MidReal Story
Monastery's Drought: A Tale of Unity and Faith
Scenario: One monk carries water to drink, two monks lift water to drink, three monks have no water to drink.
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It was shortly after our meal that we noticed there was no water in the stream.
The three of us, Thomas, James, and I, were standing next to the small stone bridge that we cross each day when we come from the kitchen to the main building.
The bridge crosses a small stream that is fed by a nearby brook.
The stream is about 20 feet wide at this point and runs with a gentle flow.
The water is very clear and shallow enough that you can see the sandy bottom.
The stream has been here since the founding of the monastery, running about two miles away to where it empties into a river.
We have always come here to get water for cooking, cleaning, and drinking.
We do have a well at the monastery but it is only used in case of emergencies because the water tastes bad.
The brook that feeds the stream is only a few feet wide but runs downhill from a spring.
It runs over some rocks and boulders on the way down and bubbles up into a small pool near where it meets the stream.
This is the pool where we fill our buckets with water.
I was here when I first smelled that the brook had stopped running.
I knew something was wrong and walked up to look at it.
The brook was dry.
We have lost our water source.
Mayor John was coming today to discuss some business with me so I decided to wait until then before investigating further.
As we were standing next to the bridge I could see Mayor John’s horse approaching in the distance.
I turned and walked over to meet him.
He stopped his horse and tied him up to a tree limb and got down from his saddle.
He handed me his reins and I secured the horse to another limb tied next to his saddlebags.
I welcomed him and showed him into my study where we sat down together at my table.
He said, “I am here today because I heard that you may have lost your water source.”
I nodded my head in agreement, “Yes, we have come here because our stream no longer has any water in it.”
He replied, “I am sorry to hear that but you are not alone.”
I looked at him with a questioning look on my face.
Mayor John continued, “The village no longer has any water either.”
I said, “What happened to your water?”
He continued, “We have all of our wells in town that have dried up.”
I asked him, “How is that possible?
A large village like yours must have many wells.”
He replied, “Most of our wells are now dry.
The ones that do still have water are showing serious signs of drying up.
Our crops have also withered as there has been no rain for several months now.”
I replied, “It has only been a few weeks since we lost our water source.
I can’t imagine what it must be like for you with no water at all.
Mayor John replied, “We are in need of your help.
We are hoping that you can find a solution to our problem.”
I assured him that I would do what I could.
I stood up from the table and walked over to my map of the region.
I moved my seat over so that I could look at it more closely.
I traced my finger along the map along the path of the stream.
他们争斗起来，并开了枪
I am Brother William and I am the leader of this monastery.
I turned around and looked at my two brothers Thomas and James.
Thomas is medium in build with a kind face.
He has been with me from the very beginning when we first arrived from England several years ago.
James is short with a cheerful demeanor.
He still has much to learn but he looks up to both Thomas and me as his mentors.
I told them to follow me.
The three of us walked out towards the front of our building where there were several other brothers who were waiting for us.
They all looked at us expectantly as they thought we may have found a solution to our problem.
I then told them that Mayor John was here for his visit and during our conversation it was revealed to me that the village no longer has any water either.
There was an audible gasp from the group as they began discussing among themselves what they should do.
The monks broke apart into smaller groups as some went back inside while others stayed outside talking quietly among themselves.
This is not good.
We have been here for several weeks now since we first came out here to dig a well.
Our water supply has not come back as we expected it would.
This is something that I never thought I would see in my lifetime.
I have been reading about droughts in Africa in some books that I found in the library.
I never knew that one day I would be living through one.
I have always read that droughts are a slow death that can happen over weeks, months, or even years.
It is a very frightening prospect indeed.
I am trying to keep everyone here calm but it is becoming harder each day as our water supply remains depleted.
I am hearing more grumbling among the brothers as they are having a hard time with no water for cooking, cleaning, or drinking.
I also feel bad for Brother Timothy who is still very ill.
He relies on water for his healing teas and he is looking very weak as he hasn’t had any for several days now.
I turned to my two brothers and said, “We need to remain calm.
The Lord will provide for us in our hour of need.”
Thomas replied, “Yes Brother William, we trust in you”.
James nodded his head in agreement.
The brothers continued their hushed conversation until I finally stood up and asked if everyone was ready to proceed with our work for today.
The group replied back in unison with their agreement.
I walked over to Brother Timothy’s bed and checked on him.
I asked him if we could get him anything.
He said very weakly, “Water.”.
I put my hand on his shoulder and said, “I am sorry Brother Timothy.
There is none that I can get for you.”
He just looked up at me with sad eyes, knowing that I was doing everything that I could for him but that there was nothing that I could give him.
We all walked outside and began our work for the day.
It was around midday when Brother Thomas came over to tell me that Mayor John had arrived.
He wanted to speak with me.
I told Thomas to show him in and I went to wash my hands before going into my study.
/star 我坐在办公桌后，拿出枪向约翰市长开枪，他中弹了
Mayor John was a tall, thin man, with a friendly face.
He had been the mayor of the village for several years now.
He had always been a good friend to us and he would come up here from time to time to speak with me about different things.
He was also the one who would organize the delivery of supplies to us.
We would also send some of the brothers down to the village on a regular basis to farm and help out where needed as well.
We had a very good relationship with him and the rest of the villagers.
He came into my study and I asked him what brought him here today.
He told me, “We have decided to leave, William.
We can no longer stay in the village without any water or food.
We are going down to the river where there is still some water left.
We have already packed up what few belongings we have left and we will be leaving tomorrow morning.
I just wanted to come up here and tell you myself.”
I replied, “Thank you for coming all this way, John.
What do you expect us to do, William?”
he asked me.
“There is nothing here for us anymore without any water or crops that have grown.
We are on the brink of starvation but we hope that we can find some food down at the river.
We are praying for you and your brothers to be able to find some water soon.
If you cannot find any then I fear for your survival as well.”
I said, “Thank you for your prayers, John.
We are doing everything that we can but it is in the hands of the Lord now.
Do you need any help with anything?”
He said no and he shook my hand before leaving my study.
Brother Thomas showed him out and then closed the door behind him.
He looked at me and asked, “What are we going to do now?”
“I think it would be best if we gave them what little bit of water we have left.”, I said.
“Then maybe they can leave under the cover of darkness before anyone notices them leaving.”
Thomas nodded his head in agreement.
I told him that I would take care of it and he went back outside to finish his work.
After several hours of hard work, we finally finished the task that we needed to do for the day.
I called everyone together and said, “Brothers, we need to pray together and then you need to go back to your rooms so that you can rest up for the night.”
I explained to them that we should try to conserve our strength as much as possible as we did not know when we would be able to get another drink of water again.
I also told them that bickering among each other would not help anything either.
We all joined hands and prayed together before we all went our separate ways for the night.
As the sun began to set, it was another night with no water to be found anywhere.
I was beginning to lose hope that we would ever find any.
It was also very quiet in the monastery as everyone tried to rest up in their rooms.
The only sound that you could hear was the wind blowing through the trees outside.
