Little green glowing worms.

Imagine.

Hidden away in the rocks near a waterfall.

I watched them in awe before my dad carried me back to our camp in the dark. We toasted marshmallows on sticks and roasted eel, but I only wanted the marshmallows back then. Looking into the depths of the forest, my mind began to play, afraid of what could be lurking there. My bogey man had a hooked nose and mean little eyes, shoes with big heels (that way you could hear them clicking as he came for you), a striped purple jacket and top hat; but I sat near the lantern and I was safe. My brother stayed up with the men and they sent me to bed, angry for lack of sufficient marshmallows. I lay alone in the darkness, but if I rolled over on one side I could see the flames flickering against the wall of the tent, dancing, for me. The anger boiled away and my firelight, warm and safe, sent me to sleep.

Darkness descends on my mind.

Any light is flattened and removed.

Silence feels the void.

I try door after door, each one locked.

Darkness wears a crude smile.

I bang the wall with my fists.

A brick crumbles and gives way.

Within the brick holds a light.

A flicker of hope.

I hang onto the glimmer of light, cup it in my hands.

The light gives off a faint purple glow.

It feels warm in my hands.

I curl up on the floor and hug the light.

Within the darkness of my mind

lays a glimmer of hope.

A way out.

Chuck the Mantis Shrimp emerged from his burrow and tuned his vision for the bright lights shining through the ocean’s surface. An overwhelming sense of doom overtook his mind.

“Why is it so bright right now? It’s nighttime” he thought to himself.

There were lights and colors that are far beyond what any other animal can see. For some reason he could see more light then ever before. The ultraviolet lights were beautiful but the infrared lights hurt like nothing he had felt before. It was to much. Nothing could block out these bright lights at night.

He knew but the rest of the animal kingdom had no clue of the terror unfolding atop the Bikini Atoll.

Darkness descends on my mind.

Any light is flattened and removed.

Silence feels the void.

I try door after door, each one locked.

Darkness wears a crude smile.

I bang the wall with my fists.

A brick crumbles and gives way.

Within the brick holds a light.

A flicker of hope.

I hang onto the glimmer of light, cup it in my hands.

The light gives off a faint purple glow.

It feels warm in my hands.

I curl up on the floor and hug the light.

Within the darkness of my mind

lays a glimmer of hope.

A way out.