The River and Me

A World by Us

The next morning, Dad drops Evette off at Riverfront Community Center, where she finds Makena talking with visitors by the food pantry. They head down the hall together, and in the lobby, Maritza waves and calls out “¡Hola, amigas!” She notices a monarch butterfly on Makena’s hoodie and lights up. Evette mentions that monarchs are actually endangered, and the others agree nature needs better care.

Makena reminds them the cleanup already got things started, but Evette wants to do more. Maritza pushes back gently: they don’t have to wait until they’re adults to fix things. Why not start building the world they want to live in right now?

They settle at a craft table to sketch out what that world looks like. Maritza describes a place where the color of your skin doesn’t matter, where a real community holds many backgrounds together. Makena adds a place where there’s liberty, equality, and justice for all. Evette says there should be no racism and no pollution. Makena sums up what they’re against, but what are they fighting for? Maritza answers la comunidad, the community.

Evette says the next step is sharing their ideas online. Maritza asks if Makena knows how to start a website, and Makena’s eyes light up, sure their ideas will go viral if enough kids join in. What should they call it?

Evette declares “A world—by us.” A world made for kids, by kids.

That night, homework can’t hold Evette’s attention. If she wants to tackle something as big as racism, she has to start with the divide inside her own family. Gran E and Grandma Peeters would never come together on their own. But they’re her family, so she has to try again. With Bud away at softball practice tomorrow, she’ll have Gran E to herself after school. She texts Gran E about revisiting the swimming hole, then calls Grandma Peeters to set the plan in motion.