blinking arrow, pointing the way she was going. When she turned, they flew ahead of her, forming a line of blinking insects.

Zuilla tilted her head, curious of the odd behavior. Well, she wouldn't be accused of being scared, she followed, watching the flies dance in front of her with an almost enchanting rhythm, leading her towards the center of the park. She kept her wits about her, making sure to watch the shadows, but seeing nothing.

chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp

There was the sudden sound of crickets again, causing her left eye to begin twitching rapidly again. She didn't believe for a second that the crickets just CHOSE now of all times to start up, as she was following some very persistent fireflies. She grit her teeth lightly, undeterred as she followed the still blinking trail.

Suddenly, she reached the end of the blinking lights, as they seemed to swerve into a bush. She stared at it in confusion, before six of them reappeared, blinking in a circle in front of the bush, before disappearing into it. She reached out, attempting to touch the bush, but to her surprise, he hand slid into the bush without any hesitation, meeting only air. She pulled it out rapidly, looking confusedly at it.

Zuilla took a step forward, slowly attempting to touch the bush, but feeling only air. “An illusion?” she mused quietly to herself. “Magic would certainly explain all of... well, this.” She waved her hand in an arc to indicate the behavior of the bugs, before slightly blushing as she realized she was just talking to herself.

She nodded to herself, before taking a resolute step forward, directly into the bush. As soon as her whole body had passed it, she could see the fireflies again, more of them, dozens at least, winking their lights down a path she had never seen before. She followed it, caution slowly leaving her, as the fireflies were now dancing beside her, around her, all over. The lights almost made her dizzy as they erratically flashed in and out of existence. Somehow, she kept on the path, quickly reaching its end. Only to gasp.

From her position at the edge of the woods, Zuilla looked out over the small lake, the water a black canvas dotted with a full sky of stars and the yellowish glow of the moonlight, now somehow dimmer yet more intense. It was a sight that nearly brought her to tears over the beauty of it, but before she could get any closer, she noticed a shape standing in the center of this reflection of the heavens.

She could only assume that magic held him aloft as he stood with his back to her, a dark figure made almost ominous by the perfect blending of stars and water around him. The figure raised his arm, showing a wing attached to the limb, much like her own, and with a sudden start, she realized the stars on the water winked out, rapidly leaving only the yellow reflection of the moon to slightly illuminate the creature.

And then the moon winked out as well.

Panic bloomed in her heart as she frantically searched for the moon in the sky, only to realize a very soft glow came from directly behind her, hidden by the trees. The moon was there, but couldn't have been reflecting on the pool of water in front of her...

She turned back to the moon, only to see, glowing in the middle of the pool, bright blue eyes, seemingly full of merriment before they too closed, and she was left in near total darkness, even her excellent night vision rendered moot as she stood in the suddenly silent abyss that had sprung up around her.

“Welcome... to my show.” The voice that rang out contained no sense of malice, but rather of humor and cheer. He clapped once, and suddenly she was illuminated by a ring of several dozen fireflies, making it seem like she was engulfed in a spotlight of sorts. “This show I have put together only for you, and only for tonight.” A chuckle. “Have you been enjoying the choir?” He asked.

“What choir?! All I've heard all night were those crickets!” She exclaimed, and would admit to no one but herself that the biting response came not just from annoyance, but also her nervousness. She had no idea what was to happen next. “That chirping almost drove me insane!” She yelled out.

“That my dear bat, is because you did not listen to the melody.” He sounded very much amused now, and she wanted to hit him for it. “Listen closely, please.” Two claps and suddenly the chirping was loud, all around her, the sounds of thousands of crickets making their sounds filling her ears.

CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP

The sound was drilling into her mind, and she almost felt like covering her ears, before she noticed something, his words echoing in her mind. She listened, and all at once, she could hear, entwined in the chirps, a choir of small sounds, mixing together in an amazing display that did bring tears to her eyes at its beauty. Standing where she was, surrounded by the short lights of the firefly, she felt at one with the world around her listening the sound of nature.

Clap Clap Clap

Three powerful claps rang out, and from the surface of the lake, thousands of fireflies raised, revealing themselves as the stars that had been only moments before shining on the surface of the water. As they came together, the colors each emitted suddenly changed. Twinkling lights formed a tree in front of her, the colors shining, from the brown of the bark, to the red apple shapes amongst the bright green leaves.

“A gift!” The man shouted. “Reach out, and pluck an apple!” She tried to look past the 'tree' but could see nothing beyond the lights in her eyes. So, she reached out, and reached amongst the glowing 'leaves' until she reached a patch of red. She pushed further, and was surprised when she could touch the glowing fruit. Pulling on it, a softly glowing red apple was pushed into her hand, the tree suddenly scattering as she became aware of a tall, dark shape pushing the apple into her palm.

Bright blue eyes looked into her green orbs, and smiled, a large grin full of teeth and mirth. “A snack for our lovely guest!” The apple stayed in her hand as he jumped away, hands sweeping to the side, fireflies following them, colors twisting rapidly, before forming into a tightly knit group that resembled a cat, moving close to the ground to give the illusion of it running. So tightly knit was the illusion that did she not know what she was looking at, she'd have thought it merely a beautifully glowing feral cat.
The flies zipped around, before running up a tree and extinguishing, leaving her in the dark again, before flocks of glowing 'birds' burst from the trees, soundlessly but somehow communicating the chaotic squall of spooked birds perfectly through movement alone. She laughed out, before looking at the apple in her hand. Her mouth watered slightly, and she took the risk that she would look foolish, biting into it.

Juicy and flavorful, the apple was real! She could hardly believe it as she bit into the treat, a small moan coming from her mouth in appreciation. She went to take a second bite, when everything went dark again. She looked around, before gasping as she saw him once again standing on the lake, the soft glow of thousands of fireflies lighting him up as he stood with his arms up in the air.

“My dear, we have only time for one more trick, and then our time is done. Do you have any requests?” She felt very put on the spot with the sudden change, but tried to think of an answer.

“Um... what about me?” She asked, slightly unsure.

“HM... a challenge, to be sure, do you think you all are up to it?” He cried out. A sudden darkness was the answer. “While they figure this out, tell me, what did you think of the show so far?”

“It's... amazing. I've never seen anything like it.” Zuilla said, awestruck still by the beautiful display.

“I'll take that as a compliment.” The bat said.

“What is your name?” She asked. He tutted, and even in the dark she could see him shake his head.

“I can't tell you.” He sounded slightly wistful. “One show. One moment. One memory. That's all I am.”

She had nothing to say to that, and went to take another bite of her apple. As it reached her mouth, suddenly, right in front of her, a brilliant red apple of light appeared in front of her. It was cupped by darkness, ringed with light, looking just like her fingers. A shape took form in front of her, made by the ring of fireflies lighting up in the pattern, dark spaces appearing where they weren't to mimic her dark skin and fur. Biting into the 'apple', brilliant white 'teeth' appeared, with darkness around before brilliant greens and whites imitated her eyes. Soon, she was looking at a eerily glowing replica of herself, shaped entirely out of lightning bugs, twinkling at her, mirroring her position of biting into her apple. She dropped the apple in shock, and so too did the bugs, before the copy 'winked' at her and suddenly she was in the dark.

The choir of crickets was quiet, and she lamented their loss. The fireflies were gone, and she felt the darkness keenly. There were no sounds, until suddenly she heard footsteps nearby. Her dropped apple was placed into her lap, suddenly no longer fleshy fruit but a glass replica.

“Enjoy your memory, Zuilla. You deserve it.” And suddenly she was alone. The glass apple was warm in her hands, and she clutched it close to her chest. She closed her eyes, a tear falling from one, and when she opened her eyes she was again standing on the trail. She turned towards the bush she had went through, and tried to push through, only to be rebuffed by stiff branches and leaves.

Stunned, she quickly made the walk home, suddenly all too aware of her lack of company, unnerved by the darkness, and very, very hungry.

She awoke the next morning, convinced she had just had a very vivid dream. That lasted until she saw, sitting upon her desk, a red apple made of glass, with the word 'Remember' inside, the same green as her eyes.

She would never forget that night. But though she tried many nights, she never again found the path to take her back to the clearing where she saw the fireflies. She could never again hear the chorus of crickets, though she now enjoyed their sound. And she could never get the image of the smiling, blue eyed illusionist out of her mind.