he world was black and white before my eyes were opened. Shades of grey. The Sun would rise, a pale ball on the hazy canvas of sky. Bleached clouds would float by, shapeless blobs vaguely recalling childhood memories, their bowels slowly darkening and prophesizing some coming storm. Trees, mere charcoaled shapes in the background, boldly stood to challenge both the sky and the land. The meadow underneath, a matted foreground wild and untamed. A picket fence neatly bordered the field, and began the lawn--cleanly trimmed to stay within the lines.

I sat on my mother’s porch swing, pondering.

‘Wasn’t the sky bluer years ago?’, I wondered. It was a fleeting thought soon overwhelmed with those of bills, careers, and past loves. Normal life, I suppose, yet a swell of water threatening at any moment to encompass me and carry me to its murky depths.

‘How had all this happened?’, I questioned myself. A crow’s caw brought me back to reality, or in a sense, away. I stood only to find my shadow had grown longer, almost taking on an erie persona of its own. It was as though it could at any moment break our fragile bond and run for the forest, free. A glance at the silver watch on my wrist only told me it was time for a new battery, as it had died. Nevertheless, a quick look at the sun told me dusk was soon to come, so I grabbed my neglected newspaper and stood.

"Didn’t even have a chance to read it," I whispered about the colorless mess of words and pictures. "Ah, probably for the better."

It had been a long time since I had visited my boyhood home. Life was moving too fast, and I knew it was. Months would flash by and suddenly become years. Years too quickly lost in the muddiness of my memories.

Darkness fell as my thoughts went back to my childhood. Two kids playing. Laughing Dreaming. We were knights in shining armor, pledged to protect the princess. Towels would become capes. Sticks and pie plates magically transformed into bejeweled blades and shields. Dragons ruled the Earth. Monsters were slain with a single blow. Mounds of sparkling treasures and the princess’ undying gratitude were our reward. The cheers of the crowds were wondrous!

The sky had blackened, by now. Dots of light sprinkled it like so many diamonds. As I looked, reality set in: ‘Weren’t the stars brighter, then?’

On a whim, I decided to explore the woods of my younger self. Daring the foreboding forest I grabbed a flashlight and headed to its once known, now forgotten, heart. My breast beat hard in nervous anticipation for some reason unknown. Though I began by only walking, I soon found it hard to keep up with my own legs. My eyes were focused on the flashlight’s radiance: a small circle of safety in this barbaric world. It was then that a low branch attacked me.

I stopped and looked around, dazed and unsure of where I was. On my forehead a brazen memory to keep my eyes above the ground, as well as on its surface. Huge oaks surrounded me, limbs gnarled and foreboding, trying to block out the rising moon’s luster. My flashlight lay in pieces on the forest floor. Below my feet, a ring of mushrooms, not even a day old.

It was while studying them I noticed a light moving near me. It danced in the distance, mesmerizing me. The one light seemed to turn into two, then four, then many more. The forest soon came alive with these flying candles. They now were everywhere, like tiny bulbs attempting to light both the forest floor and my own dim memory.

Their dances were both mesmerizing and tantalizing. I knew what they were: Tiny fireflies trying to find their mate. Still, it was so alluring to chase after them! Memories cascaded into my very being, flowing down that deep ravine to make a mere ebb of the earlier tidal wave. Ah, the memories: Shapes in clouds, bluer skies, brighter stars & chasing fireflies. For a moment, the lights almost seemed yellow, and the woods not so dark.

I chased an unusually lively one, jumped, and landed hard on my knees with it in my hands. I smiled gleefully in my capture. For one moment, a mere sliver of time, I was again a child. But what had happened to the other fireflies?

The wilderness had become dark again. Not one light to be seen anywhere. The trees were quiet, with no wind to be felt. A chill went down my spine as thoughts of being lost raced through my mind. Sadness, too, for I had captured the last of my fiery friends. It was now time to leave the forest and my lost youth. Who would have guessed what happened next?

I stood, still grasping my hidden treasure, and opened my hands. There, the small lightening bug sat and seemingly looked at me as it began to glow. Slowly at first, like the beat of a heart, then more steadily until it seemed to envelope the creature. How does one describe such awesome beauty?

The tiny bug glowed brightly and began to change. What was an insect, had become a fairy! Beautiful arms and legs met a gorgeous body. Gossamer wings complimented her stunning face. Her eyes, two tiny dots of blue, twinkled from a veil of pink light. The light that embraced her looked like a fluffy dandelion, so fragile as to be blown away at any moment, and yet so wonderful.

With but a beat of her wings, she lit upon my nose. Was that a smile I saw, through my crossed eyes? She took off, and my eyes saw a new world. Although it was night, the land burned as bright as day. Colors everywhere. Was I still in my forest?

The trees appeared the same, but they were covered in the greenest of leaves. Flowers of every shade and kind surrounded their trunks. Roses entwined the great trees, their blooms strikingly red, yellow, and white. Daisies, Tulips, and wild flowers of all sorts and colors covered the ground. Pastel grass led the way to a stream so blue and clear that I felt I could look into it for hours. Fish would swim by, and their skin would shimmer with the colors of the rainbow. My, what a sight!

Hours must have passed as I marveled at the world. Afraid to pluck one magnificent rose, I held it softly in one hand. It felt as silky as it looked and gave off a wondrous scent that yet lingers. A fairy flew from it as I played and began to dance around me. Soon hundreds--perhaps thousands were flying around me. Pink, blue, and yellow lights frolicked around my head, gleefully celebrating life. Some landed on my outstretched arms, only to quickly join their friends again. They swirled and pranced in the air until I fell onto my knees, overcome by emotion. They disappeared as quickly as they had come, back into their flowers.

The water in my eyes cleared long enough for me to see that first nymph, again on my nose. She smiled, I think, and gracefully flew back to my open hands. Tears again came, and when they left, I saw I held a firefly. Moments later, it flew off to the sky and became a sparkle of light, lost among the millions of stars above. I walked onward.

The forest was becoming bright as dawn approached, and I soon realized where I was. It turns out I wasn’t all that far from home: Perhaps a couple hundred feet, or so, to the meadow. My head throbbed from hitting the branch, but my heart pounded when I saw what was next.