Down the River
An elegant white
swan dips her beak into the blue tinged waters, and gently floats by.
The ripples behind
her are peaceful and tranquil. Up ahead, a clump of cattails
flourish, their brown heads appearing thick and fat and plentiful.
Splashing, a fat, scintillating fish jumps out of the river. All is
peace and plenty.
Wearing my wide
brimmed hat, I step into my canoe and paddle down the river. Beady
eyes stare up at me from the water. An alligator surfaces from
beneath the water, lurking danger watching me from afar downstream.
I continue on, the river bending and turning like a snake.
Then, all of a
sudden, without warning, I plummet down a massive waterfall. Down
and down and down I fall, just barely avoiding a wet, black rock that
suddenly appears, slicing the misty spray.
I fall on, into a
chamber beneath the earth. A glint of gold sparkles, catching my
eye. Before me rises a dome of gleaming gold coins.
A voice speaks,
“Pick one. These are all your dreams.”
I look at all the
coins, “But I don't know which one I should pick.”
“You may choose
any. It does not matter. They are all dreams,” the voice says.
I notice at the
bottom of the heap a rusted, copper penny. I pick it up.
“May I take
this?” I say.
“Of course,”
says the voice. “You may take any coin you wish.”
I grasp the penny
in my fist, then walk up a tunnel, composed entirely of earth,
leading out of the cavern. Up and up it leads, the incline becoming
steeper as I go. I tuck the penny carefully in my pocket for safe
keeping. Who am I really, but a small, grubby boy with brown hair
and a snub nose, wearing an old t-shirt and shorts?
All of a sudden I
see the a white, glowing light looming up ahead of me. As I come
closer, I see it stretches out as far as the eye can see. I stop in
front of it terrified.
“Come in,” a
deep voice invites me.
I stand there,
squirming in fear, one leg nervously wrapped around my other.
Finally I muster up my courage and step within the bright, white
light. Emotions immediately close in around me me. Warmth, love,
happiness, joy.
The deep voice
says, “What have you brought with you?”
I nervously pull
out the old penny from my pocket: “I brought this penny,” I say.
“I know it isn't much, but it's more me than all the gold coins in
the world, and it's what I want.”
“You shall have
your wish,” said the voice, "but many
hardships stand in your way.”
A vision of steep,
rugged mountains appeared in my eyes. This I knew was my path.
The voice said,
“Look at your penny now.”
I glanced down at
it, realizing that it now looked freshly minted. It's coppery
surface shone.
“You may go your
way now,” the voice said kindly. “All is laid out before you.”
I nodded, and then
hesitantly stepped out of the white light onto the other side.
Before me, I saw, the world stretching out before me, my mountain trail looking small among all the pathways. It was time to start.
