light the way

  Moths flocked to the luminescent boy in the dark as they would a candle. He lounged across a rock, but his eyes were alert.

           He glowed softly from the inside out, like someone had lit an oil lamp in his stomach. The light flickered from within his transparent, glassy body. Perhaps he hadn’t been hollow and bright once. Perhaps there had been a time when he was as opaque as anyone else. But although he shone as if he had swallowed the core of a tiny star, it didn’t cause him any pain. He was content to sit and watch as bugs flitted around his head with gentle hums.

           People didn’t walk by often in the woods where the boy resided. Nor did the sun ever make an appearance. Cicadas chirped incessantly through the eternal night. There was no need to sleep. No need to move. The young man waited for a visitor, lounging about this way and that.

           The crunch of leaves alerted the boy of someone nearby.

           “Hello?”

           The glowing boy looked up to see a little child, six or seven years old. His legs were speckled with mud, and his face held the weariness of someone who’d been walking for a long time. He hefted a large backpack on his shoulders, the telltale sign of a serious hiker. But the glowing boy had never seen a hiker this young alone.

           The glowing boy pushed himself up and stood, staring at the wide-eyed child, whose mouth had fallen open. Fascination gleamed in his eyes.

           “What’s your name?” the glowing boy asked, brushing away a winged insect that fluttered madly as it got tangled in his hair.

           “Matthew,” the child squeaked out, stepping back.

           “Okay, little Moth-You. I’m Will. You look lost. Are you lost?”

           “Uh…” The boy looked over his shoulder and shifted his backpack straps. “I was with my dad. But…” His lower lip began to quiver. “I can’t find the path.”

           “Oh.” Will crouched down to the boy’s height. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. I can help you find the right way. I know every bit of these woods.”

           “You do?”

           “Yeah. Sometimes people get lost.” Will shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m here to help.”

           “What… are you?”

           “A guide.”

           Matthew’s eyebrows scrunched together, but he nodded.

           “I know I look odd, but I promise I’ll keep you safe.” Will took his hand. “It won’t be a long walk. By the looks of it, you’re used to walking much longer ways, huh?”

           Matthew nodded, a trace of uncertainty leaving his eyes.

           “You’ll be just fine, then,” Will confirmed, leading the way with a slow, confident stride.

Dead leaves crunched under their feet as crickets serenaded their nocturnal adventure. With each step, Matthew seemed to relax more. After some time had passed, the little boy spoke again.

           “Will? Why do you glow?”

           “I think I’ve always been this way,” Will said. “Or maybe I’ve been here for so long that I forget where or what I was before.” Will gestured to his midriff. “But if you meant that literally, this is what keeps me glowing.” He smiled at the play on words.

Matthew gaped, tilting his head and leaning forward. “Did you eat that?”

“No!” Will laughed. “Didn’t you hear what I said?” He retook Matthew’s hand, and they continued their trek. “The people I’ve met have tried to pin down what I am. Called me different things. ‘Wisp.’ ‘Ghost-light.’ ‘Will-o’-the-wisp.’ ‘Lantern Jack.’”

Matthew giggled. “I like that one.”

Will grinned and tousled the boy’s hair. “Hey! You don’t like Will?”

“Why would you go by Will when ‘Lantern Jack’ is right there!”

Will laughed again as he elbowed Matthew. He realized he couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed. The people he walked with never held a trace of humor. They had places to be, trails to find, panic to ease.

Matthew wasn’t like that. Though he’d looked nervous at first, he now held an air of peace about him.

No one had ever joked around with him either. No one enjoyed his company like that. Will was a means to an end. But as Matthew continued to talk with him, Will was fascinated with the way the boy treated him more like a traveling companion.

“Does it hurt? Your body being all bright like that?” his little friend asked.

           Will looked down at himself and his glassy skin. “No. Does your body hurt being all dark like that?”

           Matthew pursed his lips. “I guess not.”

           As they walked, the child grew chattier, talking about his hike, his father, and his home. He spoke of the animals he’d seen, the things he’d eaten and identified on the trail, and what his friends were doing with their summers.

           And Will listened because he knew that aside from getting Matthew to the right path again, this was the next best gift he could give the boy.

           When Matthew’s words started becoming few and far between, Will hefted the yawning boy and his pack into his arms. He could manage the weight for the little left they had to go.

           Soon, Will stepped out of the brush and onto the packed dirt of a trail. “This is it.”

           Matthew’s eyelids fluttered open as Will set him back on his feet. Together, they looked out at the road ahead. The path was empty, stretching on into the dark. But as the little boy stared at it, his shoulders relaxed, as did his grip on Will’s hand.

           “Are you ready?” Will asked. Usually, once he brought people to where they needed to go, they fought him, cried, or denied it was the way. But occasionally, he’d lead someone who’d look at the way in relief and thank him.

           Matthew was like that. He hugged Will’s legs, undisturbed by the moths and beetles that had also taken a liking to the glowing boy and clung to his shorts.

           Will bent down to embrace Matthew, waiting for him to let go first.

           “Are you scared?” Will asked.

           Matthew pulled back to look at the trail again. “I thought I’d be scareder.” He glanced up at Will. “Do you know where it goes?”

           “I know it’s the right way,” Will said. “That’s all I know.”

              “Is my dad going to be this way?”

           Will didn’t respond. Matthew slowly nodded again, his gaze darkening in an accepting sort of sadness. “Right. I didn’t think so.” He took a deep breath. “I guess I’ll be going now.” Matthew shrugged his bag off his shoulders and handed it to Will. “I don’t think I’ll need this anymore.”

           Will nodded, slinging the bag onto his back. “Good luck, Moth-You.”

           The boy’s expression of sleepy sorrow shifted to humored bewilderment as his lips quirked up. “Matthew.”

Will gave him a small smile. “I know.”

Matthew took a deep breath and raised his little hand in farewell. “Bye, Will. Thanks.”

           Will watched the boy walk away until the silent dark fully hid him from sight. Swallowing the knot in his throat, he couldn’t remember the last time someone’s leaving had affected him so. He tried to throw away the thought and let his feet wander to find his next place of patience and wait for another misplaced traveler to guide.

Will returned to his rock, lying back against it. As his gaze traveled the woods around him, his threat of tears was chased away as he considered changing his name to Jack.