Elena's mother Xena, grew up in a small town called kunea cited near the river umdo. The river umdo separates two towns munea and kunea, munea was known for fishery and the other town kunea was known for crop production. The two towns coexisted so well that they were always at peace with each other, creating a bridge that connected the two towns, they also carried out trade amongst themselves as they did more of trade by bater since they sold two different products.
"It was believed that the river umdo blesses the fish harvest of the munea town by giving them plenty of fishes whenever they came in contact with the river, on the other hand the river umdo blessed the crop harvest of the kunea town by giving them a bountiful harvest to fill their baskets whenever the river came in contact with their soil" Xena said,
"But mom, is this really true? Why did they think the river was responsible for their growth and bountiful harvest? " Elena asked.
Xena continued and stated "the people of both towns believed there was a river goddess in the river umdo, a supernatural deity, that had the power to give and take life, hence the two towns annually brought their best produce and offered them to the river goddess to keep their blessings coming"
" That's so barbaric of them!" Elena exclaimed
Xena, Elena's mother told young Elena stories of her past life and how she grew up in a world filled with "superstitions" so she would learn to appreciate her life.
Xena also told Elena that there was an outbreak of famine which eventually led to war.
Two towns that lived in peace and harmony started having serious problems because there was famine in both towns. The muneans could no longer obtain fish from the river and kuneans lost their crops. The kuneans blamed the muneans for the famine saying they harvested too much fish from the river and now the goddess is angry. On the other hand, the muneans also blamed the kuneans for taking too much water from the river for their crops and now the goddess was angry.
During the famine period, the two towns stopped all forms of trade, the famine was so bad that people from kunea started stealing from the people of munea and vice versa.
Due to this discomfort a war broke out among the two towns, lives and properties were destroyed, children were sacrificed to the river goddess in atonement for their sins, the bridge built in unity was burnt down in disunity this was narrated by Xena to Elena.
"It's sad how all these happened during your era mom. Why did you tell me this story though? " Elena asked.
" I want to make you see reasons why I always say you are very fortunate to be born in this era where superstitions and barbaric acts no longer have a strong hold in the lives of people thanks to civilization" Xena replied.
" Indeed, I am very fortunate to be born now, thank you Mom for sharing this with me, I will always be grateful for where I am now" Elena concluded and left.
Xena, Elena's mother broke down in tears as she couldn't help but think of how she would have lost her child in the war if she was born in the superstitious era. She had lost most of her family to the war so she was not a stranger to tragedy. She always thankful for her life and that of her daughter's.
TWO TOWNS
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