Suddenly, she felt a mighty thrust as some force pushed her forwards straight at the lake.       “Aaaahhhhh!!!”             Mary was astounded as she found herself standing on a very shiny bright red dried up lake.  The bright glow had now vanished and yet the ground beneath her feet was warm.  And then, once again, she heard the same voice, calling out to her.       “Mary…Mary…Mary!”  It was coming from straight ahead.  Mary guessed that it must have belonged to the same dark figure.   Once again, Mary stood her ground and recited the riddle once more.     “Beyond the dark trees…, which I am surrounded by,….and past the shining lake…”  She looked down at the ground and continued.  “Is where you will find me.”  A moment’s silence and then, Mary had finally figured it out.      “Of course!  I need to walk across this shining lake and meet…who?”  A sudden feeling of fear came over her.       “This is going to be the hardest part of all.”  Just then, Mary felt the same thrust behind her, compelling her to keep walking.  And so, that is exactly what she did.  The shining lake did not take her very long to cross.  It was still pitch black as she emerged out into the forest once more and then, once again, she heard the sound of running water.    “Oh I see.  The running water was coming from the other side of the lake.” “Esmara was right.”  As if in reply Esmara re-appeared and with him was none other than Professor Stonehead.  Mary was overwhelmed with joy and disbelief.     “Esmara!  Professor Stonehead!  Oh, I’m so glad to see you both!”  Professor Stonehead smiled.      “Mary Werming, you did well to take the red pouch and my book, ‘Revival’.  Please hand them to me for you no longer require them.”  Mary handed them over to the Professor who then opened the book, ‘Revival’ and flicked through to a certain page.     “Now listen to me very carefully, Mary.  This is the last and most important part of the riddle.  If you fail, then all our efforts will go astray.  Do you understand?”  Mary nodded.     “Good.  I’m going to chant some words from the book and as I do so, I want you to keep walking.  DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, STOP.  It must be continuous walking, without looking back, not even a glance, until you reach the source of the running water, which I cannot tell you.  You have to find out for yourself and it is there that you will find the ‘Me’ which is the last part of the riddle.  “All the best.”  And so, the moment, Prossor Stonehead began chanting words from ‘Revival’ and Esmara blew a kiss to her as Mary began to walk straight ahead, continuously.  As she walked on, the sound of the running water grew louder and louder until she could feel its droplets splashing on her body.  And then from out of nowhere, the tall dark figure appeared and stood before her.   Mary could just make out the outline for it was too dark to see but continued walking right upto it, almost in an ecstatic trance.     “Stop right there, Mary!”   It called out.                                     End of Chapter Fifteen…

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