Short+pieces


 * Daniel **

Soaring throughout the sky and dashing into clouds, this feathery creature was unstoppable. It flapped its wings with all its might, whizzing through the sky at great speeds. The falcon inhaled through its nose, breathing in the fresh Gorem air, lurking out its dinner. Confidently and valiantly it descended through the atmosphere, smelling scrumptious bread from the land below. As the falcon cleared the fog, an arrow slashed through its wing and it crashed to the ground. Severely injured yet still alive, the falcon waited for help.

The reflection of Abebech’s bloodshot eyes glistened in the murky water. She regained consciousness to the sound of sand swirling around. Her throat was dry and thirsty, only wishing for the silky smooth feeling of water. She wondered how her siblings, younger than her, could withstand the heat and intensity of the drought. Abebech continued her search for more liquid.

The dried out plain spread across the desert. She gazed down to see her legs, burned and scabbed due to the hot and sweaty weather. She was truly desperate to find water. For weeks Abebech’s family had lived in drought, only a few loaves of bread remained to feed them. They managed to quench ourselves only with muddy water, slowly killing them. Being the eldest child, Abebech needed to find water.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks as the ground plunged before her. Abebech backed up as the sand fell towards the bottom of the ravine. She managed to stutter back in shock and sat down for a while. *drip...drip...drip*

Confused, she listened harder as the noise got louder.

*drip...drip...drip*

Abebech looked down the ravine to see a faint pipe, mouldy and rusty, dripping a sort of fluid. Flooded with hope of once drinking fresh water again, she raced back to the village to spread the news.

“I’ve found water! I’ve found WATER!”

Running through the village, she screamed this message in every street and in every crevice. The children’s hopes were raised and they joined Abebech on her way through the town. As they approached the disheveled town square, she spotted the chief who fleeces the streets for taxes. He heard their cry and stomped over grumpily towards them.

“Nonsense! We’ve searched this desert for months without any results! Do not believe these… fools!”

People crowded around them as the kids looked up at Abebech and asked if what the chief had said was true. “I’m….. not sure at the moment, but surely if people aided me I could find out!” she said.

The villagers shook their heads in disagreement and called for their children and left. Abebech lay down on the broken steps and began to cry herself to sleep.

She awakened at the smell of burning wood and fresh mushroom. Abebech opened her eyes to see her… grandmother. Abebech found herself wearing fresh clothes, but they seemed to be in a cave. Her grandmother looked as if she was cooking a broth over a fire, that would explain the smell.

“What am I doing here?” she asked. Her grandmother looked towards Abebech and spoke in a soft tone.

“We’re about to climb down the ravine to the pipe,” she said. “I heard that you’d found water.”