Twelve-year-old Melody Brooks is in her backyard. It is early summer in southern Ohio, and the fireflies are already out. Melody watches as a single firefly alights on her hand. She wills herself not to move because her cerebral palsy often leaves her unable to control her muscles. She studies the tiny bug, particularly its shiny black wings. The firefly without warning glows, and Melody feels as if the magical bug is talking to her. She sighs with happiness as the bug flies away.

Melody watches from her wheelchair on the porch deck as her younger sister Penny chases fireflies with Mrs. V, a neighbor who has helped care for Melody for years. Her parents work long hours, as her mother is a nurse, and her father works in business. As Penny races about the yard to capture a firefly and put it in a jar, Mrs. V cautions her gently that no one wants to live in a jug. Melody’s mother arrives and joins the girls to enjoy the firefly show.

Melody’s wheelchair is outfitted with a communication device, a keyboard, and a small speaker, like the one Stephen Hawking uses, she likes to tell people.