When the Light Goes Out

by Sarah Schilling

Night falls on late-summer days like a wet kiss. In the damp darkness, our backyard becomes a firefly hotspot. My sister said the pop of light signifies a booty call. I catch one in a sealed jar and run to my sister’s room. She’s at her desk, staring at the wall. Something’s been wrong with her for weeks. I place the jar before her and she snaps awake. She grabs scissors and stabs them into the metal lid. “When the light goes out, nothing can save it!” I run outside and let it go, relieved the light is still there.

Sarah Schilling has worked in film production for over 15 years and is now dipping her toe into the cool waters of writing fiction. She loves crime and mystery novels, and an unreliable narrator. She lives in Munich, Germany, with her family and a cat that flicks all her papers off her desk.