Discovering a Composed Flood in My Aunt’s Basement
There’s something weird going on in the basement. I am down here to get a jar of jam for my aunt’s famous kolaches.
Littering the small floor are liters and upon liters of water.
Where did it come from?
What is it for?
Is she worried about her well?
Is she trying to help the neighbors?
Is my aunt a doomsday prepper?
What does she know I don’t?
My aunt is a conservationist. She composts, collects rainwater for her garden, and works diligently to reduce, reuse, and recycle to make minimal waste. She’s my ecological hero!
I admire her, always have, — but to be honest, now I am a little worried about her. This amount of water could quench the thirst of a small herd of elephants. It is a bit cloudy — but this seems a little too small for “taking a sample.” And, a sample of what anyway?
“Janine? Did you find it?”
I have totally forgotten about the jam amidst the contained deluge inside her basement.
As I turn to call up to her, I heard the faint sound of running water.
© A A McRae 2023
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