Glimmer

I sprung out of my bed so quickly that I almost knocked myself hard onto the ground.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

I couldn't believe that I forgot about the plans I made with Sarah. We were supposed to meet up at the park at exactly 12 o'clock midnight, but instead, I was snoozing my head off the whole hour. My eyes were still adjusting, so I was practically walking like a chicken without a head in my room for the first few minutes.

After putting on my thick hoodie and a pair of Doc Martens, I turned on my phone only to notice all the missed calls and messages from Sarah. I dialed her number and begged to god she actually picked up.

"Hey, I'm so sorry for being late! I hope you're still thinking about going there."

Luckily, being the laid-back friend she was, Sarah simply laughed it off. "No worries. I already had a feeling you were going to forget."

I closed my eyes and audibly let out a sigh of relief since I was already heading to our destination. "Also," I remembered, "did you bring the stuff?"

"Of course."

It took us several minutes to find a perfect spot, and we eventually settled down onto a picnic table with a good enough view of the lake that merely resembled nothing more than a large sheet of black that reflected the glowing moonlight from above. I had to continuously refrain myself from looking at it; there was just something very unsettling about a dark body of water in the midst of nighttime.

Sarah chuckled as she seated herself across from me. She glanced at my unamused expression and quickly pursed her lips.

"Sorry, I'm still trying to process the fact that you're really committed."

"I mean, I forgot about-"

"Yeah, but you interrupted your precious sleep just for this." Sarah continued to giggle as she took out the props in her handbag and set the board up onto the table.

Honestly, she wasn't wrong. My morbid curiosity, especially for things remotely out of this world, was perhaps a sheer empty mask for my naivety. But in my defense, the previous two attempts of witnessing anything supernatural all came down to no results, so I've been craving for a final peek.

Throughout the ritual process, it was difficult not to be distracted by our surroundings. In a sudden spur of the moment, the air around us grew colder, and I don't know if that was just a coincidence. The constant, loud chatter of toads became one with my hearing; their croaking formed a single pattern—one after the other. At some point, it began to feel like a mockery.

"Jenna!" Sarah's voice hovered over the sounds that completely entranced me. She chuckled while observing my puzzled face as I regained focus. "Anyway, I've gathered all we need in order to attract them, although our existence, alone, is enough to garner their attention."

I nodded my head to let her know I was truly listening, even though my focus had shifted onto the cicadas that were strangely getting louder—as if they were ringing inside my skull. For a few moments, I couldn't help but notice little green orbs that were bouncing in and out of the lake nearby, and I continued to steady my eyes onto them. They couldn't have been reflections of the city's lights from miles away; they were like a small fuzz of bright energy, swimming closer towards us. Each would disappear, but a different one would show up at a random spot closer to shore every few seconds.

"Whoa, look at that!" Sarah pointed at a toad that subtly perched its little round body on top of the table. Like the freaky weirdo she is, she leaned in and whispered to it. "You see them, don't you?"

My eyes remained frozen onto the lake, now filled with a green moonlit glimmer. The orbs were somehow growing—rapidly. Meanwhile, Sarah cackled like a mad scientist who had just accomplished a long-time discovery. That same beam of joy left nothing but mere concern in her eyes when she analyzed the expression on my face.

"You're not looking at their eyes, though, right? They'll come closer if you do."

I gradually looked back at my friend's eyes, pretending not to notice two green orbs within a tall dark silhouette now directly behind her. Suddenly, the war cries of critters all ceased, including the toad on the table, and a droplet of cold sweat slowly ran down the temple of my forehead.

"Their what?"