Fireflies' Love
After several years, I had the opportunity to visit Yishui Underground Glowworm Lake in Shandong. Before going, I was misled by the promotional posters and thought I would return to the magical world of fireflies flying all over the sky like in my childhood. However, in reality, it was quite different. Although the underground lake was dark and mysterious, and the tourists' small boats were slender and lightweight, the boatmen gently rowed the black water without any noise. But there wasn't a sight of fireflies dancing in the human world. I carefully observed and found only a few scattered, shining fireflies lying on the lake's stone walls, quietly resting, seemingly reminiscing about their youthful days.
However, in my childhood memories, fireflies were always flying all over the sky during the Mid-Autumn Festival, along the riverside in the village, with no wind and quiet time, the fireflies seemed to have heard the summons of life. Without music or singing, there was only a heartfelt gaze exchange and an unyielding commitment. They held a grand waltz meeting by the village river, circling and swirling, with countless fireflies shining, surpassing the starlight of the moon and the sky. No matter how the ugly bats hunted and blocked them, they couldn't stop them from embarking on their fiery romantic rendezvous, even if they risked flying into flames, like bees defending their hive, they would go without hesitation. But the people in my hometown didn't really care about fireflies. As 'Red Chamber Dream' says, 'corrupt grass for fireflies,' and people at home said this 'babaozhu' glowing insect was what dog droppings after eating dates turned into – it's so unbelievable, I didn't believe it for a long time.
Later on, I left my hometown and also heard about the ecological destruction of my hometown. But I missed the glow of Yishui, remembering the joy of waving my hands beside the straw mattresses and being able to let half the starlight fall to the ground during the day. I remember keeping fireflies in mosquito nets to watch the stars at night. It was sad to see the fireflies die when it was morning, but I always cherished these magical, light-emitting insects. Even once when I returned to my hometown, I suddenly saw a 'firefly' fluttering towards me to catch and hold, and then I heard someone scold me: 'What are you doing?' I realized it was the neighborhood elder who had mistaken a cigarette butt with a yellow lid for a firefly when he was going out at night.
Occasionally, I saw a science book and learned that firefly larvae live in clear streams and are carnivorous, with a unique skill of injecting anesthesia and diluents into snail mouths, allowing them to enjoy the juicy meat after the snails died in silence. The beautiful world is full of traps and dangers. I didn't realize that this little boy wearing a straw hat and black wind cloak was actually an assassin in his youth, with a lifespan of only one month after transforming into an adult, relying solely on feeding on nectar and dew to sustain himself, so when I caught a firefly, I wanted to keep it alive, so I put sugar water in a jar for it to drink. Looking back, how many innocent fireflies must Jin Dynasty's Caran have harmed to pave the way for his academic career and high-ranking position, and how much more would their story of 'candlelight and frosted snow' be less than the Shandong province's Confucian scholar, Guangen, who carved into the wall to steal the light and was still healthier and brighter!
But in modern, prosperous society, everywhere is full of dazzling lights, and a village became a city that never sleeps because of the abundant nightlife and people gathering, and countless fireflies are lured by the dazzling lights to mate, but they are far away from the fertile land and return to nothing, and the black-cloaked, lantern-carrying sorcerers become lonely ghosts.
I heard that many places hold large-scale events and release tens of thousands of fireflies as a romantic and poetic atmosphere. However, after the reporter's investigation, it was learned that most of the fireflies released were purchased at low prices from villages, and after concentrated release in unsuitable temperature and environment, they would cause a catastrophe of tens of thousands of fireflies. This is a crime! We call for a ban on such killings and releases, and we call for the protection of these land-based creatures that can shine at night.
Recently, I went back to my hometown, and my hometown's mountains have been reforested with pine trees and honeysuckle because of Peng's mountain conservation and tree planting. What's more, I found a firefly by the stream during the night, just like Chang'e climbing the moon, solitary and pitiful. But she is the precious light of fireflies that returned to the people of the village.
Fireflies are the elves of the mountains, they are the finishing touches added by the creator to the beautiful night scenery, like adding 3D dynamic effects to the landscape painting, I hope they can continue to thrive and multiply, and their descendants can be full of children.
3D
