Rain Giver

• Tristan Maumasi, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2010

There once lived a boy in the dry harsh outback. His name was not known but people referred to him as the Rain Giver. He was an orphan who was raised by his people. He was always considered different because of the white patches of skin all over his dark brown body. He was an outcast to those his age and the elders were fascinated by this boy's skin.

After several months of vicious drought, the rain giver's people were starting to grow weak due to lack of water. The elders were desperately trying to find a solution for the water shortage. All their usual waterholes were all dried up. They tried digging for water with no luck. Soon, the people started to look for someone to blame. And they found someone. They blamed the poor little boy with different skin calling him a 'spotted devil'.

A meeting was held among the elders as to what they should do with this 'spotted devil'. Some of the elders said they should burn him and his skin so that the curse would not longer linger around the clan. Many agreed, however it was decided by the eldest of them all, that they pack their things and leave in the middle of the night when the boy was still asleep. So the plan took action the very next night. Desperate to find water or rain, the clan packed up and took off ever so quietly leaving the little boy fast asleep.

When he awoke in the morning to find himself abandoned, the little boy began to weep. He wept for he knew he was the cause of the drought. The harsh sun began to burn as the day went by so he went looking for some shade. He came across a tree which was swaying side to side even though there was no breeze. The boy approached the tree with caution, but soon found there was nothing to be weary about. It was just a tree. He climbed on one of the big branches and soon fell asleep.

He woke up and found some berries places beside him. Hungry, he quickly ate them and just as he finished the last one, a snake darted down from the branch above. The boy began to panic and was fearing for his life when the snake open it's mouth to speak. "You have been abandoned by your people and have been blamed for the lack of rains have you not?" the snake asked the boy. The boy nodded. The snake then curled itself around the little boy.

A few days after fleeing from the 'spotted devil', the clan were facing serious issues when no water was found anywhere they went. The people were lying on the ground, waiting to become a part of the land when all of a sudden, a dark brown snake with white spots started gliding across the sky. The snake spoke unto them "I am a child of the land. You left me during times of need. I am not the spotted devil you once called me. I am your child. And I am here to bring you rain."

The snake quickly disappeared and the sky soon turned a pale grey. The rains began to fall and the people began to thank the rain giver. Every year, the clan return to that same spot to give thanks to the rain giver and to celebrate the arrival of the wet season.