The view of the cottage’s front garden looked like something out of a fairytale. The light was fading fast, and a steady drizzle fell, turning the world a shimmering grey. The sound of it, that soft susurrant drumming, was enriched by the waving of the long grasses, their whispered stalk-rustling voices in the wind. And here and there, dotted at the tips of those nodding stalks: the yellow-green glow of fireflies, swaying gentle and bright in the field.