The Eco Treasure Hunt
A Better World Kids Adventure
by Robert Alan Silverstein
illustrated by Vineet Siddhartha

      
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Chapter 1 ... you've missed a lot of fun!
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Chapter 2. Eco Treasure Map

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

 

© 2004-2013 Robert Alan Silverstein
Better World Kids Illustrations by Vineet Siddhartha

 

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