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The festival could not have occurred on a more perfect night. The stars were shining in the clear night sky, beacons of hope for the New Year to come. Lanterns lit decorated walkways crammed with stalls of food and games and knick-knacks all colorfully festive for the event. The shouts of children filled the air above the hum of the crowd, everyone mingling with one another and passing along well wishes for fortune the next season. The combination of fantastic sights, enchanting smells, and heartwarming sounds filled the heart of a young Ai with wonder.
Ai gaped in awe at the majesty of his surroundings. The bombardment of outside stimuli overwhelmed the boy, each gleeful shriek and enticing scent tugging him one way or another. It took incredible concentration for his mother to keep him from wandering over to every stall they passed.
"Ai, you have to stay with me my little duckling. You don't want to be separated," gently chided his mother.
The five year old simply nodded, too captivated by a stall with glistening fish sailing underneath the surface of a sparkling pool. He obediently followed the tug from his mother, trailing after her in a daze of excitement.
Soon enough, Ai was sated with some karumeyaki and content to listen to the buzz of excitement around him. It was later than he was usually allowed to stay up, but tonight was a special occasion. Being out at night was enthralling to him, and he let the thrill wash over him. He had no idea how long this would last before he was dragged back to his darkened home to sleep. Frightened by the sudden realization that his parents could force him away from this paradise at any moment, Ai slipped away the next chance his mother was preoccupied and weaved through the legs of the crowd.
After a few moments of panicked scrambling amongst strangers, he found himself completely lost by the edge of the celebration. Regretting his decision to flee, tears began to slide down his pudgy cheeks. A full blown wail was forming in his throat when movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Abandoning his meltdown, he decided to investigate the source of this disturbance.
Making his way between two food stalls, he giggled at the firefly swooping near his head. Raising his petite hands in an attempt to catch the colorful insect, Ai began toddling after it, heedless of where he was going. Running through puddles, tripping on stones, and scraping past bushes, Ai found himself staring at a spectacle rivaling the festival.
He stood in a field surrounded by sentient stars whooshing past his hands, tickling his cheeks, and landing in his silvery locks. Gasping in delight, he clapped his hands together with glee at the scene presented before him that seemed to be straight out of a fairytale. He felt surrounded by the sky, as if there was nothing else in his world but himself and the stars.
"There you are Aiichirou! We were so worried about you!" his mother exclaimed, scooping him up into her arms. "Never run off like that again! We had no idea where you were," she scolded.
Ai managed to look ashamed. "Sorry Mommy," he whispered, tears filling his eyes.
"Well," she smiled. "As long as you learned your lesson." Looking around her she noticed the array of light surrounding them. "It seems like you found yourself a field of fireflies," she laughed. "How extraordinarily lucky you are."
At that moment, an ear-splitting "BOOM" resounded through the clearing accompanied by a shower of green fire in the sky. Eyes plastered open, Ai watched as another and another explosion spread above their heads, blue and green and red and purple filling the sky. The small family stood in the clearing filled with floating orbs for some time as the stars themselves seemed to shatter and rain down around them. Looking back fourteen years later, Ai could still recall every glittering detail of one of the best nights of his life.