We Drank The Water - A Short Story as Editorial Fiction

It affects children, parents, and grandparents. Yes, my story is set in Sudan, but the need for clean water extends beyond one country. This is a global issue and a human issue. Will we help each other have access to clean water? Or will we turn our backs and say it's not important what happens to others? Will we permit ourselves to become socially aware?

We Drank The Water

[Note: Ara is an Arabic name meaning "brings rain"; Sa'ad is an Arabic name meaning "good fortune"; a Boabab tree is a large fruit tree]

Through the hot air, the sun burning down on our shoulders we walked on. We walked on through the blinding day, while we ignored our parched throats. Step after step, hour after hour, we walked until the blazing sun went down and the earth was cast in shadow and the cool night air hovered above our skin. We collapsed under a wide leafless Baobab tree.

After a while I asked, “Sa'ad, is there any water left?”
“No, Ara. What did I tell you this morning? We have to save the rest of the water for tomorrow when we will actually need it.”
“I actually need it NOW,” I replied.
“No. Have some bread instead,” suggested Sa'ad.
I sighed, and looked at the dry, hard bread that I had eaten for days. I decided it was pointless to argue any longer so I lay down and tried to get some sleep. As I tried to clear my mind, pictures of the day when Sa'ad and I had left rushed in. The day Mama had come home and taken Sa'ad and I aside and told us, told us that she was sending us to her brother, who lived in Ethiopia, and had a big well on his plantation. When we asked why, she sighed and told us that she had just gotten word that there would be another drought this year. Another one. So here we were on the border of Ethiopia. I closed my eyes as sleep took over.

The next day we stumbled upon a town that was in ruins. We wandered through it looking for any food. We found none. When we came to the last straw thatched roof I peered out into the empty plains.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“Is what what you think what is?” Sa'ad replied
“That, over there. It looks like a lake!”
“Are you sure it is not only a mirage?” he asked, doubtful.
“Well there is only one way to find out.” I started toward a shimmering circle. I heard him following me.
“I think I see it too,” he said from behind me
“Come on!” I shouted, quickening my pace. As we neared the lake, if it could be called that, I noticed that the water was murky and still, still as the branches of a tall, palm tree on a blistering hot day. I reached the water and waded in. The cool water enveloped me like smog settles on a city. Sa'ad reached the shore and peered in.
“Come on Sa'ad, it is so refreshing!” I called to him.
“Are you sure its safe?” he asked.
“Quit worrying!! It is perfectly fine!” I closed my eyes and forgot about anything else. A few moments later Sa'ad interrupted the silence.
“Ara. We should fill our water skins. And we should probably get going. We only have 2 more days until we reach uncle's house,” Sa'ad said, starting to rise.
“Can’t we stay here a little longer?” I begged.
“No. We better get going.”
“Fine.” As I rose out of the water I cupped my hand and bought a mouthful of water to my mouth. I drank the murky liquid and felt deeply refreshed.

That night, after a few hours walk in the blistering sun, we both decided to take shelter under a tall cliff. Sa'ad had been successful with his sling today and had brought down a dessert pigeon. I gathered firewood and started a low fire on which to roast the bird. After the bird had finished roasting Sa'ad and I ate and talked about the ‘wonderful’ school only 3 miles from our uncle's house.
“Sa'ad, do you really think the school is everything they say it is?”
“I really don’t know. Maybe, maybe not. I am hoping though. We’ll find out soon enough.”
“Yeah. Remember our old school. The roof was falling down before the fire came.”
“Yeah I remember.”
“Mama said there would be a hospital.”
“Yeah, that will be nice, I guess.” In the distance I heard a faint howl.
“Did you hear that?” I asked moving closer to the fire.
“Hear what?” Sa'ad said, beginning to put out the fire.
“Uh, hear that sound,” I said.
“Probably just your imagination. I am going to bed now,” Sa'ad said as he finished putting out the fire. He lay down. I heard another howl but this time it was closer.
“Did you hear that?” I asked.
“Go to sleep.”
I lay down beside him but I heard another howl, louder and more distinct. Sa'ad sat up.
“What was that?”
“What I’ve been hearing for the past 5 minutes. What is it?” Sa'ad stood up and gathered our things.
“Hurry! We’ve got to get on top of this cliff. Follow me.”
He handed me two water skins and started to climb to the top of the ridge that we had been sleeping under. We scrambled up it as the howls multiplied and become much louder. Sa'ad reached the top first and looked back for me. Black shapes appeared at our campsite and tore through the put out fire and what was left of the dessert pigeon.
“Hurry,” Sa'ad said as the black shapes came closer to where I was struggling. He grabbed my hand and started to pull me over the top. All of a sudden I felt a vicious tug at my sandal and a howl.
“Sa'ad! Help!” Sa'ad pulled with all of his might and my sandal slipped off and I was on top of the cliff.
“You okay?” Sa'ad asked, checking me over.
“Yeah, I am okay” I said brushing the dust and twigs off of me. “What are they?”
“Jackals,” he replied. “We are going to have to spend the night up here.” He spread out the mats.
“You go ahead and sleep. I’ll stay up and make sure they don’t find a way up here.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yeah. Go to sleep.”
I lay down and fell asleep with the howls and the dessert wind in my ear.

The next morning I awoke with a pain in my stomach. I opened my eyes to the painful glare of the sun. Usually we woke well before the sun rose to get a head start. I sat up to look for Sa'ad. He lay on his mat tossing and turning. I crawled over to him.
“Sa'ad? Are you alright?” I laid a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes.
“I am fine. My stomach just hurts a little. We better get going.” As he sat up I saw him flinch as he put a hand to his stomach.
“Are you sure you're okay?” I asked, concerned.
“Yes! I am fine.” He grabbed his water skin and pack and started down the cliff. I grabbed my stuff and followed him down the cliff. As I went the pain in my stomach increased.

Half way through the day my stomach pain moved. My throat started hurting and I was having a hard time breathing. I looked ahead and saw Sa'ad was weaving back and forth. As I watched he collapsed on the ground. I ran up to him and shook him by the shoulder.
“Sa'ad! Are you okay?” I looked worriedly down at him. He opened his eyes.
“Yeah, I am fine. Just was really hot then I couldn’t breathe and then... We should get going.” As he started to get up he leaned back and nearly tipped over. I caught him by the arm. And stopped. He was covered in sweat.
“Here, lean on me,” I told him.
“No, no. I am fine.” He started to tip again.
“Sa'ad. You are sick. This might be the only way to get you to uncle's house.” I draped his arm over my shoulders and started walking. Without protest he leaned on me and we started on our way. After about an hour I asked, “Sa'ad, how much longer to uncle's house?”
He looked at me. “I’d say about 2 more hours, if we keep walking without taking a rest.”
I kept silent, not knowing if we would make it by sundown. We walked on, with Sa'ad’s heavy weight on my shoulders and the sun smouldering heat onto our heads. The sun started to go down and was now behind us making our shadows as big as buildings looming ahead of us. Step after step, breath after breath. I looked up and in the distance I saw shadows, or what I thought were shadows.
“Sa'ad, is that what I think it is?” I pointed as he looked.
“Think so.” He slouched back down.
I quickened my pace and the buildings came closer and closer. When we passed the first person we saw I asked where Afuruk Wek, my uncle, lived. An old lady told us to walk to the other side of town and look for a big white house. When we arrived at what I thought was the big white house I helped Sa'ad past the white picket fence and up the painted steps up to the big wooden door. I knocked on the door with the knocker and a few seconds later the door opened and a weathered face peered out.
“Ara, Sa'ad? Is that you?” All of a sudden I felt a wave of dizziness come over me and quickly replied, “Yes. I think we need a doctor.” I thrust Sa'ad against the door is I fell toward the churning floor. Darkness closed around me and the last thing I sensed was uncle pulling Sa'ad inside the house.

The first thing I awoke to was the pain in my stomach and the soreness in my throat. I opened my eyes to a white ceiling and pleasant air. Sunlight filtered in through white curtains. I waited there, staring at the white cracked ceiling for over an hour, or so it seemed, when the door opened and a man in a white over coat came into the room. He came over to my bed and put a hand on my head.
“Fever's down,” he said. I sat up as Uncle came through the already opened door.
“Where’s Sa'ad?” I asked.
“He is in another room,” said Uncle.
The man in the white coat said, “He is a very sick boy.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He has the same thing you have but a much more severe case.”
“And what’s that?”
“Diphtheria.”
I leaned back and closed my eyes. Diphtheria. Many people in my village had died of that.
“You should get some more sleep. It will do you good.”
I closed my eyes and slept.

I woke up as a woman in a white coat came in the room.
“What day is it today?” I asked.
“Um, Friday.”
I gasped. “Are you sure?” We had arrived at Uncle's house on Tuesday.
“Yes, I am sure, Honey. Do you need anything?”
“Um, yeah, can I have some water?”
The woman left the room and brought back a pitcher of water and a cup.
“How’s Sa'ad?” I asked, feeling guilty that this question was an afterthought.
“I'm sorry, but he’s doing much worse.”
“Isn't he okay?” I asked sitting up.
“No. Unfortunately. You can go and see him in a couple days, if you’re feeling better. Speaking of that, how do you feel?” I examined my nerves and found that I felt much better than before.
“I feel great.” I told her, truthfully.
“Well, maybe you can get up after the doctor has checked you out. Get some more sleep now.”
She left the room. I closed my eyes but didn’t feel like sleeping, so I picked up a book and read.

The next day I was finishing up my book as the doctor came in.
“I am going to check you out and see if you are okay to get up.” He came around next me and had me stick out my tongue and checked my stomach and a bunch of other things.
“You’re doing much better,” he said, putting away all of his instruments. “You can go out as soon as you want.”
“Can I go and see Sa'ad?” I asked.
“Sure. I’ll send in a nurse to bring in your clothes and show you around the hospital.” The nurse came in and handed me some new clothes. I got dressed and stood up, for the first time in a quite a few days. I felt dizzy for a few seconds but it passed and I walked out of the room. The nurse was waiting for me and I followed her to Sa'ad’s room. We halted before a door and the nurse turned to me.
“He looks very altered. Do not get him excited and we can only stay for a few minutes.”
I nodded and she opened the door. I stepped in to the darkened room and looked about. There was a faded bed in the center of the room with a lump in the center of the bed. I walked over to the bed and saw Sa'ad looking back at me. His eyes had sunk into his head and the skin was pulled taught.
“Sa'ad?”
“Ara? What are you doing here?” He asked struggling to speak.
“I came to see how you are doing. How are you doing?”
“I am fine.” I looked at the nurse and she shook her head.
“Has uncle come to see you?” I asked.
“Yeah, he came in this morning with my breakfast.”
“That’s great.” The nurse cleared her throat.
“We should get going now. Let Sa'ad get his rest.”
I smiled and said, “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Meanwhile you just focus on getting well.”

The next day I came into see Sa'ad and he looked worse. His skin was pale and his skinny arms were on the bed, unmoving. I sat by his bed and just looked at him.
“You know what got me so sick?” he asked, all of a sudden.
“No,” I replied, startled by his furious tone.
“That water.”
“What water?”
“The water we had the day we ran into the jackals.”
“Oh,” I said.
“I feel so stupid. Mama told us thousands of times not to drink still unmoving water. And we did and this happened.”
“It's no one's fault, Sa'ad. It just happened.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said, falling silent. “So what have you been doing while I am in here?”
“Just walking around,” I said. We were silent for a few minutes and then Sa'ad broke the silence.
“You know I am going to die,” He said quietly.
“No. You're not! You're going to get well and go to school and become a doctor.” I said, my voice catching.
“We both know that isn’t true. I am really sick.” The nurse tapped my shoulder and beckoned to the door.
“I gotta go Sa'ad. You're going to get well.” I turned to leave, but he caught my hand. “If I die before Mama comes, tell her that I love her and that I know she did what she thought best.”
“You can tell her yourself,” I said and turned to leave.
“I love you, Ara.” His voice gently carried to my ear and I ran to him.
“I love you too.” I kissed him gently and turned to leave.

A week later Sa'ad died. The men buried him in the shade of wide baobab tree and then came home to tell us he had found rest. I visited his grave every day and vowed twice a day to find a way to prevent diseases from being transmitted through unclean water. I never forgot our trek through Sudan. I never forgot Sa'ad. And I never forgot how dirty water had killed my only brother.