Boy
Boy
I'm not going to fret. i'll sit here. There is plenty of water and certainly plenty of sun.
The boy dips a black pot into the mucky, diseased water and sets the pot down beside another smaller pot.
He looks up with a sigh. People are drearing about. Scavaging for something that might prolong or settle some of the agony caused by stomachs digesting themselves.
Disatisfied with what he sees he looks back to his pots. He places the smaller pot inside the larger pot. Some water displaces but it does not run over. He reaches into his tattered pocket and pulls out a large crumpled translucent scrap of plastic. He pulls and tugs it flat and wraps it around the two pots pinning the plastic in place by the weight of the pots. He gazes up at the blazing sun and squints.
This will work. This is how it works.
He places the pots on a hot spot. On a spot where the sun freely blasts on the baron ground. He searches the plastic for awhile, gazing over it... occassionally scanning it as if waiting for some miraculous spectacle. Miraculous spectacle sure enough! He smiles as the plastic begins to sag in toward the center pot. He sees a bead of water roll down to the sag and under its own weight, falls into the center pot with a "ding."
Some time later, after the pot has filled he removes the plastic and lifts the center pot to his lips. The water is fresh. A scavenger looks at the boy is if the boy were mad. Any surviving scavengers know the water around these spots are poison. The scavenger shrugs a shrug of remorse for the boy and continues away with scavaging.
The boy lifts the pot to his side. Then he grabs the plastic and shoves it back in his pocket. He walks, balancing the water in the pot. He is heading toward an allyway. In the allyway is a small house like shed, unpainted and rough. He pulls the door open with his foot and carefully makes his way up to the second floor. The wooden stairs creek. He is extra careful with the water. He opens the door to the second floor with his foot as he had with the bottom floor. Inside this room it is dark. The extreme light of the outside only finds its way in through small cracks in the walls. As his eyes adjust he is satisfied to find all exactly as he had left it. Pots like the one he is holding are all over this room. The air is moist here and we can see that it is because of these pots. Earch is placed under the spots where the sun shines in. He walks toward the back wall. With his free hand he reaches toward a trough like bin. He digs his hands into dirt and lets it fall between his fingers. Then he reaches into his shirt pocket and places something small from his pocket into the dirt. Is it a garden? There is nothing green here but it is like a garden. He slowly sprinkles the contents of the pot over the dirt. His eyes now fully adjusted to the dark he turns to see his room. Lining the walls are rows of troughs with the greens of vines growing over the sides. We see glimmers of red and yellow hidden within all the green. He walks towards a red and plucks what we discover to be a tomato. He bites into it and it runs down the side of his mouth. However, only a little. He is careful.
This is for now.
I'm not going to fret. i'll sit here. There is plenty of water and certainly plenty of sun.
The boy dips a black pot into the mucky, diseased water and sets the pot down beside another smaller pot.
He looks up with a sigh. People are drearing about. Scavaging for something that might prolong or settle some of the agony caused by stomachs digesting themselves.
Disatisfied with what he sees he looks back to his pots. He places the smaller pot inside the larger pot. Some water displaces but it does not run over. He reaches into his tattered pocket and pulls out a large crumpled translucent scrap of plastic. He pulls and tugs it flat and wraps it around the two pots pinning the plastic in place by the weight of the pots. He gazes up at the blazing sun and squints.
This will work. This is how it works.
He places the pots on a hot spot. On a spot where the sun freely blasts on the baron ground. He searches the plastic for awhile, gazing over it... occassionally scanning it as if waiting for some miraculous spectacle. Miraculous spectacle sure enough! He smiles as the plastic begins to sag in toward the center pot. He sees a bead of water roll down to the sag and under its own weight, falls into the center pot with a "ding."
Some time later, after the pot has filled he removes the plastic and lifts the center pot to his lips. The water is fresh. A scavenger looks at the boy is if the boy were mad. Any surviving scavengers know the water around these spots are poison. The scavenger shrugs a shrug of remorse for the boy and continues away with scavaging.
The boy lifts the pot to his side. Then he grabs the plastic and shoves it back in his pocket. He walks, balancing the water in the pot. He is heading toward an allyway. In the allyway is a small house like shed, unpainted and rough. He pulls the door open with his foot and carefully makes his way up to the second floor. The wooden stairs creek. He is extra careful with the water. He opens the door to the second floor with his foot as he had with the bottom floor. Inside this room it is dark. The extreme light of the outside only finds its way in through small cracks in the walls. As his eyes adjust he is satisfied to find all exactly as he had left it. Pots like the one he is holding are all over this room. The air is moist here and we can see that it is because of these pots. Earch is placed under the spots where the sun shines in. He walks toward the back wall. With his free hand he reaches toward a trough like bin. He digs his hands into dirt and lets it fall between his fingers. Then he reaches into his shirt pocket and places something small from his pocket into the dirt. Is it a garden? There is nothing green here but it is like a garden. He slowly sprinkles the contents of the pot over the dirt. His eyes now fully adjusted to the dark he turns to see his room. Lining the walls are rows of troughs with the greens of vines growing over the sides. We see glimmers of red and yellow hidden within all the green. He walks towards a red and plucks what we discover to be a tomato. He bites into it and it runs down the side of his mouth. However, only a little. He is careful.
This is for now.