No Water

By Soma Bose

The drought of summer forced many villagers to leave their homes.

Only Leena and her family stayed.

During monsoon season, the trenches dug in front of people’s homes had overflowed with rainwater. Leena used to reserve it for the host of sparrows that roosted nearby.

Now, the village was a swell of dust and barren earth. And beside the waterless well, Leena pushed seeds inside the cracked soil, in the hope that some would grow.

When rain did come, most of the seedpods were empty, but the girl found life once more.

From a handful of dried-out kernels, newborn plants grew.