Evangeline soon grew to be a striking young woman. Manot knew that she would have broken the hearts of dozens of suitors. She was, after all, her mother's daughter. Yes, Evangeline was surely one of the loveliest of fireflies, and would have had a wonderful, simple, happy life ahead of her…had it not been for her missing light. There was no telling what would happen if anyone discovered that she lacked the attribute that a firefly values most, and Manot feared for his daughter. So, he resolved to keep her hidden away from judgmental, disapproving eyes, and kept her at home in their secluded little nest above the bayou. She would be lonely, but at least she would be safe.
Keeping Evangeline hidden proved more difficult than Manot had thought. Her appearance was not all that she had inherited from Madeleine; she also had her adventurous spirit. Evangeline loved her father dearly, and didn't wish to upset him, but she was unhappy in her confinement, with no company but her father and her now ailing grandmother.
"But Daddy, I'd be very careful!" she had told Manot time and time again, wishing to go out and fly with the other fireflies that she could only watch from a distance, "I'd stay high above the water, and I'd always watch out for birds. I see other fireflies out over the bayou every night! Why can't I just go and introduce myself?"
But Manot always gave her the same answer, "Evangeline, I'm only trying to protect you. I promise, you'll understand someday."
Secretly, Evangeline knew why her father wouldn't let her out. She wasn't an ignorant child, and she knew that she was different from the others, even from her father. She didn't glow like all of them could. Evangeline would sit out on the edge of the nest for hours at a time, looking out at the beautiful light the wandering fireflies cast into the darkness. It was like magic…magic that Evangeline could never perform, no matter how much she wanted to. She hated it. She hated the fact that she was different; she hated that she could never fit in with those who were most like her, and most of all, she hated the pain it caused her beloved father. Before her grandmother had fallen ill, she and Manot would have whispered conversations while they believed Evangeline to be asleep.
"Manot, you know that you'll have to let her out sometime," her grandmother would say.
"She's not ready yet, Mama," Manot would answer feebly.
"That's nonsense!" came an irritated reply, "She wants to go out, son, and sooner or later, you won't be able to stop her."
"Mama, you know exactly what will happen if I let her out. They'll reject her at best. She'll be mocked and ridiculed, and God knows what else! I can't let that happen."
"You have no choice. Evangeline is the way she is, and eventually, you're going to have to accept it."
"I have accepted it!" Manot would cry, getting angry now.
"Have you really, son?"
And that would be the end of it. Evangeline heard these conversations, and knew that her father was ashamed of her. You know I'd change if I could, Daddy, she'd think to herself, but I just don't know how.
She would never have the courage to say this out loud, so she made a decision for herself. She would go out, whether her father wanted her to or not. Just once! All she wanted was to know what it was like to be outside of her nest one time, and then she would be satisfied. Her father would forgive her. He had to.
So, one night, after Manot had gone to bed, Evangeline crept out onto the edge of the nest, as she had so many times before, and looked out over the bayou. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of fireflies were zipping through the air, lighting up the night sky as they always did. Evangeline knew that she could not add to their light, but at least she would know how it felt to be with them, to fly with them. She would know what it was like to be free.
It would be easy, she thought. She'd seen her father do it a thousand times. All she had to do was jump of the edge and flap her wings, right? Well…there was only one way to find out. Mustering up all of her courage, she drew in a deep breath…and jumped.
She'd been wrong about flying. It wasn't easy at all. She soon discovered that her body sank like a rock through the air, and her poor wings didn't seem to have enough muscle to pull her up. She closed her eyes and flapped her little wings for all they were worth, and nothing seemed to work. She braced herself for the brutal impact of the ground.
But fate must have been smiling on Evangeline in that one crucial moment, for just before her helpless body hit the ground, she was grabbed by her left wing and being tugged upward.
"Whoa there, Cher, you gotta be more careful up here. Haven't you never flown before?"
It was the voice of her rescuer…a bit of a strange voice, with something of a Cajun accent. He reached dry land and gently set Evangeline onto the ground.
"I...I…"
"Hey…" he said, cutting her short, "How come I never seen you 'round the bayou before? You from some place far off?"
"I…no, not really."
"Come on, now, Cher, I never forgot a face in my whole life. Where you from?"
"I'm-"
"Aw, no, I'm bein' rude again, aren't I?"
"Oh, no, you're-"
"Oh yes I am. Grandma always be tellin' me it's not polite to ask you strangers all sorts of questions before I get to know y'all. Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Ray…well, no it's not, it's Raymond, but everybody 'round here just calls me Ray."
A/N: I planned to go on with this, but I have a plane to catch, and I figured that it would be better to leave you guys with something short than nothing at all. Unfortunately, I have a speech tournament in Nebraska, and I won't have access to a computer until Tuesday. You can expect a new chapter to be up by Wednesday. If you are so inclined, leave a review for me to read when I get home!