In the Time of Water: living in the desert
Published by Cynthia E. Bagley at Smashwords.com
Copyright © 2012 by Cynthia E. Bagley
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Dedication
To my husband Otto. You are my star, my hero
In the Time of Water
From afar it looked like a scarecrow covered in rags, until you noticed the bucket in its hand and the movement. As she got closer you saw the sweat beading her brow and the rag around her mouth and nose to keep out the dust and lethargic bugs. The five gallon bucket filled with water barely sloshed as she set it down carefully in the Death Valley sand.
The centuries had not been kind to the land. The plants that used to be scattered around the valley withered and died as the heat reached higher and higher temperatures. The animals dug deeper to find the cool under the heated packed dirt, but eventually they either died or left. And soon the people began calling it the second Sahara. Each year, each decade the sand grew until it covered the valley and then threatened the Mojave and other deserts. Water was always precious, but now it was gold.
It was Alice's job to carry the water. She tried to teach the adolescent girls how to carry the water without letting one drop spill on the ground. But girls loved to run, even in the heat. They bounced in their cloth covered tent dresses and mooned over boys. Every girl sloshed her bucket as she rapidly walked through the dunes. And every girl dripped water.
Alice never yelled at these girls. She remembered the coltish times of her adolescent. She would take the bucket and walk carefully back to the tents, not losing a drop except for evaporation. These five gallons were sometimes the most water they would see in a day. No one knew where Alice found it. And no one dared to follow her into the dunes except one.
No one remembered Gimpy's name. They called her Gimpy because she had one leg shorter than another. It had taken her years to learn how to walk and even then the Elders felt that her death would benefit their small community. Gimpy was more a disability than an asset. As she grew older, she found a stick to use as a cane. It was only when her mother promised to do Gimpy's work that the Elders quit grumbling about the girl. And Gimpy did as much as she could. Each day she watched Alice leave and return. Each day she grew intensely curious of where Alice found the water. So one day when her curiosity was at its highest, she followed Alice.
Gimpy could not follow Alice's rapid walk. She couldn't even spy on Alice by hiding because of her leg. But to her surprise, when Alice began her journey to the water, she never looked back. Soon Gimpy felt confident enough to walk along Alice's footprints. It was almost four hours when Alice stopped.
It was Alice's next action that shocked Gimpy to the core. Alice turned towards her and held out her hand. Gimpy shuffled up to Alice and Alice took her cane. Alice turned towards the only rock in the valley, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and banged on it three times. The rock slowly opened revealing a water hole. Then Alice filled the bucket, set it on the rock, and wiped off the precious drops. She picked up the bucket and turned towards their tent village. It would take more than four hours to carry that bucket of water back to the village.
Gimpy shuffled the next few hours behind Alice. She watched how Alice would set down the bucket and wipe her forehead, and then pick it up and start again. She noticed the white cloth stretched over the top bucket, so that the most of the water didn't evaporate in the dry heat. She noticed that Alice didn't drink one sip of that precious water.
With each step, Gimpy noticed that it became easier for Gimpy to walk. Sometimes Gimpy would offer to carry the bucket, and sometimes Alice would let her walk a few feet with the bucket, and then she would take it back more carefully than you would care for a baby.
Eventually they were in sight of the tents. The Elders were standing tall in the center of the village. Gimpy could feel their disapproval through the air and hit her in the face. Each step towards the Elders caused Gimpy's stomach to jump. She had disobeyed the elders. She knew her punishment was likely abandonment into the desert without water or food. Shi tried to ignore the Elders and how her body reacted to them. She had followed behind Alice with her head down.
Alice surveyed them. She set her bucket down in the center of the village. She looked at each one of the Elders. From disapproval to defiance, and finally to shame, the Elders walked out of the center with their heads down. The people watching the Elders and watching Alice knew that without Alice's water, they would die.
"She is my apprentice," Alice's voice boomed. "Her new name is Sara."
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About the Author
Cyn Bagley spent much of her formative years in moving with her family. She continued this obsession by joining the US Navy, and seeing the world: Japan, Panama, and Germany. She was diagnosed with Wegener's Granulomatosis, a Vasculitis disease, in 2003, giving her more time to write. She now lives in Northern Nevada and is an aunt to all the Chihuahuas in her area.
Discover other titles by Cyn Bagley at Smashwords.com:
Novels and Novellas
Conjure Man
Shira: Hero of Corsindor
The Wooden Seed: Conjure Man #1