The Light of the Fireflies

　　

　　對這個小男孩來說，他的一生都活在地底下：與他的父母、奶奶、姊姊和弟弟一起生活在地下室中。因為在他出生前，他的家就被一場無情大火吞噬了，他的姊姊甚至必須戴著白色口罩遮掩她的傷口。

　　

　　小男孩把時間都花在他的仙人掌上，他閱讀有關昆蟲的書，或是透過天花板的裂縫，接觸那從天花板灑下來的一絲光線。但自從他的姊姊生了一個孩子之後，大家開始表現得很奇怪。他想知道，為什麼大家絕口不提這孩子的父親是誰，也不提在他出生之前究竟發生了什麼、在躲進地下室之前發生了什麼。

　　

　　幾天前，幾隻螢火蟲闖進了地下室。奶奶說，沒有什麼比會發光的生物更厲害的了。但那些螢火蟲發出的光卻想讓男孩逃出地下室，認識外面的世界。但問題是，所有的門都被鎖住了，他到底該如何脫身？（文／博客來編譯）

A haunting and hopeful tale of discovering light in even the darkest of places.

For his whole life, the boy has lived underground, in a basement with his parents, grandmother, sister, and brother. Before he was born, his family was disfigured by a fire. His sister wears a white mask to cover her burns.

He spends his hours with his cactus, reading his book on insects, or touching the one ray of sunlight that filters in through a crack in the ceiling. Ever since his sister had a baby, everyone's been acting very strangely. The boy begins to wonder why they never say who the father is, about what happened before his own birth, about why they're shut away.

A few days ago, some fireflies arrived in the basement. His grandma said, There's no creature more amazing than one that can make its own light. That light makes the boy want to escape, to know the outside world. Problem is, all the doors are locked. And he doesn't know how to get out....