Part One: Crystal Lake (The Ripples of Light)($6.99Value)

Description

On a quiet lakeside morning, sixteen-year-old Eli Harper stands at the end of an old wooden dock carrying a weight no one else can see. When he senses a shimmering Ripple — a warm, luminous fold in time — he witnesses the gentle consequences of a single choice. Nearby, fourteen-year-old Micah is determined to prove he isn’t the scared city kid everyone says he is. His father’s last words still echo: “Real men don’t wait for permission. They just go.” As the wind rises off the far shore, Eli must find the quiet courage to speak when it would be easier to stay silent. Stepping into the Ripple, Eli sees two possible futures for Micah — one darkened by regret, the other brightened by a single steady word. In that golden light, Eli discovers that sometimes the real courage isn’t pushing forward. It’s standing still long enough to listen to the water… and to what your own heart already knows.