Chapter One

  Evening has come.  William Thornton rises from his all too comfortable chair with a slight groan and turns off the television.  "…news is as depressing as ever," he mutters as he switches off the set.  "There's got to be something good going on somewhere! But you'd never know it…  It seems to me that everyone thinks that the only good news is bad news!"  he chuckles to himself.  He turns to the far corner of the room and asks, "Isn't that right, Zeke?"

  The yellow and green parrot perks up  and answers, "You know it!  Right on!"

  William chuckles and stands to his full height.  Placing the palms of both hands firmly against his lower back, he entertains a satisfying stretch, accompanied by a chorus of "Oh!  Oh!  Oh… that feels good!"  He stretches one stiff ankle and grimaces over the number of 'cracks' it makes.  "These poor old bones…" he muses.

   Zeke chatters, "Silly old man!  Silly old man!"

  William chuckles again and then lets out a small sigh, clears his throat, and walks to the kitchen.  A slight squeak announces the opening of the cupboard door and out of nowhere, a silver-gray cat appears.

  "Well, good evening, Lucinda!" he says in a bright, cordial tone.  "I see your ears are as sharp as ever.  I never knew any cat that could hear a cupboard squeak from as far away as you!  Yep… practically psychic!  Darn near a miracle!"

   Stiff fingers caress the cat's luxuriant form, as she eagerly purrs in anticipation of dinner.

  "You old motorboat!" William chides.

  He pulls open a drawer, removes a can opener, and opens a can of Grilled Tuna Dinner.  Leaving the can opener on the counter, he places the opened can on the floor next to the front door.  "Now be a good girl and eat all your dinner, if you want dessert!" he says.

  Dessert always consisted of the same thing… a Maraschino cherry.  William doesn't remember how he had discovered that that she liked them, but Lucinda relishes them above any other treat.  This gray cat has one serious sweet tooth!

  William straightens up, twists the pewter colored doorknob, and pushes open the heavy wooden-plank door.  He steps out onto the covered patio, which faces the long driveway leading out to Interstate 17.  Leaning against the heavy wooden beam handrail, he soaks in the fading embers of a spectacular sunset.  Hues of pumpkin and rose enflame the lower portions of a few feathery clouds as they chase the rapidly fading twilight.  He draws in a long, full breath of the warm evening air, perfumed by honeysuckle and lilac, and says, "Mmmm…beautiful job, Lord."

  The crickets and the bullfrogs are well into their nightly songs as he steps back and settles into a willow chair.  It creaks and chatters a bit, but is still as solid as the day that he built it, some fifteen years ago.  Gazing out towards the growing darkness, his eye catches a distant blue-white flicker.  A few seconds later, other flashes follow; some on the lawn, a few from the trees, and still others dance in mid-air.

  "Fireflies!"  he says.  "First ones I've seen this year!"

  He grins to himself and shifts his weight to one side.  Reaching into his pocket, he withdraws a small drawstring pouch.  He pinches open the mouth and carefully pours a few pebbles into his hand.  He selects one specific pebble, which looks like a small bead of crystal-clear glass, and returns the others to the bag.  "I'll show you some shine!" he says.

  As he pinches the tiny glistening stone between his thumb and index finger, it erupts with a blinding, brilliant light… a living, liquid light far brighter and far whiter than anything known to man could produce.  It blazes in a light so brilliant and so fluid that it leaves no shadow, but envelops all in its path.  Bathed in this brilliance, the haggard old man becomes swallowed up in the memories of youth.  The aches and pains of age dissolve as the ageless, timeless spirit within transports him to another time and place.

Chapter Two  

  It was the summer of his twelfth year.  All of his life up to this point, he and his family had lived in Reno, Nevada.  His father, Jacob Thornton, was a professor of chemistry at the University of Nevada.  He was a man of average height, but extraordinary build.  Despite being on the downhill side of middle-aged, he was as solid as a brick wall.  He had been an all-American football player in college and looked like he could still compete on that level, if he chose to.

  He had chestnut-brown hair with a light peppering of gray and kept a neatly trimmed beard.  His eyes were a deep olive-green.  Unfortunately, they were usually obscured behind thick glasses, as his eyesight had dramatically diminished over the past several years.  This was his one outstanding physical shortcoming.

  William's mother, Theresa, was of a much slighter build.  She was quite literally the skinniest person William knew.  She was somewhat shorter than Jacob, with red hair and brilliant blue eyes.  She liked to joke that, along with her exceedingly pale skin, this made her the most patriotic person in town!

  William took delight in answering her with "Yes, Mother Theresa!"  whenever she got serious about telling him to do something.  This amused him, but did not have the same affect on her.  Luckily, he had a visual 'early-warning' system.  When her ears began to turn red, he knew that he had better not push it any farther.

  Before William was born, Theresa had been a junior high school English teacher.  Now, she worked at home as a freelance writer.  She took on a wide variety of writing assignments including textbooks, nature guides, promotional fliers, advertising copy, and topical articles for magazines and newspapers.

  She particularly enjoyed writing children's books and occasionally had success with science fiction short stories.  She always seemed to be busy and the "tack - tack - tack -- tack-ding!" of her typewriter was seldom silent for long.  Most nights, William fell asleep to its staccato lullaby.

  William had one sibling, an older sister.  Her name was Leslie.  She was twenty-three years old and lived in Los Angeles.  She was of medium height, with long, auburn hair and hazel eyes.  She had always wanted to be a fashion model, but was repeatedly told that she was too short and didn't have 'the look', whatever that meant.  William thought that this was crazy, although he'd never admit to thinking so.  He still clung to the 'girl germs' mindset, at least outwardly.

  Anyway, when her dreams of modeling hit rock bottom she did what was, in her mind, the next best thing.  She took some graphic design and commercial art courses at a community college and landed an apprenticeship as a set designer.  She traveled with a small team designing and building sets for fashion shows.  They also occasionally took special jobs building seasonal displays for major department and clothing stores.  One year, she had actually helped put together the Christmas display at Macy's in New York City.  This put her on cloud nine all the way up to Easter.

  Although Leslie's dreams of being a model never materialized, she was satisfied that she was 'still in the industry', as she put it.  She tried to make it home to visit during the holidays each year and occasionally had the opportunity to visit at other times.  Whenever she was traveling anywhere in the general area, she would do her best to drop in for a day or two.

  This was one of those occasions.  Leslie had several days off between jobs and had flown in to help the family pack.  For the first time in William's life, his family was moving.  William's grandfather had passed away three years ago.  He and his wife, Mary, had owned a horse ranch outside of Rock Springs, Arizona for over thirty-five years.  This is where William's father, Jacob, had grown up as one of eight children.  He and his brothers and sisters had a nearly ideal childhood, growing up on a horse ranch in a log cabin.

  Well, "cabin" wasn't exactly accurate… although that's what they called it.  This cabin had seven bedrooms and four bathrooms.  It was originally built as a typical three-bedroom, two-bath, but the couple's generous supply of offspring made several successive additions necessary.

  Luckily, they could afford it.  William's grandfather Seth didn't just raise horses; he raised thoroughbred racehorses.  He seemed to have an unusual knack for this and many of his horses enjoyed outstandingly successful careers.  Seth was somewhat of a legend in the horse racing community and made a very good living.   He passed away a few years after declaring himself "semi-retired" and selling off all but a few horses.

   Mary had done very well by herself, until recently.  She still rose just before dawn most mornings and usually did a full day's worth of work before lunch.  However, she had recently begun to experience erratic fluctuations in her blood pressure.  This caused her to have blurry vision and bouts of dizziness, as well as occasional fainting spells.  Medication improved her condition somewhat, but she was told that she could no longer drive and was under official medical orders to "take it easy".

  When it became apparent that she would need help, Jacob offered to move back home.  Of the eight children, he lived the closest and was financially and otherwise the most able to make the move.  He also welcomed the opportunity to live in the country again.  He looked forward to bringing up his son with the family-farm experience.

  He landed a position teaching chemistry at Northern Arizona University in Phoenix.  With the exception of a few orientation meetings, he would be off most of the summer.  He didn't begin teaching until the fall term.

  So, the Friday after William's school let out for the summer, he and his family finished the last of their packing, loaded their rental truck, and left for Rock Springs, Arizona.  They could easily make the trip in two days, but planned on taking four.  They wanted to see the Grand Canyon and a few other sights along the way.  A couple of friends of the family took a long weekend in order to drive the moving truck out, so that Jacob, Theresa, and William could all ride together in the car.

  William had always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, but just couldn't enjoy himself on this trip.  Although the idea of living in the country appealed to him, he was depressed and angry over having to move away from all of his friends.  Despite his natural curiosity, he didn't relish leaving behind all of the people and places with which he was familiar.

  Catching his son's eye in the rear-view mirror, Jacob asked, "What's the matter, spud-monkey?"

  William choked back a grin, forced himself to frown, and turned his gaze to the side window.  "Nothin'…" he muttered.  He searched the creamcicle sunset for a way to express the anger, fear, and grief he felt inside, but could find no help in the soft orange glow.

  After a moment of knowing silence, his mother turned her head towards him and said, "We're spending the night in Flagstaff tonight. We can order pizza, if you like... or maybe Chinese?"

  William remained silent, pretending to not hear her.

  "Oh, sweetie… you always liked it at Grandma's place.  I hear the school in town is real nice.  I'm sure that you'll fit in just fine.  You'll see."  She trailed off, sadly aware that her words weren't really making a difference.

  Jacob's eye suddenly caught a sign on the side of the road. 

"Ah… there's our hotel!" he said as he snapped on the turn signal.  "We'll get a good rest tonight and drive the last hour or so tomorrow morning.  I'm sure Grandma can't wait to see you.  She'll probably have a big batch of her famous strawberry muffins waiting when we get there."

  William just drew in a long breath, sighed, and shrugged one shoulder.   "Whatever..."

  Jacob turned into the parking lot of the Hampton Inn and pulled up to the loading area at the front door.   "I thought we would stay somewhere nice tonight, after that roach hotel we ended up in last night!" Jacob quipped.  "Besides, they serve breakfast right here in the hotel… a full spread.  I stayed here during that conference last fall. William, could you run in and get us a luggage cart?" he asked.  "William?… Hey, spud-monkey!"

  "Oh!  Yeah, yeah, okay," William said.

  Jacob pointed and said, "They're usually somewhere just on the other side of the reception desk; on the right, if I remember correctly."

  "Yeah, okay…" William said, as he exited the back seat.  He stretched his legs and waggled his head in an attempt to wake up a little.  "On the right?" he asked.

  "Yeah, should be," Jacob responded. 

  "Hey, little guy, don't fall asleep until we get to the room!"  Theresa said.  "And watch out for those lazy doors!"  At the last hotel, the automatic doors were apparently out of order, and William had done a 'vertical spread-eagle' against the glass, to the great amusement of a seven year old girl watching from inside.

  Jacob did what he could to restrain his snickering as William threw his best attempt at an 'evil eye' in their direction.  This snickering erupted into a full-blown belly laugh, as William once again walked unsuspectingly into non-functioning automatic doors.

  From just inside the doors, there came a muffled voice. "Oh! Geez, sorry about that!" said a tall man in a gray business suit.  He quickly lunged forward and to his left and removed the briefcase, which had prevented the doors from sliding open.  "You okay, young man?" he asked.

  William said nothing, but just stiffened his limbs and walked briskly past.  He hoped that the stranger caught a glimpse of the scowl on his face.

  The man in the gray suit, noticing who he correctly assumed to be William's parents, turned towards Jacob and Theresa and said, "Sorry!" just as the doors slid closed again.

  William made no reply to the desk clerk's greeting of "Good evening, sir!"  He walked straight past the front desk and retrieved a luggage cart from the little side room where they were stored.  "The LEFT, Dad! They're on the LEFT," he muttered to himself.

  As he arrived back at the car, he knew something was up.  The luggage was stacked neatly at the back bumper… normal enough… but Jacob and Theresa had mischievous looks on their faces and Jacob was holding something behind his back.  Theresa began, "Hey sport!  Before we head in, we figured there was something we needed to give you…"

  "…for your own safety!" Jacob said, as he whipped out his old college football helmet from behind his back.

  This time, sincere humor won out and William joined in the laughter.  

  Jacob, still snickering, loaded the luggage onto the cart and said, "Help your mom in with the luggage.  I'll park the car and be right in."

    William and his mother each took charge of one end of the cart and headed for the front doors of the hotel.  This time, just to be sure, William stopped short.  He stepped forward, waving one arm high in the air, and the doors obediently slid open.

  "That's my boy!  Good thinking," Theresa said.  "Better safe than sorry… again."

  They waited at the front door for Jacob.  He came strolling in the front door, humming some non-descript tune, and bounced up to the front desk.  He signed a couple of papers, paid with his credit card, and got a room key.  "412," he said.  "The elevator's down this way, at the end of the hall."

   The elevator was on the left, and William had a considerable amount of difficulty getting the luggage cart to make the turn.  "Maybe you could just pull it up the stairs…"  Theresa jested.

  Jacob helped him straighten out the leading end of the cart and pulled it into the elevator.  Theresa and William joined him inside, as he pushed the button for the fourth floor.

  After settling into their room, they decided on pizza for dinner.  William had feigned a lack of appetite at lunchtime, as some sort of a meager means of lashing out, and was famished. The pizza simply took control of his twelve year-old frame as he wolfed down half of it by himself.  The cheesy, greasy mess worked its magic and his mood brightened a bit.

  After a little television and a nice, hot shower, William brushed his teeth and changed into his pajamas.  He took a long, hard look in the mirror and thought about what he was leaving behind… and wondered about what was to come.

   He definitely had mixed feelings about this move.  He really did look forward to living in the country, especially in a log house.  And it would be nice to see his grandmother and ride the few horses she kept around for old-time's sake.

  However, he was keenly aware that he was leaving behind some long-standing friendships, and wouldn't know anyone at his new school.  He had never been 'the new kid' before and did not look forward to being treated as he had seen other new kids treated.  He had never had to start over like this before, and didn't really know how to.  Still, he knew that the move was for a good reason and he felt a little guilty about the anger he felt inside.  But he was not yet willing to let it go.

Chapter Nine

  William slid in behind the steering wheel and pulled the door closed.  It was a warm day, so he rolled the window down.  He then adjusted the mirrors and stuck the key into the car's ignition.  As he turned the key, he pumped the gas pedal vigorously.  The car sprang to life with a deafening growl, which soon settled to more of a fine-tuned purr.

  He let the engine warm up for a minute or two before switching his foot to the brake pedal.  He held the brake pedal down firmly, as he first released the parking brake and then shifted the transmission into drive.  Slowly letting off the brake, he shifted his foot over to the gas pedal again and began slowly accelerating down the dusty country lane.

  The day was dry and hot.  Clouds of dust boiled up into the morning air behind him as he sped along.  He didn't know exactly where he was going, but he was the one driving; that was all that mattered.  Wherever this dusty, bumpy country road led him, he was in charge of getting there.  He had control.  It was all up to him.

  William comforted himself with this thought as he continued driving.  The scenery, which had at first been comforting and familiar, was beginning to change.  Before long, he no longer recognized anything about his surroundings.  Had he taken a wrong turn somewhere?  He did not know.  In addition to not knowing where he was going, he now had no idea where he was.  Although this confused him, he was not really frightened.  He was still the one driving.  He was still the one in control.  That was all that mattered.  That would do.

  As William continued driving towards his unknown destination, something was suddenly different.  He wasn't sure what at first, but something felt… different.  Without warning, the car lurched hard to the right, turning onto a broad side road, which led down a steep hill.

  A sudden flush of panic overtook William, as he slammed hard on the brake pedal.  Nothing happened!  He let off and tried again, pumping the brakes repeatedly.  The car did not slow down at all.  Grasping the steering wheel with an iron grip, he tried to turn the car.  The speeding automobile paid no heed to his demands, but seemed to have come alive with a will of its own.

  It was about then that William realized that he was dreaming.  But if he was dreaming, how could he know that, consciously?  How could he, while asleep, be aware of that fact… consciously?  This was truly a strange experience, one that was totally new to William.  But he knew it to be fact.

  However, knowing that fact did not alleviate his growing concern over his present dream-state crisis.  He grasp the steering wheel even harder, while nearly pushing the brake pedal through the floorboard.  With all of his strength he turned the wheel, which finally yielded to his demands.  Yes!  he thought, Now I'll finally break free.

  But this was not to be.  Although the steering wheel did turn and yes, the tires began to give way, the direction of the car's travel did not change!  Instead, it began to spin in a counter-clockwise motion, with the brakes fully locked.  There was a terrible grinding sound as the spinning automobile continued its descent down the long, steep hill.

   It must be more than simple gravity taking it there, William now knew.  There must be some unseen force at work; one far greater than Earth's allotment of gravity could muster.  As he fearfully struggled to regain control of his destiny, the car continued its unyielding journey into the unknown, drawn by some celestial force with the consumptive resolve of a black hole.  William fought with every ounce of determination he possessed, but it was clear that his strength was both inadequate for and inconsequential to the present crisis.

  Just as the car reached the bottom of the hill, the consuming force seemed to slacken.  The car slowed, straightened out, and came to a stop.  William, shaking somewhat, hung his head in relief and took a moment to compose himself.  He then raised his head again, gazing through the dust-covered windshield.

  There was something out there in the distance; something… beautiful.  He did not yet know what it was, but it intrigued him.  Some distance away, far across the barren landscape, just where the sky met the earth, there seemed to be an oasis of sorts.  Hues of emerald and aquamarine graced the far horizon.

  His curiosity hopelessly aroused, William opened the door and stepped out of the car.  Instantly, his perspective shifted and he saw himself from some distance to the left of the car where he was standing.  Wow, this is strange!  he thought.   He was conscious of being next to the car, but also of seeing himself from some distance away… both at the same time.

  As William continued gazing at the distant lake (he now knew that's what it was) he felt a deep yearning for it.  He was hot and dusty and thought that a swim in a nice, cool lake would be wonderful.  Besides, it was so beautiful; so captivating.

  However, he had become aware that he… that is to say, his dream-self… did not know how to swim.  He was profoundly disappointed.  Despite the allure of the beauty before him, he was resigned to remain where he was; barren, dry, and joyless.

  Then, the strange got stranger.  He heard a sound behind him and caught just a glimpse of the back door of the car opening.  What?  he questioned.  I was in that car alone.  There wasn't anyone with me!   He saw feet step out of the car and the bottom edge of a white robe.

  A shadow then fell across the ground next to his dream-self.  Somehow, the shadow betrayed the identity of its owner.  As his dream-self spun around, his face flushed white and his eyes grew wide.  But William could see only the face of his dream-self, not the One approaching him. 

  William's view shifted again.  He now seemed to be seeing through the eyes of the One who'd been in the back seat of the car; who had now picked up his dream-self, cradling him in His arms.

  The unseen figure now began carrying William towards the distant lake.  He walked along slowly, but His intent was somehow evident.  He was carrying William to the lake.

  William again realized that, in his dream, he did not know how to swim.  As they drew closer to the lake, William grew increasingly uneasy.  Before long, the unseen figure stood right at the water's edge, with William still cradled in His arms.  The water was incredibly beautiful, but he was overwhelmed with fear.  He had lost control of the car; his ability to control his own destiny. And now, he found himself carried by a will greater than his own to the brink of something that, although enticing, frightened him terribly.

  William sensed a deep and abiding compassion radiating from the figure holding him.  He wanted to trust, but somehow thought, You just don't understand!  I can't!

In the wink of an eye, William found himself airborne.  The mysterious figure had thrown him out over the lake!  He arced high into the air, then began plummeting towards the water below!  As he inhaled sharply, paralyzed with fear, he saw the hands that had cradled him extend towards him.

  The hands… powerful hands, yet exceedingly gentle… hands calloused by hard labor… and scarred by iron spikes.  From these hands which had crafted the hydrogen atom, and from that humble beginning flooded the entire cosmos with life-giving radiance; from these hands which first formed man from the dust of the ground, and then drew a companion from his side… from the hands which fashioned the tree that was used to extinguish His life… the hands which had carried William to this place… from these hands now blazed an awesome grace!  A brilliance unmatched erupted from the outstretched hands, enveloping William; suspending him in mid-air over the lake.

  That light!  He'd seen it before!  It was the same blazing, fluid brilliance that had flashed in the field that night; yet now in even larger measure somehow.  Was this being, this One who had carried him here, the ultimate source of this living light?  Was he the source… the source of ALL?