the switch

He reached for his pocket, then stopped. "I ain't got that," he grinned. "Give it to the conductor man." Ma looked at me. "I gotta get this little un to bed," she said. "Where's Pa?" I screamed. "Where's Eve?" "You know she's spending two days with Addie. Don't you fret none about your sister or Mister Roberts either." She took off my clothes and helped me into my nightgown. I lay in bed in the dark room. Outside it was dark, too. The fireflies were gone. I was scared and tired, my face still tender from the scrubbing as my body slowly yielded to exhaustion. I watched in my mind as the wagon with the black trunk rolled away from the barn, watched until the lantern grew smaller and smaller, until it was no bigger than a firefly, watched it go back and forth from firefly to lantern, until the firefly lantern exploded into a thousand fireflies lighting up above the ground mist. I searched for the one that was the lantern. It was there. There. No. There it was. No, I'd lost it again. Lost in the legion of fireflies . "Ma," I screamed. "I can't find it." She hurried into the room, I could feel her sit beside me on the bed. "Light a lantern." "No," she said. "You must sleep." I told her about my drowsy thoughts. "Well," she said. "Mister Roberts should be back soon." I could tell that she was looking away from me. ' "What if he isn't?" I asked. "If he's not," she whispered, "You can spend summer evenings chasing fireflies until you catch your Pa." I've been chasing them ever since. George Strange can be found in and around Berea College (Ky.). the switch ? am very sensible of sun light, having moved to a place with windows. -Joyce Hancock 49 ...