THE DEAD LAND This is the story of a remote village by the side of a
river. The fish they caught was
the only livelihood of the people. But the
river had dried and there was no fish left. People started to call the place “The Dead Land”. Many villagers left the village and settled some place else. But some decided to stay on, among them was Sohrab’s family. He lived with his
father and younger sister in a hut made of mud and thatched with straw. They were living a miserable life. His father was a fisherman. Their only source of living was the fish that his father caught. But now that the river where his father would fish had dried up, they could hardly feed themselves.
It was 8:00 pm in the village. There was a dead silence everywhere, except for the dogs barking in the distance and the seemingly endless chorus of the crickets. Thin clouds now curtained the sky that was usually decorated brilliantly with stars. Sohrab’s family had not eaten anything for three days. His father was very worried and could not bear the sight of his children in such misery. He told Sohrab to wait for him and left. There was no other option for him but to sell his boat to the carpenter for some money. He could not just wait for water to bring fish and meanwhile watch his children die of hunger. He ventured into the dark outside and after a long walk finally arrived at the shop at quite a long distance from the village. He bought some food and left for home. It was a long way back.
At the hut, Sohrab was leaning against the entrance, waiting desperately for his father’s return. The beautiful night sky was of no interest to him as his mind was preoccupied with worry. He could see his sister’s poor condition. He had always been deprived of the joys of life and never wanted his sister to share the same fate. He could remember those days when they had fish to throw away back in the river. But things had changed now. Even the hope that his father would return with food was fading from his heart. He could no longer wait. He took the small fishing net, tied it to his waist and left the hut to bring some food for his sister.
He left for the river to search for a patch of water where he might find some fish. He kept looking for hours. But there were only sand dunes everywhere. After a long search he was too tired and could not carry on anymore. He kneeled down on the sand, crying desperately. He looked at the sky with eyes full of questions. He kept staring at the sky. Just then as if they could hear him, the clouds that shadowed the earth shifted and the land was lit by moonlight. Far in the distance he saw a reflection. He gathered himself and ran in that direction. He could not believe his eyes when he saw water. He untied the net from his waist and set the trap. He waited desperately for a catch. He sensed a movement. Then pulled back the net and searched it. There he saw a fish. There was no limit to his happiness. But his struggle had taken a lot of toll. He had become too weak and he knew he would not make it back. He looked at the fish and tears fell from his eyes. Those tears fell on the ground that had dried to death. He saw his tears vanish in the sand. Another tear fell on the ground. But this time it was not his. He looked at the sky that was now packed with thick clouds. Drops after drops of rain fell. Never in the history of that land had it rained so much.
The rain continued to fall for three days. It rained so much that the small patch of water turned into a huge lake. The lake became packed with fish. Happiness returned to the people. They would fish from the lake. The lake would never dry out because every year on the same day, it rained heavily for three continuous days. No one ever saw Sohrab after that day, but there in the middle of the lake was a small patch of land where a beautiful evergreen tree grew, on the same place where Sohrab’s tears had fallen on the dead land.