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There was once a young and bubbly girl named 

Nhan. She lived in the dense woods. Every 

night she loved to explore near her home, 

discovering wonders that hide in the bushes 

and up in the trees.

One summer night she was out an about in 

her backyard. It would be her first time seeing 

fireflies in person. Nhan was keen to capture 

some fireflies in her jar to keep in her room. 

Running and giggling, she went straight for 

the bushes to see if the fireflies are hiding in 

them.

It wasn't long until Nhan found some fireflies! They had 

a faint glow to them, slightly illuminating the thin trees 

near the bushes. She was entranced by their glow and 

did not proceed to catch them in her jar.

For a while she didn't noticed the glow growing stronger 

in intensity. The trees were illuminating faster and the 

fireflies moved away from the new source of light.

 She realized something was happening when the 

fireflies quickly flew away. Something was coming from 

the bushes!

In one graceful swoop a fiery ball rose above the 

bushes. It looked like living fire! Heat radiating 

from the fire waved away as warmth to Nhan. It 

made charming swirls around her, dancing with 

grace and beauty. 

Nhan was in awe of this mystical being. This was 

surely not a firefly, but it was something else. 

"Oh, you are so special," exclaimed Nhan. "I've 

never seen anything like you before! Would you 

please not go?"

An idea popped in Nhan's head. There is one way 

to keep the living fire. 

In one swooping motion, she took the jar and 

captured the fire! She quickly grabbed the lid and 

placed it on top of the jar, firmly closing the jar.

She held the jar close to her face, examining the 

fire. "You are safe in this jar, don't worry little one!

I'll make sure you are safe and happy all the time. 

We can be friends and have lots of fun together!" 

Nhan took her new friend back to her room. She 

would talk hours on end to the fire until her 

bedtime came. She would talk about how lonely 

she was, how she was still getting use to her new 

home and her struggles to make new friends. 

"It's okay though," said Nhan. "You'll always be my 

friend right? We can hang out and play and 

everything will be alright. We have each other and 

that's all that matters."

She could not escape.

She could not call out for help.

She was alone.

At night Nhan had a terrible nightmare. She was 

trapped in a jail cell with no exit. She was 

surrounded by taunting flames getting closer and 

closer. Filled with fear, she sat and sat, waiting for 

a sign of help.

Soon nighttime turned to day, ending the scary 

dream Nhan had at night. She woke up, completely 

forgetting her dream. She looked at her nightstand 

where her new friend was and her heart sank. 

The living fire, instead of its brightness and large 

size, was now blue and small. 

"Oh, no," exclaimed Nhan. "Something is wrong, 

isn't there? Are you bored? Let's play then!"

Nhan started setting up an elaborate tea party. She 

invited her dolls Mr. Trunks and Ms. Hiss to the special 

occasion. She placed the living fire in front of her and so 

the tea party begins.

Throughout the party she would glance at the fire to see 

if it changed back to its original form. It didn't, in fact it 

got bluer and smaller. She figured that this tea party 

was not working. She would need to try something else.

"Maybe it's too stuffy in my room?" said Nhan 

worryingly. "Let's try outside. Let's go to the park, its 

close by."

Nhan quickly dressed up and headed to the park 

with the living fire. At the park there was a 

playground. She went to the slides, monkey bars, 

and swings. She had fun playing in the playground, 

but as the hours passed by, her friend was still not 

getting better.

She decided that perhaps this wasn't the solution 

to cheer up her friend. Distraught, she decides to 

head back home.

Nhan was running out of options. She couldn't 

think of other ways to help her new friend. She 

was worried that the fire would soon die out and 

that it would be her fault if it happened.

"I have to figure something out soon or my friend 

won't make it," said Nhan. 

Exhausted, Nhan went to the family couch and laid 

there. She thought and thought, but nothing came 

to mind. She clutched her new friend tightly to her 

chest to never let it go. The jar was cold to the 

touch, far away from the warmth it once 

possessed. 

Without the warmth, it was difficult for her to 

concentrate. Soon, she fell asleep, far off to her 

problems of finding help to the living fire.

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