In
an instant, the Better World
Kids had whooshed through
Cyberspace and appeared at
their destination. But at
first they didn't see anything,
just the emptiness of Cyberspace.
"Wait,
look over there!" Erin pointed
and they all saw something
in the distance. As they stared
together, they realized that
it looked just like a treasure
map laid out with a black
marker.
"Come
on," Sunanda laughed, and
they all started running towards
it. As they got closer, they
saw that the "black line"
was really a tall wall that
seemed to stretch out forever
in both directions.
"Hmm…"
they all sighed. Now what?
The wall was too high to climb.
"Maybe
there's a gate somewhere,"
Jamal suggested, and they
started walking together along
the wall's perimeter. Sure
enough, they could see an
entrance a hundred feet down.
They all headed towards it.
"Wait,
Johnny said pointing twenty
feet further. "Look there's
another entrance...that one
looks more inviting... " He
ran towards the second gate.
A few of the kids followed
him.
"Uh…"
Maya said as Johnny was about
to go inside. "Wait a sec.
There's another entrance a
little further up ahead. Maybe
that's the one we're
supposed to try?"
When they reached that gate,
they saw another entrance
further down the wall, and
off in the distance they could
see gate after gate.
The Better World Kids weren't
sure what to do. Some of them
wanted to go into the first
gate, some the second and
some the third or the fourth
or the eighth or the tenth.
"Should we split up?" they
wondered.
"Look
guys," Sunanda said, taking
a deep breath. She was standing
in front of the first entrance
and had a strong feeling they
should try that one, but she
felt even more strongly that
they should take their time
to make the right decision.
"Let's just stand here a moment
together in silence and then
we'll make a decision together."
The Better
World Kids all agreed - they
often found that moments of
silence together helped them
think more clearly. Oftentimes
it even brought them help.
They all joined hands and
stood in a circle with their
eyes closed.
It
wasn't very long when softly,
but very distinctly, they
began to hear a gentle melody
floating towards them from
somewhere in the distance.
They
all recognized the humming
voice immediately! Sunanda
wanted to open her eyes and
peek, but she, like the other
kids, took a deep breath first.
Then they opened their eyes
and turned in unison towards
the second entrance where
they'd heard the humming coming
from.
"Hooray!"
they shouted when they saw
that it was indeed Harmony
the Spirt of Kindness, their
CyberGuide, as they'd suspected.
They knew from experience
that even if they hardly ever
got to see her here, she always
watched over them in Cyberspace
and kept them safe, and sometimes
she joined the Better World
Kids on their adventures.
They
ran to her, and hugged her.
They always felt so wonderful
cloaked in her lovingkindness.
After a moment or so, they
began to remember their questions
and everyone started speaking
at once.
Fortuna
smiled. "All will be answered
in time," she whispered. "It's
all part of your adventure."
She held them all closer as
she began to hum a gentle
melody. They felt themselves
softly twirling in the breeze,
and when they opened their
eyes, Harmony was floating
away. She winked, and waved
lovingly at them before she
disappeared, dancing through
one of the gates.
The
kids were a little disappointed,
but they were always happy
to catch even a glimpse of
Harmony, and they knew they'd
be seeing her again, soon.
And they certainly couldn't
have asked for a clearer sign
about which gate to go through.
But
the entrance was locked when
they tried it. The kids didn't
know what to think.
"Maybe
we should split up and try
the other gates to see if
they open?" José suggested.
"No,
Harmony definitely wanted
us to go through this one…"
Erin beamed. Everyone agreed.
"But
how?" Ahmed and Sol sighed
together.
"Hang
on guys," Johnny said. While
the kids were trying to figure
out what to do next, he'd
pulled out the tiny magnifying
glass and had started to examine
the old wooden door. Right
where you'd expect a door
knocker to be, he found something.
"What
does it say?!" the kids gasped
when he told them there was
something written on the door.
"It's
another web address... www.EcoTreasureMap.com/gate.htm"
Before Johnny had even finished
saying the web address, Ahmed
had typed it onto his laptop.
But before he pressed enter,
Erin suggested the Better
World Kids have another moment
of silence, to thank Harmony.
So that's what they did. Then
Ahmed clicked the link.
www.EcoTreasureMap.com/gate.htm
