This is not the time to cry but the time to get creative and to rub minds together, it is not the time to be weary but the time to exercise strength and to put an end to the plague on this village. We have made sacrifices to the gods pleading for mercy, but yet another year has come with loss, agony and bitterness. We no longer have farm produce, making us work like elephants and eat like ants. We have all lost our loved ones, friends and families to the yearly flood that wipes out our village and all that we have built and cherished. Since the gods of the land have decided to turn their backs on us. It is time to find our own way by ourselves or else, we will eventually be wiped off completely from the surface of the earth, but this would never happen under my watch. So wipe your tears, stand by me, and let us all get to work for the future of Omide village.
Just after the flood
Wiping off their faces and standing in a more confident posture, the villagers started to clap in response to the king’s plans as he gently walked back to his seat. A circular was sent across the village to encourage everyone to start thinking of what could be done to stop the annual flood that has prevented the village from growth and expansion.
Omide is a small village seating between two mountains, a river also flows between those mountains passing beside the village. The river runs with high current whenever it rains, flooding the village and causing a lot of damage like farm product destruction and property loss, forcing so many villagers homeless. It had also caused the loss of many farm animals and most importantly, the lives of some villagers both young and old.
A rainy season had just passed, and as usual, it left the remaining villagers in grievances of all that had been lost. But instead of wallowing in pains, the king called for a meeting where he encouraged the villagers to start planning against the next rainy season.
A committee of five innovative and vibrant young men with high reputation were appointed to oversee the solution and rebuild affairs of the village. Days rolled into weeks, and weeks into months as the villagers brought various ideas that were examined. Some suggested that they look for another settlement, but that would only mean that they would leave their legacy and all that is left of the previous floods to walk kilometers away to somewhere they do not know, they might just lead themselves to harm's way.
Some other villagers suggested that they claim the mountain beside them and lay the village settlement on it. That also would mean that they would no longer practice agriculture because it can't be practiced on rocks, take hunting as their major source of feeding and also have to climb up and down the mountain whenever they need water.
Two months passed after the circular had been sent, with several general village meetings and no physical progress. The villagers only suggested solutions and involved running away from their problem and not solving it. Apeja, a brilliant and well respected fisherman, while canoeing around in search of fish noticed that some miles away, at the direction where the river flowed from, the river that channeled towards Omide village has a bigger course river that is divided into two by a mountain. After observing the flow from his canoe for a few minutes, he had a bright idea. What if this river could be controlled in such a way that it would majorly be channeled towards the other route, leaving only a little that would be enough for farming, and other necessities.
The bifurcation point
He rushed down to the village and presented what he had seen and his idea to the committee. It sounded like a great idea, so they appointed two constructors to follow him to the scene to observe and bring feedback, which they did.
By the next village meeting, the king informed the villagers of the progress so far and encouraged everybody to be a part of the project whenever the construction started, he also called out for wise men and women, experienced survivors and constructors in the village to start planning on refining Apeja (the fisherman)'s idea.
After several visits to the point of bifurcation, examination of the environment, and technical discussions and considerations, the final idea was to construct a dam that would help regulate the current that flows to the village's path. Not long after, a blueprint of the dam was prepared.
It was the biggest project in the history of Omide village, the villagers prepared to work, a camp was built at the site so that workers wouldn’t have to feel away from their homes. The men and strong women worked on the construction, children were sent on errands, while elders and pregnant women supported by making sure that feeding wasn't a problem. The villagers played music and danced every sundown to ease themselves from the stress of the day as the project continued.
The dam was built by gathering rocks and sack bags filled with clay soil, and was built to block the water from passing through, so that it's channeled to the other direction, leaving just a certain amount of water to retain the river level at all time. The project was completed in three months. The villagers were so excited, they went back to the village to start rebuilding for what they had lost.
Six months later, it was time to experience another rainy season, a time of the year that brings the greatest nightmare to the village. But this time, the story was different. The main river level increased but the distributary that led to the village maintained the normal current, making the land more strong and productive.
The dam
From that year onwards they had records of high crop production, fat and well fed farm animals, and not one of them ever got missing. The village began to flourish and experience a happily ever after as they no longer saw the one thing that could have cost them everything, THE FLOOD.
Happy Omide village
This is my entry for the Inkwell fiction prompt #248, titled “Necessity is the mother of invention.” I sincerely appreciate everyone that took their time to read up to this point. Stay blessed.
Note: All imagies are Mera AI generated
