Step into the river.
Step into eternity.
Water licks about my shoulders, tugging at my hair so it swirls about me like water weeds. I take one step, then another. Lopsided pebbles wiggle under my bare feet, threatening to push my feet away. Fish peer out from underneath the overhanging banks. One brushes against my legs, leaving only ripples to show its passage.
I must not lose my footing, must not let the waves throw me to and fro. I must walk, following the river willing and not swept away by the see. Low-hanging willows drape the river like mourners, shading the water black with grief.
Come to me.
I follow the silent words into the darkness. The river widens, deepens, and the current sprays my eyes. My limbs tremble, moving numbly through the water.
Come to me.
The trees thin, opening into a sun-baked desert. Waves clash like titanic armies, flinging drops onto the sand, where they vanish like reason amidst hatred. Sea-ground pebbles, powdered into sand, swirl in the water, stinging my skin. Giant waves pluck my feet from the streambed, tossing me like a leaf through their tempest.
Come to me.
Waves spit me out, half-drowned, disgusted by my persistence. I gag, spitting seawater everywhere. Ahead, strange shapes puncture the air with deathly odors. Acid boils on the stream’s surface. I attempt to turn back, but the current and the whisper spur me on.
Come to me.
I’m scared.
I am with you.
I swallow, stepping forward. Acid burns my skin like coals. Putrid odors tear my eyeballs. Illness seeps in through every crack and crease in my skin.
I would die.
But I will live. He could heal illness with a glance, a smile, a single word.
My feet slip on the edge of a steep shelf. The water is over my head.
Acid blurs the world in pinwheels of pain and color.
Lungs screaming for air as the water fills my nostrils.
Involuntarily, I open my mouth to scream. “Hel—“
The river rushes down my throat.
Strong hands squeeze my shoulders, pulling me onto the shore. I blink at my rescuer. “It’s you.”
He reaches into a great basin and sprinkles water over me. “I must wash away the acid.”
I wince as the water splashes onto the acid. It sizzles and runs off my skin. “Thank you.”
“The river is treacherous. But it is the only path to me.”
I glance back at the rushing waters. “But if you were with me, why did I need to come?”
“To make you stronger.” He helps me to my feet. “Are you ready?”
“For what?”
“For the river. Your journey isn’t over yet. But I promise I’ll be beside you.”
I squeeze his hand.
We step into the river.
Into eternity.