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
