Phillip R. White

Sheridan__ eyes fell to the watery gateway as he begrudgingly donned the novel wetsuit and pulled on the crown of arc lamps. Following Kunchen__ lead, he cinched it tightly around his waist, feet, and neck. And all the while his eyes returned to the teeming portal.Kunchen took notice.__his whirlpool is like the mighty river of life._ Kunchen said.Sheridan watched as Kunchen dipped his right hand into a shallow pool of ice-crusted water, scooping up the pristine liquid in his cupped fingers. He submitted the handful of water to Sheridan. With the gentle tilt of his right hand he poured it out, watching it trickle into his left hand.With unerring kindness in his eyes, Kunchen became the teacher and Sheridan the pupil: __bserve the water. It is soft, easily bending and transforming to its circumstance.__e poured the water from his left hand. It fell into the writhing water and disappeared in an instant.__ut when it joins with the force of the whirlpool it becomes powerful and unstoppable. You must be flexible like the water, feeling the flow of life, tapping into its current. This is the only way.

There__ a dream I keep having,_ Sheridan whispered into the telephone. __he dream has always been the same__ntil tonight.___nd what happened tonight?_ asked Lil_ John.Sheridan hesitated, his words stumbling out in tentative phrases: __he man in my dream . . . he spoke to me for the first time . . . he told me of a sacred gift that had been lost . . . a gift that could save the world.___our dream,_ John urged gently. __s the gods conspiring to give you freedom, just like the elders sang that night in the Sundance ceremony:__hen worlds collideThere sounds a tollingA call to riseAnd seize the momentThe gods conspireTo give us freedomWhen worlds collideThe journey has begunSheridan pulled at the collar of his t-shirt, Lil_ John__ words suffocating him. Pushing back from the precipice of dread, Sheridan strained to speak, his husky words weak and staggering: __hat are you saying?___our search for the sacred gift has already begun . . .