One Final Time

The fire cackled bright and the smoke billowed upwards that last night at camp, their last night as junior counselors. The head counselor, Raven, took the stage to tell a story that would remain in their hearts and grow with meaning throughout their entire lives.

“There was once a little girl named Yellow,” she began. “Yellow lived in the land of yellow, where everything was yellow. Her parents, the King and Queen, told her never to go beyond her yellow walls. But, one day when Yellow was playing with her yellow ball, she threw it and it went over the wall. Not thinking, Yellow ran after it. She ran and ran until she came to the ocean, where everything was blue. A little girl walked up to her and said, “Hi, I'm Blue, what's your name?” Yellow said, “Well, I'm Yellow.” Blue said, “Let's be friends.” So they played and played until one day when they were sitting by a tide pool, Yellow noticed her reflection in the water and that everywhere Blue touched her she would turn a strange green color. She got up and ran and ran until she came to the desert where everything was Red. A little boy walked up to her and said, “Hi, I'm Red, what's your name?” She said, “I'm Yellow.” Red said, “Let's be friends.” So, they played and played until one day they were sitting by an oasis and Yellow noticed that wherever Red touched her she changed a strange orange color. And, she started to cry. “What's wrong, Yellow?” Red wanted to know. Yellow said, “Everyone I get close to changes my color. Blue changed me green and you are changing me orange. I don't want to change. I'm Yellow.” Red thought a minute and then said, “Isn't it special though that the people you love change you in such a way that when you leave them you carry a piece of them wherever you go?” Yellow thought and said, “Yeah, you're are right.” Yellow went up to Alaska where everything was white. A little girl walked up to her and said, “Hi, I'm White, what's your name?” Yellow said, “Hi, I'm Rainbow, let's be friends.”

Raven looked out into the dusky dark at the assembled senior counselors, junior counselors, and campers alike. She smiled quietly and then said, “Jewels is up next but what you really want to know is, Whose on deck?”

The campers recited the last question with her and she beamed at all of them.

“That would be all the junior counselors,” she answered and moved down into the audience.

Jewels, or Ruby, climbed onto the stage with her guitar. She stood and looked out into the sea of faces in the dark, timidly. This was the moment she had been waiting for her entire three summers at camp. She had yet to stand up on stage at campfire and perform by herself, let alone one of her songs. This was also her final time to let Les know how she felt, she hoped against hope that he alone would truly hear her message.

“This is a poem by the poet, Rod McKuen, that I adapted into song. I hope you like it,” and she began strumming the chords that led to the lyrics. Nervously she began but soon lost herself in the power of the song, the words so vibrant to her.

“I wanted to write you some words you’d remember
words so alert they’d leap from the paper
and crawl up your shoulder and lie by your ears
and be there to comfort you down through the years.
But it was cloudy that day and I was lazy
and so I stayed in bed just thinking about it.

I wanted to write you and tell you that maybe
love songs from lovers are unnecessary.
We are what we feel and writing it down.
seems foolish sometimes without vocal sound.
But I spent the day drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes
and looking in the mirror practicing my smile.

I wanted to write you one last, long love song
that said what I feel one final time.
Not comparing your eyes and mouth to the stars
but telling you only how like yourself you are.
But by the time I thought of it, found a pen,
put the pen to ink, the ink to paper,
you were gone.

And so, this song has no words.”

She finished the song and the rest of her family of junior counselors joined her on-stage. The stood arm and arm and began singing A'Capella the song they had memorized these three years at camp, the closing campfire song with a simple truth of life that brought back memories of what Crowshaven had done for them in their awkward and sometimes needy teenage years.

Together they sang, “Peace I ask of thee, O'River, Peace, Peace, Peace. When I learn to live serenely, cares will cease. From the hills I gather courage, visions of the days to come. Strength to lead and faith to follow, all are given unto me. Peace I ask of thee, O'River, Peace, Peace, Peace. Abide with me, fast falls evening tide, the darkness deepens, Lord with me abide, when other helpers fail and comforts flee, help all the helpless, Lord, abide with me.”

It was over and the junior counselors helped guide the campers back to their cabin for their final night before boarding the bus back to the 'real world'. Jewels' senior counselor took her campers up to the cabin so Jewels hung back. She walked down to a cliff over-looking the flowing, singing river below, the one that was the boundary between the magical world of Crowshaven and the outside reality. She sat down on the still warm surface from the day's sun and in the dark listened to the sounds of camp, trying to capture their memory in her heart for all time. Trip, or Les, walked up behind her, she could feel him. He stood for a moment and she held her breath. Would he say anything, had he heard?

Trip hesitated for a moment, standing and listening himself. He thought about sitting beside her but then heard his campers calling to him. He slowly turned and walked away into the night.

Peace & Abide

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