“They say there is a path that winds through the forest that exists deep within our imaginations, in that childlike part of our minds…that gate is only open once. After this, the adult mind somehow closes it.” ~ Anna, “A River of Secrets, Summer of the Rose”
(Anna is now 87 years old, and is telling the story reflecting back on her childhood. Here, in this scene, she was 12 years old, and her twin brothers, 15.)
Now, looking back, all I can say is, it’s just as old Sam said. It’s hard to really know because at first there is no change that you can notice around you—no obvious ones anyway. No one was ever really certain that it could be pinpointed to one exact location. But then, the folks around here had always known that the river has a kind of personality of its own. It was like the way things happened, it seemed to keep everyone guessing. After all, we all knew that the river had secrets it would never tell.
We got off of our horses and tied them to some nearby trees, then just walked around admiring the beauty of the place. All we were really thinking of at the time was that it was a nice place to stop. It didn’t seem a possibility in our minds at the time that we might have found the secret place. But then, the river itself wouldn’t have told us if we had.
We ran through the trees and climbed the rocks like silly children, laughing the whole time. But then, as we looked down into the water, once again, something about it seemed to beckon us.
I stood there, looking at my reflection in the water as we let our horses drink their fill of it. I looked every bit of my twelve years, although I had often been told I looked older than I was. But then, something in the water seemed to beckon me to come a little closer. It was like it suddenly seemed to take on a life of its own, like some sort of magical rippling effect in the water, making you want to reach down and touch it. Perhaps it was just that curiosity that seemed to have taken ahold of each of us. I would never know for sure. It was when I reached down with my fingers and touched the water that I knew immediately that something had changed.
The wind blew a little differently, somewhat stronger. All of a sudden it was late in the day. I looked around. The horses were gone. My brothers were gone. There was no one but me. It was later in the afternoon. At first it seemed nothing around me had changed that much. But then, as I looked around, I began to realize what my mind did not want to accept. I had somehow gone to another time.
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You’ll want to be sure to add this one to your summer reading collection! Then, check back soon for the second book in the series, “Return to the River, Scent of the Rose”! Subscribe to my email via the tab above, so you’ll be sure to get email updates and be sure you don’t miss out! Also, be sure to click the link on the side to follow my Facebook Author page! Know someone who would love this? Please share to your Facebook or Twitter, or Email it to a friend!
Flossie Stewart, Christian Author & Speaker 