The Drought

The Drought

Miles and his dog, Ruff, were walking on their way home from school. They lived in an old cottage near the lake in their small country town, Rustville, with their mom and dad. Rustville had around two-thousand inhabitants and was famous for its beautiful weather and beautiful pastures. Rustville was known for its kind populace and had many small shops and a town center which had a statue of its founder, Mandy Cunningham. Miles and his dog arrived home and saw their parents lying on a couch sitting next to each other. They greeted their parents gleefully and went upstairs to Miles’s room. 

Miles’s room was quite large with a big bed and a desk and a huge window that gazed outside into the backyard. Their backyard had a river flowing next to it and a swing. It was pure bucolic beauty. Miles’s room was painted white and black and was made of wood planks. His dog, Ruff, was his best friend. Miles reminisced about school lying in bed and remembered the good times he had with his friends. Miles was so happy about being back home yet he loved school, too. 

While lying in bed, Miles thought about Rustville and its dependence on farming for money and the crops that Rustville was famous for, such as cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, and corn. Rustville couldn’t afford a drought that year since it already was in a state of despair due to the lack of rain. Rustville needed rain very badly. Rustville’s economy was agricultural in nature and needed good amounts of rain each year for its crops to thrive. This year was different, however. 

Miles went downstairs to hear the radio and was shocked by what he had heard. The radio announcer said Rustville had officially entered a drought according to its meteorologists. The radio announcer said Rustville was in a dire need for rain and that rain might not come for several months, even up to a year. Miles looked at his parents with a face that said, “Uh oh.” Miles went back upstairs to his room and peered out his bedroom window and stared at the sky. He prayed that rain would fall one day and that the crops would flourish this year. 

*****

Several months had gone by since Miles had listened to the radio that day and still no rain had come. Miles and his parents were worried about the drought that was affecting their hometown. What would they do? Move out? They didn’t have enough money for that and were stuck in their small town. What they could do, however, was go to the city center and pray with the other townspeople.
So one day, Miles and his parents went to the town center and arrived there seeing all the other inhabitants. The townspeople came and greeted each other with a concerned look on their faces. They said to each other, “Have you heard about the drought? No rain fell for almost a year!” Then the mayor suddenly shouted, “It is time!” The townspeople formed a huge circle holding hands and chanted, “Rain, rain, come, come, for it is with us and none else.” They chanted that sentence over and over again until finally an hour had passed. Miles and his parents then came back to their home. 

It was about a week until their town flourished with water as rain finally came down. Their efforts had worked and Rustville was not rusty anymore. Their economy was finally back on track and they finally grew crops and harvested them with joy. One may wonder, though, how come their chants worked? It may never be figured out.