Rain From Nowhere

• Tabatha Schultz, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2014

Hard black soil, dying crops, disappearing hopes and dreams as a farmer walks the wasteland that once was a flourish with the greenest leafy crops of wheat, sorghum and cotton. This farmers been strong for as he could be, but when the rain and money all ran out what was to be hopeful for?
We haven’t heard the petals of cascading rain for months; the dry eroded cracks are evidence of this. The livestock trade has become expensive again, so this farmer is stuck with three hundred head of sheep that slowly are starving to death. The remains are everywhere. Skulls and fleece lie where a once healthy wheat crops grew.
With no money coming in, the poor farmer’s wife has had to pick up an extra job, just to buy food for the kids. With no tears to spare and nothing to save her home that she has created with the help of her loving husband, she moves back in with her mother. Taking the two kids she leaves her husband to keep his life’s work alive.
Living on the land is tough, lonely and tiresome; all the prayers in the world couldn't save this land, he needs rain, he hopes for rain. But these farmers have given up hope. And that’s when it hits him; a small beautiful, luscious rain drop falls off the brim of his Akubra, landing on his cracked, calloused hands that have seen many days of work. He looks up at the darkening sky, seeing the large rumbling clouds that are slowly rolling along the horizon bringing hope back to this arid land we call Australia. This is home.
He’s been waiting months for this moment and now that it’s here it seems so surreal, he can’t believe that this is really happening. Dry cracked earth turns to fertile, healthy, nutritious ready to plant, soil. The widest, brightest smile you could ever imagine has made its way across this farmers
face as he watches his life’s work begin to be reborn by this wonderful gift from the heavens.
There is now hope.