“In the middle of the night the fire burned out, in the dark he was unable to see to pick up the bones, leaving it there he lay down at the side of the hole, around him an enormous group of fireflies, but for Seita they were no longer to be caught, if it’s like this maybe Setsuko won’t be so lonely, fireflies will be at her side, flying up, flying down, now flying to the side, won’t be long the fireflies’ll be gone but you go up to heaven with those fireflies.”
A GRAVE OF FIREFLIES
by Akiyuki Nosaka
(translation by James R. Abrams, in: Japan Quarterly, p. 461)