The hatch in the sand cat's belly had now opened completely. At first... nothing came out. A few murmurs of disappointment rippled through the crowd, the sound of hope beginning to fray.
Then, without warning, a massive wave of water thundered down from the sky, crashing into the empty oasis pit with a roar.
Noen braced himself, expecting the people to erupt into cheers of joy at the sight of so much water. But instead... dead silence.
It was only now that Noen noticed the people lining the very edge of the crater. They were all standing there with massive canisters, their knuckles white as they gripped the handles. As the spray settled, they all—as if on one command—kicked their canisters over in a fit of rage. They sank to their knees, some burying their faces in their hands, others beginning to weep openly.
Noen looked at Sami. The boy's expression was hauntingly neutral, his eyes vacant.
"Okay... what does that mean, exactly?" Noen ventured to ask.
Sami exhaled a long, heavy breath. "Nothing good, Noen."
Noen flicked his gaze upward for a split second, but the giant sand cat was gone. It hadn't flown away; it had simply vanished. Noen blinked twice, wondering if the heat was finally making him hallucinate.
"What does it mean then?" Noen pressed.
"This oasis here—or rather, the water that comes into it—can only be given to children," Sami explained. "The people standing around the edge with the canisters... they were waiting to catch the water that overflows or splashes out. But unfortunately..."
Sami looked at the shimmering pool in the crater.
"It filled the oasis perfectly to the brim again. But not a drop more."
Noen stood there, completely stunned. "So adults... they just get no water at all?"
"Yes," Sami said simply. "My father... he will probably... die now."
Then, Sami began to laugh. "But what are we supposed to do, right? He's already 33 anyway; he's had a long life."
Despite the laughter, Noen saw the raw, crushing grief hidden behind the boy's eyes. Without thinking, Noen reached out and pulled Sami into an embrace. "Is everything okay?"
Sami kept smiling, but a single tear escaped and rolled down his dusty cheek. "Don't worry." He quickly wiped the tear away with the back of his hand. "We're prepared for this since we're little. It's not like it'll be any different for me when I grow up; I'll probably go even sooner than my father did."
Noen tightened the hug for a moment, his heart heavy. Such a young kid talking about its death is something he has never seen before. Noen let go and turned his gaze back toward the shimmering pool of water in the deep crater.
"What happens," Noen asked, his voice low and serious, "if the adults take some water anyway?"
Sami: "They... disappear. From one night to the next."
Noen lowered his head, the weight of the boy's words sinking in. "And secretly? What if they take some in secret?"
"There is no 'secretly,'" Sami interrupted him instantly. "Those up there see everything."
Sami pointed toward several women who were descending toward the oasis, beginning to fill clay jugs with the water. "The water is being transported now. It will be brought to every family with atleast one kid in the city."
Noen stood there, speechless. The vast majority of the crowd had already turned around, beginning their silent, somber trek back home. The brief moment of hope had evaporated, replaced by the same hollow exhaustion he had seen before.
"Come on, let's go back, Noen," Sami said, tugging at his arm.
Noen remained still for a moment longer, staring at the "perfectly" filled oasis that was a death sentence for half the population. He let out a long, frustrated breath before finally turning to follow Sami back toward the city walls.
The walk back into the city was quiet. Not one soul dared to speak. The heat felt more oppressive now, as the promise of relief had literally vanished before their eyes—at least for those who needed it most.
"Where are we going now?" Noen asked softly, his throat burning with every word.
"Home," Sami said without turning around. "My father is waiting. He'll have heard the bells, and he's going to ask me if today... if it was a good splash." The boy paused for a moment, kicking a loose stone. "I'll have to tell him it was a perfect splash. Perfect to the brim." Sami and Noen walked a few meters before halting infront of an small, worn down house.
Sami pushed the door open. Inside the dark, cool room, Noen saw the silhouette of a man lying on a cot. He was gaunt, his skin looking like parchment, but when he saw the boy, he tried to smile.
"Sami?" the man croaked, barely getting any sound out of his dry mouth. "Your back already? The Splash... was it good? His gaze drifted to Noen. "And who is your friend?"
"This is Noen, Father. He's new. And... the water hit the mark... exactly."
A heavy silence settled over the room. The father closed his eyes for a moment and nodded slowly. "I see. Sit down, Noen. In this house, we share the little we have—except for the water. That belongs to my boy. And... maybe you? How old are you..Noen?" Noen kneels down. "Im 16. But i don need no water, thank you very much for your Hospitality. Samis Father waved it off with a slow motion. "He has more water than he would ever need. Just look at the room back there."
Noen followed the arm of him and saw a whole room full of jugs with water inside.
Noen clenches his fists. He stands up, his shadow stretching across the cramped, dusty room.
"Sami," Noen says, his voice low and trembling with a mix of anger and resolve. "You're saying the ones up there control the water, and they decide exactly how much goes into the oasis, right?"
Sami nods slowly, his eyes wide with a sudden, flickering fear.
"Then..." Noen says, looking toward the door that leads back out into the suffocating heat of the city. "Then...i'm going to go have a serious word... with them."