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Christine pulled her needle through the fabric of her latest sewing project - a waistcoat of Erik's that he had managed to put a hole in. How, she didn't know, nor did he, or so he claimed. Then again, she didn't claim to understand most of her husband's antics and the results of them.
One of those very antics that she had been trying to wrap her head around for the better part of an hour was where Erik had disappeared to. The vanishing in itself was far from strange; Christine wouldn't see him for hours on end if he became particularly invested in a composition. When he was working on music or some other art form, though, there were at least signs of life, but not this time; she hadn't heard a peep from him since he had left the breakfast table that morning. Knowing that there was nothing to be done about it, though, she simply returned to her work, well aware that he would reappear eventually.
And appear he did. A few more minutes passed before Erik finally walked into the room with a particularly excited glint in his eyes, Christine noticed. "Well, there you are. I was beginning to think you had fallen into the lagoon," she said.
"Oh no, my dear, I have simply been working on a new little project," Erik replied, his hands folded behind her back as he strolled over to kiss the top of her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."
"No, don't fret," Christine said, setting a hand on his arm. "But a project, hm? What sort of project?"
"A little something in the dreamery for Melody," Erik explained, an excited smile crossing his face again. "I do hope she'll like it. I certainly do. Would you like to see?"
Christine simply smiled at him before setting her sewing aside and standing to walk with her husband. His glee and excitement never failed to bring joy to her heart, and the fact that this project involved the dreamery was wonderful to her as well. That space had been tainted for a time by the memory of her seeing Erik's unmasked face for the first time. Since then, though, as they had strengthened their relationship, Erik had once again made it an oasis of beauty and wonder—even more so since the birth of their daughter nearly three years ago.
Upon arriving in the underground garden, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to Christine. It looked as lush as usual and the animal statuettes stood in their same spots, apart from the small bunny that their daughter often played with. Christine started to question where this 'project' was, but quickly found there was no need; Erik left her side to step into the brush, returning quickly with a small glass jar held carefully in his hands.
"What's this?" Christine queried, able to see the contents of the jar as her husband approached—small insects flying about, others walking along the leaves that Erik had placed inside, and all with little yellow lights on their back end. "Fireflies?"
"Fireflies indeed," Erik replied. "I've gone out over these past few warm summer nights and collected the little insects in jars. With cloth coverings and proper food, of course. We wouldn't want to harm them, hm?"
"No, certainly not," Christine said with a fond smile.
"Precisely. Now, I find these little fellows rather fascinating, and I thought that Melody might as well," Erik explained. "So I caught some fireflies myself—quite the task, my dear—and have scattered the jars throughout this little oasis of ours. That way, she can catch them safely and get used to being near little insects, and then we can venture above to catch them with her in a real park. What do you think?"
Christine's heart was full, her chest warm, at hearing the lengths Erik had gone to for their daughter. He always had been that way, though, ever since she had come into the world; he would do anything and everything to ensure her happiness. And so, at a loss for how to express her gratitude for his unending care, Christine wrapped him in a hug, her head on his shoulder.
"It's perfect," she said softly, pressing a kiss to the soft skin of his neck, which earned a quiet sign of contentment from him. "Melody is going to love it."
"Oh, I do hope so," Erik replied. "I know she's napping at the moment, but if you bring her in here when she wakes up, I can wait in here and open all the jars, releasing them right as she walks in. A perfect little surprise as they light up the forest."
"Perfect indeed," Christine said. "Thank you, Erik. You are a wonderful father."
She felt Erik gently kiss her forehead then, his lips lingering against her skin. "I do try, my dear," he said softly. "I certainly do try."
"Mama, where's Papa?" Melody asked, looking up at Christine as the pair walked through their underground home towards the dreamery, though the little girl wasn't privy to that detail. "I want to see him too."
"We will see Papa in just a moment, my sweet. I told you, he has a surprise for us first," Christine replied. "He has been waiting to show you."
"Really?" the little girl replied with a soft giggle and a wide smile. "What is it?"
"I can't tell you. It would not be a surprise if I did," Christine said, laughing quietly. "We are almost there, come along."
With a nod, Melody continued walking along with her mother, only to gasp and giggle happily when she saw the entrance to the dreamery just ahead of them. "Is Papa here?" she asked, letting go of her mother's hand to run towards the lush garden, her soft blonde curls bouncing with her movement. "Papa!"
Christine smiled and followed after her, stopping behind the little girl and glancing around for her husband, but finding that he had thoroughly hidden himself to keep up the illusion. After a moment, though, she heard Erik's voice echo through the large space as he threw his voice from wherever he was hiding: "Hello Melody."
Their daughter gasped and giggled happily as she whirled around, trying to find her father. "Where are you, Papa?"
"I will come out in a moment, my dear. For now, just watch for my little surprise. You'll see it, just wait a moment."
"Okay! Show me, show me!" Melody said, bouncing up and down in place.
True to Erik's word, within a few moments, the surprise was revealed; tons of tiny fireflies took to their air, illuminating the dreamery with the dim yellow-green flashes of their natural luminance. Christine couldn't help but smile at the sound of Melody's awestruck gasp, stepping forward and reaching a chubby little hand towards a passing insect.
"Mama, look!" she said, her voice full of the same wonder that glimmered in her eyes. "Little stars!"
"They do look like that, don't they, my sweet?" Erik said, his voice no longer echoing as he appeared out of the trees and made his way over to them, scooping up his daughter when she squealed happily and jumped into his arms. "They're called fireflies."
"Fireflies?" Melody repeated, frowning pensively. "What's that?"
"Well, they're little insects that have tiny lights in their bodies that flash just so," Erik said softly, gesturing to a passing bug. "You can catch them and put them in jars to see them light up. Would you like to try?"
Melody nodded eagerly. "Can you help me?"
"But of course, my sweet. Anything for you," Erik replied as he set his daughter down on the ground again, then crouched beside her. "Look, here's some. Let's try and catch one of them, hm?"
"Okay," Melody said, letting her father cup her hands in his and slowly lift them up towards the bugs, then cupping them together. "Did we get it?"
"We certainly did," Erik replied as he drew their hands close. "Look in our hands."
Dipping her head down, Melody peered through the tiny gap in her father's hands, then gasped. "We got it!" she exclaimed, turning to her mother. "Mama, Mama, we caught one!"
"Yes, you did. Would you like to put it in the jar?" Christine asked with a warm smile, picking up a nearby empty jar and crouching beside the pair.
"Yes, Mama."
Erik smiled and moved their hands over to the jar, opening his hands just a crack and watching as the tiny insect flew down into the glass container. "There we are," he said as Christine covered the jar with the piece of cloth he had been using to contain the bugs. "Just look at that. Isn't it fascinating?"
Melody nodded, her tiny nose practically pressed to the glass. "Wow," she whispered.
With a soft laugh, Erik smoothed a hand over his little girl's blonde curls and kissed the top of her head. "Shall we try and catch another one? Or are you quite content to just look at one firefly?"
"No, more!" Melody replied, immediately whirling around and clambering into her father's arms. "Go, Papa, go!"
"Alright, my sweet," Erik said, smiling fondly and kissing her cheek. "As my angel commands."