Into the Abyss: The Price of Thirst And Power
A Short Story
Dear readers, this is quite a long post, I hope you enjoy reading the short story though! Please let me know what you think in the end. Thank you and enjoy!
The boy carried the bucket and went in the direction of the ladder leading to the upper deck.
His duty was to bring water from upstairs to his people living on the lower level. He hated the job, but all the others were just as troublesome, some even worse.
He climbed up slowly so as not to disturb the passengers above, and when he finally reached the top, he saw a teenager dressed in fancy clothing watching something on his phone.
The boy sighed, he had hoped that by coming early, the place would be empty. He figured he could never really escape the people up here, though.
The snobby teenager noticed the boy, his gaze making the boy uncomfortable.
Masking his unease, the boy continued tying the rope to his bucket, as always.
He looked over the edge, momentarily suspended by the beauty of the ocean below. He wished they could see this view from downstairs.
The passengers on the upper deck were indeed lucky, they had quick access to water and a magnificent view.
He soaked in the sight, before snapping back to reality and dropping the bucket in the ocean to get water.
As he pulled up the bucket, he felt piercing stares at his back.
Turning slightly, he saw that not just the teenager was out now, but a group of his friends and an old lady were as well; and they were all looking him up and down, with two whispering to each other.
He clenched his jaw and continued about his work.
Bringing water is his job, and unless he finds another way to get water, getting it from the upper deck will have to be it, whether the people there like it or not.
The passengers on the ship were told when they boarded it that the residents of the lower deck should get water through the upper one, and the passengers upstairs should welcome the ones from down.
The outer part of the upper deck didn’t belong to the people living on top, yet they always acted like it did.
They made it seem like they were doing the people on the lower level a favor and that the people downstairs were a burden.
The boy receives hate and disgusted stares every time he goes to bring water, this is why getting water has been always this boy’s most hated task of the day.
He filled both buckets of water and went downstairs, still feeling the teenager and his friend’s stares.
A few days later
The boy climbed up the upper deck again like usual to get water.
This time, however, he was met with a wooden barrier.
He pushed at the wooden barrier, just as he had before, but it remained firmly in place. He tried again. Then again, and again.
But there were no results.
He leaned his head on it and tried to calm his heavy breathing, then started to make his way back down; but not before he heard laughter and a scoff from above.
They were laughing. Laughing at him.
His cheeks heated up from embarrassment and he went down faster.
In his family’s room later that day, he sat staring at the table unable to forget that morning's incident. The scene kept playing in his head, how funny he must’ve been to the residents of the upper deck — to the teenagers and their friends.
He had no choice but to try again, despite his dread. So for the next few days, he tried going up, but he always came back with empty buckets.
The saved water was now scarce and his people were questioning why the tanks weren’t filled back yet.
The boy couldn’t face them and tell them about his failed attempts to get water. He didn’t want to inform them about the barrier.
He went up to try one more time, but again, it was useless.
The people started picking up on the boy's unease when they talked about the lack of water. So he didn’t need to tell them that he couldn’t get water because the people on the upper floor restricted the entrance, they all figured that was the case.
This, just like he feared, created tension between his people. Everyone was on the edge not just because of the lack of water but also because they were reminded of their inferior state.
When he was walking around the ship, one day, he noticed his father’s keys.
These keys were the ones his father always carried as their leader. These keys would give him access to almost everywhere on their floor.
The boy looked at them and an idea sparked.
Looking at the keys, he paused before taking them, heart pounding, unsure if this was truly the right choice.
His hesitation dissolved when he thought of the alternative choice and the state his people were in.
He took the keys with a newly found excitement and rushed away with a brilliant idea in mind.
He took the buckets and went to a closed storage room where he used the keys to enter and got to work.
After a while, the boy left the cabinet with four full buckets of water.
People were ecstatic at the sight and hurried to take the water from him, not stopping to think how he managed to provide it.
His father, however, looked at him questioningly; silently prompting him to explain how he was able to get it.
The father knew that the inhabitants of the upper floor wouldn’t have possibly allowed them to get water without a ‘‘meeting’’.
He would know because he was the one who handled these negotiations.
He was tired of them since they often resulted in his humiliation and fueled his sense of inferiority; so he feigned ignorance and pretended to think the boy got the water from upstairs — even though he knew the boy didn’t.
He didn’t want to investigate, he was glad they were able to get water without having to bow down to the people above.
Days and days passed by, and the boy and his people had enough water thanks to the boy’s new method.
Everyone was happy and in peace, they got their water and the boy didn’t have to be the victim of the higher floor’s glares of contempt and hate.
One day, the father noticed something strange about the ship.
He felt like something was off about the floor’s balance.
He didn’t think much of it, though, he dismissed it as a mere symptom of his old age.
Later that day, the father heard a commotion coming from upstairs; he wondered if it was finally time these people experienced an issue in life.
With a tired body, he went to rest.
His break didn’t take much before it was disturbed by the loud footsteps.
thud thud thud thud
The footsteps grew louder, angrier, and angrier by the second.
The father left his room in a hurry, unable to locate the source of the angry steps.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw his people surrounding a group of other passengers like they were an exclusive meat they were eager to eat.
“What’s wrong?!” The father shouted, causing his people to move to the side so he could see the cause of the commotion.
The father must admit it, the sight was strange. In the middle stood a large group of passengers from the upper deck, this was peculiar since they rarely visit.
Upon seeing him, a lady dressed in an elegant fur coat screamed, “YOU!”
The old man raised an eyebrow.
“WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE SHIP?!?!” She shouted in a panicked voice.
The father was taken aback, what was wrong with the ship?
“I… it’s…AAHHHHHHHH” the lady shrieked.
BAM!
Something broke, and then all chaos began.
TUCK!!!
The father fell to the side. His head hit the floor.
His vision became blurry. His head pounded.
Then he saw black.
When he regained consciousness, he heard screams everywhere. Men shouted. Mothers wailed, and children cried.
The cabinets had emptied their contents, all the belongings were scattered everywhere.
Water surged in.
The people from the upper deck alongside the father’s people were all trying to latch on to anything to save themselves.
The ship was sinking.
The ship was sinking and everyone was dying.
Everyone.
What happened? How can this happen to a sturdy ship like theirs?
The father ran opposite the sinking side, trying to reach his son who was latching onto the highest part of the ship.
“Son!”
As soon as the boy's attention was directed at the father, the father saw the guilt on his son’s face.
“What happened to the ship, how did you provide us with water?” The father asked solemnly, trying to hold onto the ship with all his might.
“I.. I’m sorry,” the boy replied.
The father sighed but knew nothing could be done now.
The ship was sinking, and they were dying. It was their reality.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. We would’ve died from thirst! They didn’t give us access to water! I didn’t have any choice! All I did was make a small hole…we were able to have unlimited access to water…I was being cautious…”
The boy's nervous confession was cut off when a body from the upper floor fell on him causing them both to fall in the ocean.
The boy looked to the side, the body belonged to the teenager he would see when he went up to get water.
So this was their ending now…
The boy closed his eyes and felt the splashes of more bodies falling into the ocean like bombs being dropped.
It didn’t take the ship an hour to completely sink, drowning everybody on it.
In the end, the passengers on the upper deck and the lower one met the same fate.
All because of the rich’s selfishness and arrogance and the poor’s foolishness.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
“The parable of those who respect the limits of Allah and those who violate them is that of people who board a ship after casting lots, some of them residing in its upper deck and others in its lower deck. When those in the lower deck want water, they pass by the upper deck and say: If we tear a hole in the bottom of the ship, we will not harm those above us. If those in the upper deck let them do what they want, they will all be destroyed together. If they restrain them, they will all be saved together.”
Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments!
