They were a cheap, last-minute addition to some summer party we were having, tacked on to the list of things that I thought of a day or two before the event. Maybe a buck a piece, they were so cost-effective that I could purchase thirty or forty to surround the pool, and the sheer number would have a bit of an impact. Solar-powered too, to ease Andy’s worries about the electric bill. A win-win situation if ever there was one. For all their flimsiness, these little lamps managed to survive into their second winter, in which they still put out their soft light. I’d forgotten about that until they suddenly shown with new radiance in the aftermath of a snowfall. Suddenly, with the surrounding snow reflecting various shades of blue from the darkening sky, the lights took on new beauty.
At first I felt sad.
The lights looked so small in such an expansive sea of snow. Some hadn’t even stored up enough light to blink on. Others were buried in drifts, just the tiniest mound rose to indicate that something was there. It reminded me of how far we were from a summer pool party. I couldn’t quite conjure the feeling of the sun on my back, or the laughter and excited squeals of kids jumping into the water. That had faded with the fall. I struggled to bring it back, and slowly the memories returned.
I pictured the potato vines descending from their perches, the brilliant chartreuse of their leaves never once faltered. I could see the bright blooms of a fuchsia, and the way their tubular form teased and enticed the hummingbirds. I remembered the chirps of chipmunks, the scrambling scuffles of squirrels, and the scary screech of a hawk high in the sky.
The sky was dimmer now, the sun lower. Still, this little light shone through the snow and the dark, reminding me with its sun-like rays that summer would return. Spring would come again. For now, we slept, but the sun will rise, even if it’s a little subdued. There was something calm about the light now. Brighter too, the way it was cradled by the snow, reflecting and glowing more than it could ever be beneath the shadows of the ferns.
