Marmalade's paw slid the kitchen window open. She slipped through the gap and landed in the cool garden.
Tiny yellow lights floated between the flowers. She followed the first one, ears forward, tail held high.
Marmalade chased the fireflies through the grass, but each one darted higher than the last. She leaped and landed with a soft thump in the moss.
She sniffed the damp earth and flicked her whiskers. The fireflies began painting glowing swirls on the flower petals.
One firefly landed right on her nose. She sneezed, sending the firefly spinning into the air.
Marmalade followed the last firefly too far and stopped. She couldn't see the house anymore.
Just then, a wide silver moonbeam dropped from the sky and landed like a path right in front of her paws.
She followed the moonbeam all the way back. It glowed warmly on the windowsill, and she stepped inside.
She climbed onto the bed and curled up against her grandmother's lap. Her purr rumbled loud and steady.
The moonbeam faded to a soft glow on the sill. Marmalade purred all through the night.