FireFly Plot Summary

Firefly is a Filipino story about the adventures of a ten-year-old boy, Tonton, when he embarks on a journey to find the island in his mother’s stories after her death. Tonton and his mother live a happy and simple life in Manila.

Although he is often bullied at school, he finds courage in his mother’s stories about an island of a thousand fireflies that makes wishes come true and the friendship between a firefly and a butterfly. After his mother’s death, Tonton fulfils her dying to wish to be taken back to her hometown in Ticao, where he can visit the mythical island in her stories. 

What happens in the story of the butterfly and the firefly?

The movie starts with an author, Mr. Alvaro, in an interview with a journalist who claims that his best-selling children’s storybook is plagiarized work. The journalist asks him about the inspiration for his story, and he starts narrating the story as his mother told him as a young boy named Tonton. Tonton is a small boy compared to his classmates’ height, so he is constantly bullied at school. Therefore, Tonton’s biggest wish is to become brave, and he finds courage in his mother’s stories about a firefly and a butterfly. 

In the story, a butterfly wished he could have a friend, but the only thing that showed up to fulfil his wish was a tiny firefly. Regardless, the butterfly and the firefly become fast friends and roam their home island together.

One day, a ferocious dog shows up and wants the butterfly’s wings. The dog chased after the butterfly until it caught up, but before it could clip its wings, the firefly showed up and saved the butterfly. However, for the firefly to scare the beast away, it had to scare it using all its light, which made it lose its shine. The butterfly and the firefly leave the island together but still hope to return to the island so the butterfly can make a wish under the light of a thousand fireflies to get his friend’s shine back. 

Mr Alvaro continues to narrate how his mother told his young self how to find the island. Tonton’s mother tells his enthusiastic young self that they can discover the island together because it is real and can be found in Ticao, Bicol.

To get to the light of a thousand fireflies, first, they will find the fairy with a long dress, then a sneezing giant that fills the rivers with water when it sneezes. They will then cross the ocean to reach the mouth of the Stoneman, and inside his mouth, they will find the light of a thousand fireflies that grant any wishes. Tonton wished to find the island so the fireflies could make him brave enough to stand against the bullies. His mother gives him a drawing book that contains a map of how to find the island. 

What happens to Tonton’s mother?

One day, Tonton tells his mother he wants to make another wish when they find the island. He wishes they would never be apart, but his mother tells him he must find the island independently since she will go ahead. It turns out that Tonton’s mother has breast cancer, and she dies soon after.

Tonton hears from the neighbours during the funeral that his mother wants to be cremated and her ashes taken home to Bicol. He remembers his mother’s stories about Ticao, Bicol, and the island, so he decides to embark on a journey to find the island and grant his mother’s last wish. 

Who does Tonton meet during his journey?

Tonton is a ten-year-old boy who cannot board the bus alone. When he gets to the bus station, he looks for the bus going to Ticao and starts an abrupt conversation with an unsuspecting passenger. He pretends he is his uncle and that they are travelling together. He makes it onto the bus and sits beside another elder uncle.

Tonton makes friends with another lady who later asks for donations from other passengers during the trip. The first person that Tonton follows into the bus, Billy, becomes angry at the woman, Erica, and they start an argument during the ride. The passengers seated next to Tonton, and Louie are caught in an argument when they try to stop the two from starting a fight, and they end up being thrown out of the bus in the middle of nowhere.  

The four realize that they are heading in the same direction and decide to catch a ride together. Along the way, Tonton tells them about the island he is looking for and shows them the map. The first stop the four travel friends make is at the foot of a volcanic mountain that Louie calls Magayon.

Erica looks at the mountain, which reminds her of the drawing on Tonton’s map of the fairy with a crown and a long dress. The surrounding village is called Albay, and it is Louie’s hometown. Billy suggests asking for help from the police or the chief about Tonton to avoid getting into trouble. When Tonton hears them mention the police, he runs away, and the three chase after him. 

What happened to Louie?

Louie saves Tonton from being hit by a bus when he runs into oncoming traffic, and he drops a certificate of discharge from prison, which gets the group curious about his story. Louie tells them he wants to go to Saudi for work to find a better life for his family. He paid the agency the placement fee, but they refused to process his papers until he recruited more people and collected their placement fees.

Therefore, Louis got sued for illegal recruitment and sent to prison, and his son had to stop going to school. Louie worries that his family will not take him back, but Erica, Billy, and Tonton encourage him to do so and even accompany him. Louie’s wife, Carmen, and son, Romnick, tearfully welcome him home and prepare a meal for Louie and his new friends. 

Does Tonton get to the island of fireflies?

After the meal, Tonton continues to narrate his mother’s story, and they sit around trying to figure out the next clue on the map: the sleeping giant. Tonton tells them that his mother said that the sleeping giant sneezes and Romnick figures out that the following location is Bulusan, which is on the way to Erica’s stop, Sorsogon. Louie and his wife give them a ride to Ticao to drop off Tonton with his family. Along the way, they stop at Bulusan, which makes Carmen wonder if the firefly story is true. 

Along the way, they run into Manila police, and Louie suggests making another stop at the beach to give the police time to drive off. Billy slips when it is time to get back on the road, and Tonton helps pull him up the cliff. In the process, he loses his notebook with the drawings and the map. Billy promises to take Tonton to the island to make up for making him lose the book.

The group arrives at the harbour soon after the last ferry leaves, and they must wait until the next one the following morning. As they deliberate on what to do, someone snatches Tonton’s bag, causing his mother’s ashes to scatter at the harbour, and the group realizes that Tonton lied to them. He comes clean about his purpose for going to Ticao, which is to fulfil his mother’s dying wish and pleads with them not to take him back to Manila or report him to the authorities before he gets to the island of a thousand Fireflies. 

The following morning, Erica, Bill, Louie, and Carmen board the ferry to accompany Tonton to his next destination. The ferry docks at Ticao, and the group asks about Stoneman Island. Billy gets one of the pamphlets with pictures of the surrounding islands, and he notices one that looks like the Stoneman, but there are no tickets to that island.

Billy talks to one of the boatmen, who offers to take them to the island, but they have to pay for fuel. Erica offers her life savings to Tonton, but Aunt Linda arrives at the island looking for him, so they almost do not make it to the island. They devise a genius plan and carry Tonton to the boat hidden in a bag. They all agree to take him to the Stoneman, risking jail time, and take him to his aunt later. 

They arrive at Stoneman Island at Tonton to fulfil his mother’s wish by scattering her ashes in the ocean. He wishes to see his mother again and runs into the cave, following the voices of some cave tourists. It starts to rain, and Tonton finds an abandoned house on the other side of the cave. Louie and the others ran after him. 

Why does Tonton dream about the ferocious dogs chasing after him?

Mr Alvaro tells the journalist that the ferocious dog represents his father, who was a violent and abusive man. They live at the house that Tonton stumbles into, and one night, his mother decides to escape from his father, but he catches them. His father was hurting his mother, and young Tonton was screaming at him to stop.

When he did not listen, Tonton reached out for anything he could find to help his mother, and the closest was burning firewood. He was also hurt in the process, leaving a scar on his upper arm. Alvaro says that he does not remember what happened next, but they somehow made it to Manila, and his mother did his best to give him a happy life, even if it was difficult.

Does Aunt Linda find Tonton?

Louie took Tonton back to his aunt Linda after they found him cowering at a corner in the abandoned house. When he comes, Linda tells him that his mother grew up at Ticao. She loves the island and is so happy that Tonton brought her home. He asks Linda to take him back to the island to say goodbye to his mother, so they all accompany him one last time to the mouth of the Stoneman.

Tonton now understands that his mother is gone, and instead of making a wish for her to come back, he only closes his eyes and remembers their beautiful memories. 

How does Firefly end?

The thousand butterflies start shining, and the group gazes in awe. Erica takes a group photo, and as they stand around, they live the bliss of the moment. Alvaro narrates the end of his book. It says that when the time came for the heavens to take the butterfly away, the firefly promised to go on until he found his light.

The journalist is convinced that the story belongs to Alvaro. Aunt Linda texts him, saying they have arrived for the prize-giving ceremony. He is invited to the stage, and the crowd gives him a standing ovation. He has prepared a speech since he is not brave enough, but a butterfly gives him the courage to look people in the eyes and tell them the story about his mother. 

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