Thursday, December 16, 2010

Fetching Water from the Well

The only running water she knows is the trickle she gets when her daughter pours water from a glass for her to wash her utensils. There is one water pump in her village, but it is almost always dry. Her only reliable source of water is almost mile away.


Every morning, she walks a mile to the common well, and returns balancing pots of water on her head. Every evening, she repeats the journey.

But she doesn't complain, because her friends make the trips with her, and they have their special songs which they sing on the way and back.
_____
drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rayna - What a beautiful 'photo! That blue just shimmers! And what strength she has! I think what's most powerful about your Drabble is the way these women make an enjoyable ritual from something that one would think be so onerous and difficult. It's all in the way one faces life...

Natasha said...

Thank you, Margot.
When I met these women, I was amazed at their resilience. Things that would drive me crazy they just take in their stride, and find a way to get pleasure out of.

They sang their "Fetching water" song for us, and it was beautiful.

kjmckendry said...

Thanks for the touching post and photo. We take so much for granted and complain when things don't go our way, but these women make the best of their difficult lives.

Tina said...

Spectacular photo. Powerful post. Contentment comes from within and this is a great reminder of that.

LTM said...

that almost gives me an idea for a story... I love the thought of each person's life being so different that what we might think is a hardship is actually a social event for someone else. Good stuff, dear! :o) <3

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

And she uses that time to bond with her friends. What a great attitude!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

And we groan when the tap water doesn't get hot fast enough!

Unknown said...

I agree it's a great attitude! We Westerners do complain about a lot of things.
CD

Kittie Howard said...

What a touching photo and story. If every woman walked in her shoes daily for a month, many lives would have a different perspective.

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

What a beautiful reminder for me of how grateful I am for so many things that I take for granted in my daily life.

Southpaw said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Southpaw said...

These little pieces remind me to be thankful for the little things have like water at my fingertips.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Strong woman...in many ways!

Sueann said...

Yes! I too need to be thankful for all the little things in my life.
Hugs
SueAnn

Jen said...

Your posts are always so beautiful it seems a disservice to call them "drabbles".

Thanks for the comment yesterday!
I hope your family enjoys the soup. I'll be making some this weekend. I can't wait!

Happy weekend,
Jen

Patricia Stoltey said...

This is a lovely story, and a good reminder that not everyone in the world can walk over to a kitchen faucet to get clean water.

Natasha said...

@ kmckendry - it is as much for me, as it is for anyone else. We crib and crib and crib about silly things. But these women have found a way to make that fun.

@ Tina - Thank you, and absolutely. Not sure who said it, but it is true that "you are only as happy as you make up your mind to be."

@ Leigh - I would love to read that story, and you know it. And that is so true.

@ Alex - amazing, isn't it?

@ Diane - and about a million other things

@ Clarissa - not just Westeners. I complain too. It is about haves and have nots.

@ Kittie - forget for a month. If we had to live that life for a few days- live, not visit- we would do a lot more than we do to try and make a difference.

@ Jane - thank you, Jane. I do think I am the luckiest person in the world, because I have reminders everyday about how grateful I should be.

@ Holly - so true. We take so much for granted, and waste so much. While others don't have it at all.

@ Elizabeth - I am constantly amazed at the resilience of women.

@ SueAnn- we all should be.

@ Jen - I would love to see a day when drabbles are accepted as any other form of creative writing. It doesn't take much time to write or read, but conveys just as much as anything else.

@ Patricia - few villages in India have taps- even where water is available, it is from a pump.

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