Music for the river spirit

Take your children to the river spirit, the villagers used to say, and do not fear for them. The river was their hidden treasure, the deep emerald shine, known only to those whose roots sprouted from this soil several generations back. Sure, there was the river’s fastest stretch, known to any visitor who watched it burst between the rocks at the beginning of the village. The river quenched the thirst of passers-by, the villagers and their fields. But the quiet, shining, emerald stretch of the river was high up and deep in the jungle. Anyone who wished to reach it had to skip on shiny pebbles across the twisting streams and sticky bogs to reach the spot. It hid among the trees, whose leaves danced like green coins in the wind while damselflies fluttered their wings, plated with sapphire dust and gold. The river calmed to crystal clear near the old stone bridge which curved above the water, forming a perfect loop with its reflection. Golden ribbons of light slid over the boulders on the…