As
Ahmed pressed the enter key,
the most amazing thing happened.
A Rainbow of light seemed to
rise out of the ground beneath
their feet. It stretched up
over their heads and out over
the top of the bridge across
to the pot of treasure on the
other side. They were standing
on the rainbow!
Tentatively, the Kindness Kids
looked out at the rainbow as
it hung suspended above the
bridge. They held hands as they
walked together over the great
chasm, and finally they were
standing in front of a small
pot of golden treasure.
The kids couldn't believe their
eyes. The gold shimmered and
sparkled in the sunlight, holding
their attention. It was a long
time before any of them could
even look away. Finally Sunanda
did though, after a pleasurable
sigh of joy. It was then that
she noticed a sign next to the
treasure.
"Congratulations,
Kindness Kids," she read. "Look
guys!" she gasped.
They read the rest of the sign
together. "You did it! This
Eco Treasure is yours. I have
confidence that you will use
it to help make your wish for
a better world come true."
There was a contract and a check
tacked onto the sign. The check
was for $1 billion dollars!
The kids could not believe that
this was happening. They knew
that with a billion dollars
they could really help change
the world. They had been dreaming
about so many ideas and plans
that they'd wanted to pursue.
Now they'd be able to do all
of them and more.
And that's exactly what they
did.
As soon as the weekly Kindness
Kids meeting was adjourned,
the kids went back to their
own homes and communities. They
told their families about the
Eco Treasure they'd found, although
they left out the part about
finding it IN Cyberspace.
Of course their families thought
they were all kidding. But Sunanda's
father arranged for all of the
families to travel by plane
to meet together and discuss
the contract that they all had
to sign.
The Kindness Kids were so excited.
Although they magically got
together for their Kindness
Kids meetings each week in cyberspace,
somehow, meeting together in
real time and space seemed even
more magical.
The Kindness Kids' families
sat with their mouths open,
unable to speak at all, as the
Kindness Kids shared with them
all of the ideas they had.
They told their families about
all of the amazing things that
people were doing across the
globe to help make the world
a better place and about their
idea to unite those efforts
to create a global movement
that would help to transform
the world.
"Think
about what the world would be
like if striving to create a
better world was the common
goal that everyone shared,"
Sunanda said.
"Think
about what it would be like
if ALL kids and adults learned
the skills and tools to work
their problems out peacefully,"
Ahmed added.
"And
if people worked not just to
make money, but to make the
world safer and better for everyone..."
Erin declared, "... all the
planet's ecoystems, all the
people, and the animals and
plants…"
"Think
about what it would be like
if our heroes weren't just sports
stars and entertainment celebrities,
but those who were working to
make the world a better place
for everyone…" Maya piped in.
"If
we were inspired and encouraged
to work together for a better
world in the TV shows we watched,
and the nightly news reports,
and in our video games, and
the music on the radio and in
movies and magazines and books…"
Johnny continued.
"Can
you imagine walking in to a
bookstore or Video Store with
a whole section of exciting
choices about working For a
Better World…" Ling laughed.
The kids had a million ideas
about things they could do.
"Let's start now!" everyone
agreed. And so they did.
Chapter
6. Is Peace on Earth only a
dream?
Sunanda
woke up with a start. "Where
am I?" she thought for only
a moment as she saw that she
was lying on her bed. Her laptop
was humming quietly beside her
and she glanced down at the
clock.
"Oh
thank goodness I didn't miss
our Kindness Team meeting,"
she sighed. "I must have been
napping, but I woke up just
in time!"
Then she saw the unopened package
on the bed and she had the strangest
feeling. Suddenly she felt very
confused. "Wow, that was a strange
dream. It felt so real…"
She found herself automatically
typing in the Kindness Team
web address. Suddenly she was
in Cyberspace, and all her friends
were there waiting for her.
"What's
the matter, Sunanda?" they all
asked, because she really didn't
seem herself.
"I
just had the weirdest dream
..." She told them all about
the Eco Treasure Hunt they had
all gone on together in her
dream, and the wonderful eco
treasure they found, and how
with all that money, they had
taken a giant leap forward in
creating a better world.
"That's
some dream!" the Kindness Kids
agreed. "If only it were true."
Sunanda sighed sadly. Then she
saw the package in her hand.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about this
package that came today. I guess
this is what got my imagination
running wild," she sighed. "It's
probably just a book or a CD
from another Kindness Kids Club,
like that one I got last month..."
"Well,
that CD was really inspiring,"
Ling said. "So, I'd love to
hear this one."
"Yeah,
there are so many people creating
beautiful works that are helping
to inspire a better world …"
Jamal said.
"But,
maybe there really IS a treasure
map inside the package," Sunanda
teased.
"Wouldn't
that be wonderful," Sunanda
sighed yet again.
The
Kindness Kids agreed, but they
knew they already had the greatest
treasure they could hope for
- each other!
"Well, open it already, Sunanda!"
the kids urged.
And
that's just what she did.
