Alyssa Sweeney

421 Wayne Ave

Luminaries
It started with one. The girl emerged from the woods as if from the womb— dimpled,
naked body wet with night-dew spat out of the forest’s humming throat. Face eerily serene, she
trod through the glistening grass illuminated not by the moon (the sky was empty save for the
stars) but by light emanating from her body. Splayed across her form like lightning mid-strike in
a darkened sky, liquid light coursed through the veins in her arms, her thighs, and her neck. The
girl glowed like a candle held for a vigil.  
In a run-down cottage in the quiet town backing the woods, an old woman sought
comfort in the evening smell of her tuberose. Edith was her name. Her granddaughter Elena had
been missing for three weeks, along with two other girls, and Edith was unsure if she would ever
return. She pressed her nose into the bell of the tuberose that she had cared for with her own
hands and shook, fearing the worst. A rustling to the east caught her attention, and she turned.
Edith looked through the dark and saw a bright girl-shaped beacon glowing, incandescent, at the
mouth of the woods. With a near-silent “Oh!”, Edith hobbled as fast as her 71-year-old legs
could take her to the anomaly. 
When she was a few feet away from the radiating light, Edith could make out the facial
features of the girl the light belonged to. It was Elena. She looked at Edith as if in a hypnotic
trance, her eyes tracking movement but not absorbing meaning. She had mud smeared on her
face and her hair was in knots, trailing down her back like a tangled fisherman’s net. 
“Oh, God,” cried Edith. “Elena, can you hear me? You’re home now. We were all
waiting for you to come back.”
As Edith gently pulled Elena to her so she could guide her to her cottage, she threw
furtive glances at the light. It was a pale color between white and yellow, like a lit primrose. 
They arrived at Edith’s cottage and Edith guided Elena to the shower, where she could
wash off the mud and grass from her naked body. Edith sat on a stool by the tub while Elena
kneeled in the raining water, playing with the droplets on her knees. Where there should have
been wounds from her being naked and vulnerable in the woods for so long, there was only light,
opalescent on her unmarred flesh. Her light reflected off the water, casting lattice-work patterns
on the side of the bathtub. Edith poured some soap into her hand and rubbed it into Elena’s skin.
She discovered that the light, glowing steadily and brightly, was hot to the touch. 
“You must be starving,” Edith realized. 
Edith left Elena for a moment to get her some food. When she returned with a bowl of
fruit, she found Elena standing up and staring in the mirror. Elena brought her glowing hand to
her face and felt her own cheek. She played with her face like this for a while with Edith
watching, grandmother witnessing her granddaughter witnessing herself. 
“Elena, come with me, let’s get you some pajamas and some sleep. You’re probably
exhausted,” said Edith. 
Elena did not resist when Edith nudged her out of the bathroom into Elena’s bedroom.
There, Edith dressed her in a nightgown and helped her under the covers. Edith placed a candle
on the bedside table.
“I know you’re afraid of the dark,” she said, then hesitated, looking at the light blazing
underneath Elena’s skin, “Well, I guess you have enough light as it is.”
Elena stared at the candle for a moment, then raised her hand toward it. 
“Don’t—” Edith started, but Elena was cupping the flame with her hand. The flame
dimmed, barely visible.  Edith stared. 
Elena slowly pulled her hand away. The further her hand got from the flame, the brighter
the flame became, as if the presence of her light warred with the flame’s light and her light’s
absence freed it to shine on.
“I’ll just… take that with me,” said Edith, and she blew out the candle. “Sleep well,
Elena.” 
Edith kissed Elena on the forehead and left her glowing in the dark. 

***
Edith woke a daybreak, as the first ribbons of sunlight unfurled. She yawned, bleary-
eyed, and pulled herself out of bed. Fixing her long silver hair into a braid, she went down the
hallway to check on Elena. 
Edith opened the door to Elena’s room and called quietly, “Elena?” 
She poked her head in and found that the bed was empty, folded back where Elena had
slept last night. 
Edith called again, louder this time, turning herself toward the hallway, “Elena?” 
There was no response. 
Worry coiled like a coral snake in Edith’s chest. She walked through the rest of the
house, searching for Elena. 
In the kitchen, she found the door had been left wide open, swinging on its hinges, and
clattering like seashells. She raced to the door but stopped short when the sight through the
window caught her eye. 
 Elena was in Edith’s garden, mesmerized by the tuberose and ivy. She stood perfectly
still, posed like a coat rack. When Edith looked closer, she saw that the plants, for their part, had
begun to shift and bend, contorting themselves to get closer. 
Edith slowly walked outside, entranced by the phenomenon before her. 
The tuberose, drawn to Elena’s light, curled around her ankles and clung to her legs. The
ivy inched up her body and roped its way around her torso, coiling and bending. 
“Elena,” said Edith quietly. “You should come inside now. We need to talk about what
happened while you were gone.” 
Elena didn’t react. She continued staring at the plants, which had begun to insinuate
themselves into the divots in her collarbones. More tuberose flowers began to grow and bloom.
They opened their blossoms, white and radiant like the surface of the moon. 
“Elena,” Edith said. “Please, come now. 
The ivy began to reach towards the light in Elena’s neck, wrapping itself around her
throat. Elena stood, perfectly serene and quiet. 
Edith let out a guttural shriek and began to rip at the ivy and tuberose, pulling it away
from Elena’s body. It came away easily enough, though she felt the constricting pressure it had
been exerting on Elena to access her light. 
Once the plants were torn off, Edith stood gasping. 
“Elena, you must know I would never do that to my plants if it weren’t for good reason.
Come inside, please.” 
Edith turned on her heel and went into the kitchen. Elena followed without complaint. 
The two of them sat at the kitchen table. 
For an hour, they sat, silent, Edith glowering and Elena staring empty-eyed out the
window. 
Finally, Edith spoke, “Elena, what happened to you out in the woods?”
Elena smiled for the first time since she had returned home, “The forest took from me
and gave me so much.”
Edith pressed on, “Do you know where the other girls are?”
Elena’s smile faded, “Soon.” 
Edith worried at a knot in her own hair, frustration mounting at Elena’s cryptic responses,
“Elena, why did you not fight back when the plants were killing you?” 
Elena said quietly, “I am the light.” 
 A knock at the door in sharp staccato interrupted their conversation. Edith jumped up.
“Stay here, Elena.”
She opened the door to find Pastor Bellerose, a spindly waif of a man with a demanding
brow line. 
“Edith, lovely to see you. I’m here to report that this morning, Mr. Fujita found Juliet and
Rowan by the mouth of the woods. I am sorry to say we have seen no sign of Elena yet, but we
will look for her as long as it takes,” said Pastor Bellerose. 
Edith opened her mouth to speak but Elena had appeared behind her, back straight and
eyes knowing. 
“Oh, sweet lord!” exclaimed Pastor Bellerose. “You found her! And… she’s the same as
the others,” he gestured to her light. He clasped Edith’s hands in his own, “Edith, God sent these
luminaries to us as a message. He is watching out for us.” 
Edith hid a grimace, gently taking her hands away from him. “Thank you, Pastor
Bellerose. Can you show us where Juliet and Rowan are? I think Elena would like to see them.” 
“Certainly,” said Pastor Bellerose. “Follow me.” 
Pastor Bellerose walked at a quick clip, leading them toward the town square. Edith
checked behind her to make sure Elena was following. She was. 
They rushed through the town, passing quiet, ramshackle homes with all of their lights
out. Edith wondered to herself where everybody was if they weren’t at home this early in the
morning. 
As they approached the town square, Edith saw a mass of people gathered, chattering
wildly. She heard exclamations of “saviors!” and “holy light bringers!”.
Pastor Bellerose walked into the center of town, guiding Edith and Elena through the
crowd. A hush fell over the crowd. Children stared at Elena, wide-eyed and mesmerized by her
light. A block of elderly men reached out to touch Elena. She moved aside, edging closer to
Edith. A woman with purple half-moons beneath her eyes begged Elena to heal her daughter’s
cancer. Edith pulled Elena to her, her palms sweating. 
Pastor Bellerose spoke, his voice booming across the square, “I come to you all today to
introduce you to the luminaries, God’s gift to us. Mr. Fujita, come out now.”
Mr. Fujita, a stocky man with hair like the night sky emerged from behind a house with
Rowan and Juliet in tow. The girls glowed next to him, alive and so very bright. He hurried to
the center of the square with the girls and beamed when he arrived. 
“Look upon them,” he declared, “Three beacons of hope. We pray to them now.”
He knelt down on the ground and bowed, his face ecstatic. Pastor Bellerose followed suit.
Shortly, the people in the square followed suit, falling to their knees and bowing or clasping their
hands and praying. Some people collapsed into tears, overcome with joy and love for the girls. 
 Edith still stood, gripping Elena tightly. 
Pastor Bellerose urged Edith, “Come now, pray.”
Edith stared at the scene, at the girls who shone so beautifully and the people who
interpreted this beauty as a religious sign. Edith decided then that she would not allow Elena to
be used. 
She whispered, “Come, Elena,” and pulled her out of the square, protests following her as
she went.
 She found when she was out of the square that Rowan and Juliet had followed her. She
took the three girls to her house, locked the doors, turned off all the lights, and brought the girls
to Elena’s bedroom, where she fed them and gave them instructions. 
“Elena, Juliet, Rowan. Please do not leave this room. The townspeople and Pastor
Bellerose will be looking for you. I want to keep you safe here.”
The girls stared straight ahead, but there was a flicker of understanding in Elena’s eyes. 
Edith turned to leave to watch the door, but then remembered something.
Edith turned to Rowan, “Before I go..." she pulled at her own hair, "What happened to
you while you were in the woods?”
Rowan smiled, “The forest drained me and nourished me.”
Edith turned to Juliet, “And you, Juliet?”
Juliet smiled, “The woods stole from me and returned to me.” 
Edith looked down, “Right. Well. I’ll go downstairs now. Be safe, girls.”

***

Edith stood watch for an hour before Pastor Bellerose arrived at her door. 
“Edith,” he called, belligerent, “Please bring the girls back. The town needs their light.” 
Edith didn’t answer. 
“Edith, sweet woman, these girls are the town’s life’s blood. We need them to survive.
God gave them to us as a gift.”
Still, Edith refused to answer. 
There was a thud at the door, like a body being slammed against it. Edith jumped, heart
pounding. 
 There was another thud. “Ediiiiiiith.”
A third thud. The door began to stray from its hinges. 
On the fourth thud, the door swung open, and Pastor Bellrose fell into Edith’s cottage,
eyes bloodshot and wild, “Edith, hello there. Let’s talk this out.”
“You need to leave, Pastor Bellerose.” 
Pastor Bellerose moved closer to Edith, towering over her and leaning his face close to
hers, “No, I need to find those girls. Do tell me where they are.”
Edith glanced at the door, wondering if she could push Pastor Bellerose out of her house
with enough force. 
Pastor Bellerose turned on his heel and began opening doors in the house. 
“They’re not in here,” he called, after opening the door to the closet. “Or out here,” he
said, after opening the door to the backyard. 
He stomped through the house. Edith tried to block his path with her body but she was
too small. He pushed past her with little effort. He slammed open Edith’s bedroom door,
“Nobody here.”
He opened the door to the bathroom and looked inside, pulling back the shower curtain,
“Nobody here.”
He walked down the hall. Edith’s heart hammered in her throat. Edith whispered, “Pastor
Bellerose, please don’t do this.”
He opened the door to Elena’s bedroom and peered inside, “Nobody here either.”
Edith stopped, confused. 
Pastor Bellerose stared at Edith, “Where did they go, Edith?”
Edith looked at him, her heart racing, “I don’t know” 
He shouted, getting in her space and spitting, “Where did they go?!”
Edith stood still, defiant, “Anywhere to avoid you.”
Pastor Bellerose muttered something about search parties and unceremoniously departed
from Edith’s house. 
Edith leaned against the wall and caught her breath. She found her hand was trembling.
She brought her hand to her hair and combed it down. 
Then, she went to the woods. 

***
 Edith knew that the girls were out in these woods somewhere, hiding from Pastor
Bellerose and the townspeople. She wondered if she should really be trying to find them if they
didn’t want to be found, but she thought that given the strange nature of what happened to them
last time they were in these woods, they may not be safe here this time. 
Edith searched until nightfall, looking behind every tree and down every cliff, calling
their names until her voice went hoarse. Fireflies floated about the trees, small shocks of light in
the dark. She was about to go home after a futile day of searching when she saw light. She ran to
it, out of breath. 
Elena, Rowan, and Juliet were standing in a circle, surrounded by fireflies. The fireflies
crowded around the girls, making a halo of phosphorescent yellow light around the girls’ three
columns of radiant white light. The fireflies landed on each of them and crawled across their
skin, the different colors of light mingling. 
Edith whispered, “Girls?”
They did not respond. They simply stared at each other and let the fireflies fly around
them and crawl on them in a menagerie of glowing things. 
Edith heard voices behind her. She turned to look and saw Pastor Bellerose and six
townspeople coming through the trees towards her and the girls. 
Without hesitating, she ran to them, knowing they had seen the girls’ light, “Stop!
Something is happening! Let it happen! It may be a religious experience,” she lied. 
Pastor Bellerose pushed past her and upon seeing the fireflies swarming the girls, knew
what she meant. He signaled to his men to stand down. They all came to stand around the girls. 
Edith stood the closest, worrying at her hair. 
"My people, witness the heavens transforming the luminaries!" cried Pastor Bellerose.
“Elena,” Edith called, “What’s going on?”
Elena answered, “The light gives to me.” 
Pastor Bellerose fell to his knees and began praying. His men followed suit. 
“Holy light, up above and bestowed upon on this earth for us to witness, grant us eternal
life,” he murmured. 
More fireflies had joined the swarm, and they were swirling around the girls like a dust
storm. They formed a sort of insect-made force field around Elena, Rowan, and Juliet, one
nobody except the girls could enter. It was like a snow globe had been shaken and the fireflies
were the snowflakes. Fireflies landed on Edith’s shoulders. None landed on Pastor Bellerose or
the search party. As more and more fireflies began to enter the throng, the girls glowed brighter
and brighter, their light becoming overpowering. 
 The light continued growing brighter, blindingly white and searingly hot. Edith looked
away, covering her eyes, but Pastor Bellerose and the townspeople continued staring at the light
swarm, frenzied in their prayer. For a moment, the whole forest was white with light. 
As the light faded, Edith opened her eyes to see that the girls had disappeared. Panicked,
she jumped to her feet, “Elena? Elena?!”
Pastor Bellerose felt around the ground, “I can’t see anything,” he said, “I’m blind!” 
His search party all began to cry, as they were also blind. 
Edith joined in the tears, not out of pity for Pastor Bellerose and the search party, but out
of a sense of profound loss. The woods had taken her granddaughter once again. Edith left Pastor
Bellerose and the search party in the woods and went home to her garden, where she sat and
wept. 
As she sat in the garden, the ivy and tuberose began to wind themselves around her
ankles. She brushed them off, confused. She looked down at her wrist and found that her veins
were glowing, white, and hot to the touch.