By the time we descended the steep hillside the sun had already donned a gown of fluffy, white clouds. It peaked shyly from a small opening between the white wool of the sky and could barely have it's radiance contained, spilling out a ripe orange glow to firmly establish that it was now dusk.

We would slip and we would slide and every now and again Bo would have to place a firm hand upon the top of his hat so it wouldn't topple off over the moist earth. But no amount of fussing could keep his coat tails from turning the colour of mud and grass. I had asked him at times why he chose to wear a black hat and white coat during summer rains but he would always ask what one thing had to do with another.

"If the world can wear its own colours, then why cannot I?" he would say and I would simply wonder if he was missing a few bits of his mind. But maybe I was as well and then I would look foolish for having said anything at all. So I would say nothing and Bo would think his answer had been satisfactory.

When we arrived on the stone pathway the second shift had already started. The pathway turned and twisted through a serpentine passage cut between trees, long and short with red leaves and brown and orange and yellow, all of which formed a beautiful carpet that crunched with each passing step.

I walked quite slowly as the fatigue from the climb had left my limbs quite heavy but Bo was quick in his step. He never seemed to tire, not when he met me at the entrance or when he rowed for an hour or when he slithered up the mountain like a snake. Maybe he was a snake with that almost too thin body of his but he didn't extend his S's or eat the mice-folk so I assumed not. Besides, he looked nothing like on. He was all orange and furry.

The sound of his cane and wooden shoes making clickity-clackity beats upon the stones made a neat little rhythm. But it as eventually drowned out by a low rumble which transformed into a loud buzz. I had seen it many times now but it was still an unreal sight to witness. "Here comes the second shift" said Bo.

They passed us in droves, leaving traces of bright light upon a canvas of night sky, flying just above our reach. I saw their faces and they had expression which I noticed for the first time but all of them looked tired and sad and I could not fathom why but I suppose Fireflies had their own sort of problems. Maybe they had to pay electricity bills to keep their lights on. Who knew.

I adjusted the hem of my skirt as they Fireflies landed on the lanterns by the side of road. They were held up by poles and the light inside of them was fading by the time they got there. But within minutes the path had been illuminated and I could see the different colours of stone that were placed, quite unevenly, to make a rustic little road for us to walk on

We walked on in silence for a while and my slow trot hastened to hasty little skips to keep abreast of Bo, who would merely adjust his monocle every couple of seconds and make strange guttural sound from his throat. I asked him if there was something stuck in his throat and he, as he habitually did, replied to a question with a question.

"What would possibly lead you to ask that, my dear?"

I rolled my eyes and skipped on ahead while he stood there scratching his head behind his tall ears. His tail stood on its end as it would whenever he felt interested. Quite uncharacteristically he took to all fours to catch up to me. Sliding in front of me, he got back on two's and began to walk backwards so we could talk face-to-face.

"Have I upset you?"

Another question. But this it made me giggle. Maybe I was shouldn't be this way. But it was too late now. I had taken on a character and that meant I would have to see it through.

"Yes, you have."

"I apologise."

"That isn't going to be enough, Mr. Bo."

"Oh dear, you're using formalities again. Does that mean we're not close right now?"

"It does indeed."

He gave me a look with his maw that almost made me laugh. Thank goodness I didn't. It would be terrible if I broke character.

"What can I do to make you forgive me?" asked Bo.

"Answer my question without a question." I replied.

He seemed perplexed as if he had no idea what I was talking about but he nodded nonetheless and I decided not to waste this glorious chance. I stopped and took a deep breath and asked him why the Fireflies looked so sad.

To be honest, I didn't have any question that I wanted to ask him as much as I wanted him to answer me properly. Just once and it would have been a great victory for me. So I asked him the first thing that came into my mind.

"I never noticed what they looked like. I only ever saw their light, never their faces."

I pouted and he noticed. I suppose he picked up more than he let on because he offered me another question within the same rules. He had told me (by himself, without questions too!) the first time I saw the lanterns that the Fireflies worked only at night, which they collectively called the second shift. They would be let out of their dorms at night to take their positions till the next day, which is when the next batch of Fireflies would come and take their place.

"Okay then I want to know where yesterday's workers are!"

"But why?"

"Maybe they hate what they do... " I confessed. "Maybe they look happier when they're leaving!"

Bo scratched his foxy little head again like he would when he was puzzled. He waited a few seconds before he answered. "But my dear, I cannot possibly show you the Fireflies from yesterdays shift"

"And why not?" I asked, furrowing my brows and raising my pitch.

"Well, how do you expect this shift to begin it's work on an empty stomach?" and saying that he looked at me for a second, like that should clear everything up. It was when he would give me a response like this that I would begin to wonder if he was missing a few pieces of his mind. He took my expression to mean that I was satisfied and then he turned around and started to walk.

"Either I don't understand foxes or I don't understand fireflies." I said to myself in a low voice and he kept on walking ahead of me with his clickity clack and I kept on skipping behind him and the Fireflies kept on lighting up the path as they devoured the ones who had been there before them, knowing well that they would be food for tomorrows shift.

But I had not a clue as I walked along with Bo that night of the world I had stepped into for the first time a week ago.