SDO

(originally written 2004-2005)

Chapter 3
Dreams

The rest of the day went as usual and the evening just as well. I left the dock when the sun went behind the buildings and I could no longer paint with any natural light. My back was sore from sitting on the stool for eight hours after lunch, and I found myself wanting Nandin with me to carry my bags. I was fine without him, though. The short walk was one I made every day that it wasn’t raining. Oh how I wished for some rain right now, some excuse to not go out tomorrow. If I ever ran into Nandin again I would say, “Oh, I wasn’t at the dock because it was raining that day.” It would be something he could verify and understand and not in the least bit suspect that I was avoiding him. Oh, for some rain tomorrow.
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(originally written late 2004)

Chapter 2
Patience

The rest of the evening was uneventful. I was thankful for this, though to whom I do not know. Did I believe that the river was a god to worship? It seemed so primitive after all my education abroad to think that a river, a body of water, was sentient. Contractors rarely spoke to the river anymore. Some said this was because the distance of the new buildings from the water was so great that the river didn’t care. Optimists. It was clear that the land close to the river need better foundations and all new construction was done after the raining season, after the floodwaters cleared. The river wasn’t any sort of God, people just didn’t understand things.
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(Originally written in late 2004)

 Chapter 1
The Chase

The river was beautiful. It was as clear as filtered and processed water, but it was natural. The sky reflected perfectly making it the brightest blue. Not even the riverbed could dirty the water. The water flowed smoothly in some places, and had small rapids in others. Rafting the river was a common pastime.

It was the belief of the townspeople that they were the chosen ones because we were blessed with this perfect river. This city was the only one on the river. It was odd, so very odd. Others tried to start ports along the riverbanks, but the river would switch it’s course slightly to engulf their wharves, or it would rain and the runoff would flood the river and the town. The river seemed to refuse another city to be built on it.
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