Innocence Lost, Nostalgia, and Fireflies: The Power of Symbolism
Forged Series: Themes & Tropes
To learn more about the FORGED series, visit the Table of Contents.
Visceral Responses
You know those little things that trigger visceral memories? For me, it’s the smell of Big Red gum. I smell anything cinnamon, and I’m instantly reminded of high school.
Our school colors were red and white, so one of the chants at every sports game was “Go! Big! Red!”—quickly followed by the tossing of Big Red gum into the stands. My car had a perpetual cinnamon scent lingering from the multiple packs of gum stashed inside.
For fourteen-year-old Tessa, flickering lights remind her of fireflies and trigger nostalgic memories of her life in the Wilds. Her sister was obsessed with the bioluminescent beetle, and the forest behind her family’s home flickered with the mesmerizing light display from late spring to summer. Though Tessa has moved to a part of the country that is too dry for the light-producing insects, she is reminded of them when she watches the embers float above a campfire. The image of fireflies reoccurs throughout the Forged series.
Deeper Meanings
The idiom “read between the lines” suggests that more meaning exists beyond the written words. The practice of including secret messages in invisible ink between innocuous visible text originated at a time when the enemy would often intercept written messages. By using invisible ink, sensitive information could be overlooked—hidden on the page—even if the message was intercepted.
As the phrase implies, an author may select specific words or sentence structure to emote more than any sentence's literal meaning. Likewise, through symbolism, authors infuse hidden meanings and underlying motivations to provide a deeper experience for the reader. Sometimes that is planned. And other times? It is not.
"The use of symbols in fiction is a way of showing that reality is more than what it seems on the surface." ~Virginia Wolfe
Beyond the visible text
Near the opening of the story, Tessa starts high school. Needless to say, she is reeling from all the changes in her life—the death of her family, the move from the Wilds to the urban center, and the attendance at a public school for the first time. It’s a lot for a fourteen-year-old to navigate.
Students clustered under trees and clogged the sidewalk surrounding the high school. The ebb and flow of voices and laughter created a cacophony of reconnection after the summer break—pulsing like the strobing twinkle of fireflies in the forest. Pulsing like the flutter of nerves and excitement mixed mixing deep in my belly.
Excerpt from Shattered, book one of the FORGED Series, coming in 2025 from Provender Press
In this quote, the youthful, joyful energy of the students reconnecting after the summer break (the light) contrasts with Tessa’s nervousness (the dark). The comparison to the "twinkle of fireflies" highlights the fleeting and beautiful nature of these carefree moments, representing innocence and the transient joy of youth. The comparison to “pulsing” symbolizes how her anxiety is an alternating pull between the sensations of fear and excitement.
Later in the story, Tessa overlooks the old downtown core, now flooded behind a hydroelectric dam.
Evening light reflected off Lake Boise. The dome and spire of the old capitol building poking from the water glowed against the brown hills behind. Broken windows in the abandoned high-rise buildings of the old, flooded city glinted at me as if twinkling like fireflies in the forest—their gaping openings hinting at a former way of life.
Excerpt from Shattered, book one of the FORGED Series, coming in 2025 from Provender Press
This quote describes the contrast between the present and the remnants of the past. The broken windows "twinkling like fireflies" symbolize the fading memories of the old city and a way of life that has long since passed, echoing themes of loss and nostalgia.
Likewise, Tessa’s memories of her past in the Wilds are flickering between thoughts of her family and how her life has changed. For Tessa, fireflies remind her of home and all she has lost. They represent the fine line between life and death, flickering in the balance between light and dark.
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Recurring Symbols
By repeating the mention of fireflies, I hope to create an emotional connection to Tessa’s journey—the loss of her innocence and way of life, her desire to be a “normal” teen, the duality of life and death, and even her struggle to discover her identity.
I’ll let you decide if I did this intentionally from the beginning or if it was the result of my creative brain functioning at a higher level than my consciousness…
To learn more about the FORGED series, visit the Table of Contents.
Other Exciting News
When I was asked to participate in a special Substack event last November in homage to The Twilight Zone, I was beyond honored. However, I never imagined that my submission to the event would become my first officially published work!
And yet, here we are, a couple of weeks from the release date of the anthology.
My short story, The Sun and the Moon, a prequel set 33 years before the opening of Shattered, is now behind a paywall here on Substack. If you missed out, consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
Or even better, pick up a copy of the anthology, The Midnight Vault, which will be available in paperback ($19) and ebook ($10) through most major retail channels worldwide on March 15th, or you can preorder the ebook now.
Special shout out to
and for organizing the event. And huge thanks to and for all their hard work and creative powers to make the anthology a reality.What I’m reading
Here are some other dystopian and Sci-Fi fiction pieces available on Substack that you might enjoy. Plus, a thought-provoking comic.
Wildfire -
gives us another installment from her There is Hope immersive world. And more to consider. “What use was human existence if its only purpose was to inhale clean air, exhale carbon emissions, ingest organic resources, and excrete pollutants? These were not humans; they were parasites on a finite ecosystem.”- ’s short story is intriguing and disturbing (and masterfully unfolds before you).
- got a new short serial started! In this first installment, the dedication line should read, “To all the book-loving teens,“ with the sage advice from one teen who advised to make “sure to have Insta open to some hunky celebrity’s account, to avoid suspicion.”
Lifeguard Math - This short story from
is less dark than other writings you find on the publication, but no less entertaining!The Poet - My morning ritual includes this daily comic from
. This particular one hit hard. I felt this one deeply.
Before you go
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Questions
What sight (smell, taste, or sound) instantly reminds you of another time and place? Are these happy memories or sad?
Have you ever seen fireflies in person?
What is your favorite example of symbolism in fiction?
thanks for the mention! i loved your discussion of fireflies here. for me, i have this really visceral memory of my mother's linen closet. she dried all our sheets and towels on a line in the backyard and it imparted the most delirious fresh scent. i would hide in the linen closet as a kid just to breathe it in.
Thanks for the shoutout, CB!
The peppery smell of California bay laurel leaves will always remind me of where I grew up in Northern California. We didn’t have fireflies there but we do here in Michigan. We avoid herbicides and pesticides so we’ll keep seeing them. And my favorite symbol has to be the one in the title of Gravity’s Rainbow. 🌈 🚀