April 28. “Ever heard of glow-worms, Button, or seen any?”

“A glow-worm! What exactly is that?”

“They are small insects that emit light when they fly.”

“Really? Have you seen any?”

“I actually have. Remember my maternal grand-parents sprawling clay mansion I told you about where we spent our summer vacation in a place with an unlikely name like Putimari?”

“I remember clearly.”

“Well—I first spotted glow-worms there. My mom would trap them in her sari pallu and later release them, ofcourse, once we had inspected them.”

“What makes them glow?”

“These worms contain small quantities of phosphorus which glow in the dark. These worms are also called fire-flies.”

“Why don’t we get to see them anymore? This entire glow-worm story seems straight out of a fairy tale!”

“I guess they may have become extinct which is why we don’t see them anymore.”

“Some of nature’s best gifts are fast disappearing.”

“Button, listen, I just came to know that they haven’t gone extinct.”

“Really? Then can we go and see them?”

“Of-course. A colleague of my younger daughter who lives somewhere near Priyadarshini Park mentioned that he sees peacocks and fire-flies regularly. We’ll go there one of these days and trace them.”

“Let’s do that, please. I want to see glowworms and peacocks.”