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by: Anonymous 
Kala found herself a young child once again, walking along the path, the sound of a river flowing let her know that her journey through the woods was about to end. Turning the corner she saw the river, and to her dismay a washed out bridge. Two old men stood over a small boat talking. She was too far away to hear their conversation but as she approched the men shook hands and departed. The first took a seat on a chair by the river, the second walked towards Kala, past her, and into the woods. A silent smirk, a subtle grin, a sheepish smile attached to his face. Kala appoached the man in the chair and asked if she could borrow his boat to cross the river. Unfortunately, there was a problem. "Child", the old man questioned, "why do you wish to cross this river?" "Because it is my destiny, I wish to go to the other side." The old man just smiled, he knew who she was, and who she would one day be, and he knew that it was her destiny to reach the other shore. "Many people have tried to cross this river, and all they gained from it was fatigue and hardship." "What is on the other side?" "The other side holds the answer which you seek. You are free to use my boat if you wish, however, there is a leak in the boat, it will have to be repared before the boat will be able to make it to the other side." And so Kala went to work trying to fix the leak. By the time the sun was setting she was done, but did not wish to cross the river in the dark. The old man, who had been fishing the entire day offered Kala a place to sleep for the night. He took her home, introduced her to his wife and togeher the three of them shared the fish he had caught that day. When morning came and the old man awoke, Kala was already gone. But he knew she wouldn't have goten far. Returning to his fishing hole he saw Kala, working on the boat. "What is the problem child, I thought you would have been long gone by now." "I would have been, but as I got into the boat and shoved off, the oar broke before me. I now have to fix the oar before I can continue." And so was Kala's second day at the river. When the day ended she again returned with the old man to his lodge, shared a fish dinner with his family and dremt of crossing the river tomorrow. And so it was day after day. Another problem, another task Kala had to complete before crossing the river. The river was too fast, she couldn't swim it. It never froze, she couldn't walk over it. Beavers would strip pieces of the boat during the night and it would have to be repared before she could cross or floods would just make the trip too dangerous for that day she could do nothing but wait. Days turned to weeks, and weeks into months. And with every passing day Kala become more determined to cross the river and see what was on the other side. Months turned into years. She travelled long distances up and down the river looking for another place to cross, but always returned to the broken bridge and boat, there was no other place to cross. Years went by and Kala grew from a child to a young woman to an old woman. Every day when the old man awoke Kala was already gone and when he arrived at his fishing hole Kala would be hard at work mending the boat or working on another task to help her across the river. There was no rest. Never a day off, never a thought in Kala's mind but to cross the river. It was morning, many years later, Kala now an old woman, but the man hadn't aged a day when returning to his fishing hole he saw Kala, not working on the boat, but laying within it. As he approached he saw something he hadn't seen in many years... a smile upon her face. "So you finally figured out how to cross the river." "Yes, I now know what is on the other side. It was my destiny." And so Kala stood up, shook the old man's hand. The man took his usual seat by the river as Kala walked back into the woods, along the way passing by and smiling at a young boy just emerging from the forest.
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