Down the River

 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.