Author's Note: Or I guess Disclaimer: All of the characters are mine, but the mountain names (Longs' Peak, Twin Sisters) along with the town names (Allenspark) are not. They exist, and maybe you've heard of them. (Crystal, I'm sure you have, I just couldn't think of any other mountain locations and the mountains around them, except for Steamboat or Glenwood Springs, but I can't remember the names of the mountains that are around them).

Chapter 1

Anna smiled and watched her friend as she hopped through the water by the stones on the riverbed. She'd always been tiny and had enough balance to get to the other side, but this time she stopped at the large boulder sitting by itself while the river rushed by. It reminded Anna of something her father had told her about God. He was the Rock, the Foundation that stood firm while the world was a gushing stream. The world never stopped, kept rushing by, and the only thing that could keep you safe from the current was the Rock. While the water surged and heaved as one, you could cling to the Rock, the only thing that wasn't sure to let you go. While the other smaller rocks were loose and tended to slip from their places when gripped, this Rock was the one that could not be moved.

If only Dawn would cling to that Rock instead of trying over and over again to stand atop it, to master it, only to fall off into the water.

The illusion faded, and Anna saw Dawn perched on top of the boulder, and she did not fall. No, the boulder was not God, and the river was not the world. Dawn smiled at Anna on the side of the river, dipping her toes into the icy cold water. She grinned back, but shook her head when her friend beckoned for her to join her.

Sliding back into her thoughts, she mused: I'd rather not trust the smaller rocks. If only it weren't so hard to hold onto the Boulder. That was another thing that Mr. Hanson had said; you can never manage to fit your two arms around the entire rock. If you don't trust God to help you, you're going to slide back into that stream of turmoil. Mr. Hanson had been a wonderful pastor and mentor, and she'd been lucky to get his stories every night before she went to bed. The other children had never admired her father as she had, and every day she strove to have a good relationship with her Lord, dreaming of telling people of God's love, just like her father had.

"You know, Anna," Dawn was saying, "We should have packed a picnic to eat up here."

"Nothing's quite as perfect without food, right?" laughed Anna, and to Dawn's surprise, pulled out a large paper sack filled with sandwiches, Pringles, sodas, and other junk foods. "I know, I know… I think of everything."

Anna had been woken the previous night by the sound of tapping on her window. Dawn had climbed one of the trees just outside her window, and when Anna opened the door found her friend's face dripping with not only rain, but tears. This wasn't the first time it had happened. The tree was well-climbed, but it was never Anna doing the climbing. As Anna had tucked her friend into bed, she hadn't missed the black eye or swollen lip.

She hadn't mentioned it the next morning when she woke up early despite the lack of sleep and made pancakes for Dawn; breakfast in bed. Neither did Mrs. Henderson, otherwise known as Mom, comment on the fact that Dawn was over without permission. She trusted her daughter to take care of things, but also knew not to ask by the look Anna gave her as they passed one another in the kitchen.

Dawn was mysterious… she loved being that way, even though everybody at school thought she was just plain weird. Luckily she'd graduated with no problems, and had only to face college. Anna couldn't help but wondering what plan she had for college. While Anna was taking a few classes come fall and staying at home since the college was only ten minutes away, she wasn't sure what Dawn had planned.

With her shiny, black, wavy hair pushed back slightly with a band of leather tied at the back of the neck and her elf-ears showing, Dawn definitely looked mysterious. She was going for the Lord of the Rings look, Anna knew. And she was perfect for it, Anna thought, with her silver-gray eyes and slightly pointed ears. And now, never failing to be dramatic, she stood facing the waterfall, her arms outstretched to the side and her head raised to the sky. It was a perfect picture, with the waterfall in the background and the mist from the water hitting the rocks thick and visible in the air. Suddenly, the sun came out from behind a cloud, and a small rainbow formed in the mist. Beautiful.

Dawn pulled her hair out of the leather band, tossed it onto the bank, and leapt toward dry land. Then she ran along the grass to the pool just beyond the waterfall, and dove in. Anna's smile faded as she raised her eyes to the rainbow again, tears in her eyes as she remembered the day that was never far from her mind.

It had just stopped raining, and the family came out of their cabin in the mountains. Her father called out, and Anna stepped into the mud to gaze up at the beautiful rainbow. Every color was there, and it stretched from Longs' Peak to Twin Sisters, right over the valley that their little town of Allenspark occupied. She was amazed, and even though she had been thirteen then, she'd never seen such a beautiful rainbow in her life. Mr. Hanson had put his arms around his children and wife and they prayed together, thanking God for the beauty of the mountains and the rainbow and the wonderful rain that was much needed for the dry land.

The phone rang, and Mrs. Hanson sloshed through the mud to the front door to answer it, the trance broken. Seconds later, she came back out with tears in her eyes. Anna's father knew something was wrong but inquired anyway why she was white as a sheet.

"My sister... she's had an accident. Her house—it caught fire, and she's in the hospital," at his wife's words, Mr. Hanson ushered Aaron and Anna into the car and they drove off.

It was hard to maneuver the car on the muddy dirty road, and it was certainly not meant for mountain driving. Their truck was in the repair shop, their only four-wheel-drive vehicle they owned, and they'd been forced to rent for a couple of days. The road was already hard to travel, and sliding was expected. But not the kind of sliding problems that the semi coming the other way had. Anna only remembered the blaring of the car's horn and her mother screeching as the semi slipped in the mud into their lane.

A day later, Anna had woken up to her brother holding her hand and an IV in her arm. She'd been on the left side of the car, and she and her father, the driver, had taken the brunt of the accident. Later she found out that she hadn't had it nearly as bad as her father, but had been near death herself. By simple deduction, if Mr. Hanson had had it worse than she, that could only mean…

Nearly every night after that Anna had dreams of muddy roads and semi-trucks in trouble. Since then, rainbows had always brought tears to her eyes. It was not only the sign of God's promise, but to her it was the last wonderful moment she'd had with her father—with her family as a whole.

Dawn calling her name brought her thoughts to the present. She knew about the rainbow, and now Anna realized that Dawn had come out of the water and had slipped her wet arm around her shoulders, a look of understanding on her face. Anna sighed and returned the hug, realizing that there were tears on her friend's cheeks as well.

AN: Again. Please review! Tell me what you think! I know, it was hastily written and probably has a few mistakes, and I know the beginning was boring, but tell me so! I not only don't mind negative reviews, I appreciate them! Tell me what's wrong with my story! Lol...