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“It was filthy! It was all sludge and muddy and slimy and gross.”

Josh nodded. “You saw what you wanted to see. Your struggles and frustrations caused the scenery around you to change. If you had kept reminding yourself of who you were, remaining confident, you would have seen a very different river. Now, what you need to do is see the truth. The river is very clean and very filling. Go ahead and drink.”

Jackson dragged his poor, tired body to the river. He looked into it and saw a sandy bottom with stones scattered all about. He looked closer and saw little bugs floating on the top. The fish were darting to and fro, stirring up the light sand from the bottom.

“But there’s…there’s fish in here! And bugs! And I don’t even want to know what that floating stuff is!”

“Close your eyes and drink!” Josh laughed.

Jackson stifled a groan. He squatted down and scooped up the cool water in his hands. He caught a bug and a twig. He shut his eyes tightly and brought his hands to his lips. He could feel the bug tickling his lips. He tried not to gag.

He swallowed.

Chapter 65

In Which Jackson May Drink Bugs

The water slipped into Jackson’s mouth. His lips were numbed by the cold, and he couldn’t feel his tongue. He wanted to spit it out but he swallowed instead. He felt the water slip down his throat and into his stomach. The numbing continued past his stomach and into his legs, then to his feet. It rushed into his arms and fingertips, then into his head and right to the very ends of his messy hair. And all at once the tingling stopped. Jackson opened his eyes, and then he stared in amazement.

The river changed. It had turned a bright, vibrant blue. The river’s bottom was laid with gold bricks. Orange and purple violets covered the riverbank, their heads turned to the sun. And then Jackson looked up into the sky and saw a rainbow. Not a rainbow in the sky, you see, for the sky itself was a rainbow. Long stripes of reds, blues, purples, yellows, oranges, and greens, all of them filling the sky. Jackson’s heart swelled. He splashed into the river and dunked his head into the water. He laughed and drank deeply. It was the best water he ever tasted. He sat up and looked back at Josh.

Josh’s body glowed. His uniform was a bright glowing white, with not a smudge of dirt on it. A golden-yellow light encircled him.

Jackson was at a loss for words. “Josh?” he asked.

Josh smiled.

“Uh, can I take some of this water home?” Jackson asked.

Josh laughed. “No. And it’s time to go.”

Jackson looked down into the river, but it had changed back again. The water was just a regular river color, the trees were golden weeping willows, and the banks were just grass again.

Jackson climbed out of the river and walked over to Josh, who was no longer wearing white. “What was that? Why did it change? What did you change? What’s going on?”

Josh smiled broadly at Jackson. “What you saw was a present for you, from the Author. Hold on to that memory.”

Josh dug into the pocket of his satchel and pulled something out. He placed it into Jackson’s hand.

It was a key. A plain, old-fashioned, gold (but slightly tarnished) key.

“Give it to Great-Aunt Harriett when the time is right,” Josh said.

“What do you mean? When will I know?”

Josh smiled mysteriously. “You’ll know.” He picked up the Book and handed it to Jackson.

“Now hang on to this Book. It holds the truth about your life.” Josh handed him two of the white stones. “And hold on to these, because they’ll remind you to believe in the truth.” He hugged Jackson fiercely. “Give Harriett a hug for me.”

“You know my Great-Aunt Harriett?”

Josh looked at the river and smiled, lost in thought. He nodded his head slowly and turned to Jackson. “Don’t ever give up, my friend. You have what it takes,” Josh said. He began to walk away.

“Wait a minute! Will I ever see you again? I mean, can we hang out sometime?” yelled Jackson.

“When it’s time!” Josh called.

“But how do you know my Great-Aunt Harriett? I mean, how does she know you?” Jackson called.

“She’s