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Ever since installing the AC unit, insects of various kinds have been making their way through what I assume is the slight gap between the base of the unit and the window frame into my room where inevitably, they congregate around the false glow of my computer monitor. I usually keep a few sheets of toilet paper on hand to kill them. Tonight though I killed a firefly in such a manner as it was alighting upon my mirror. I only noticed it because I saw the flicker of a glow in the corner of my eye as I leaned back to stare at the ceiling, awash in a sheen of dim, disconsolate dread. I thought nothing of it as I reached out and crushed it. But when I went to dispose of it, I noticed that it had begun to glow. I know it is probably foolish to ascribe human significance to animal phenomena, least of all to that of insects; but I felt suddenly a very deep and cutting sense of cosmic cruelty and a great sadness passed over me as I watched its light fade away, crushed in a wad of single-ply toilet paper.