Ángela couldn’t remember the last time she had running water in her house. Between adventures and overpriced water tankers, this Holguin resident, like everyone else in her neighborhood, survived. Hoping that the vital liquid would flow through her pipes. But nothing.
The truth is that the end of the month had arrived, and paying for a water tanker that would reach the second floor of the two-story building. Where she lived was unthinkable for someone who struggled with her nurse’s salary. Which was becoming increasingly exhausting in its attempt to stretch itself.
That day, she didn’t have a single drop of stored water left. Because if this crisis had taught her anything. It was to store every drop wherever she found space to do so. She was an expert, and when the liquid miracle was realized, not a single container was left out.
They ranged from the largest to the smallest: her trusty 55-gallon tank, inherited from her grandmother. The immaculate tanks that no one can say once held Paint. The 1.5-liter bottles, the glasses, the pitchers… Nothing was spared.
She was also a master at recycling water. Her neighbors knew this and asked her for advice on how to make it last longer. Always helpful, she recommended optimizing its use and, for example, using the leftover water from washing to clean the bathroom.
Bathing with half a bucket was another of her tips, which she recently applied with pinpoint accuracy: half for herself and half for her son. Before his complaints about the limited water supply. She would remind him of her time as a sniffer dog during the Special Period and consider the matter settled.
But that day, it was dry, in every sense of the word. She decided to listen to the news on the radio. Where they were talking about the complex situation Holguin was facing due to the drought and the limited availability of dams.
She learned about the comprehensive rehabilitation efforts at the main pumping stations for the reservoirs that supply water to the provincial capital. Among the hardest hit in the current scenario by this issue, so sensitive for everyone.
Also she never questioned the efforts of those involved in providing solutions to this difficult situation. Like everyone else, she knew they were working tirelessly. However, she no longer needed explanatory information, just water.
Futhermore she, a faithful devotee, was at the limit of what her mental stability could bear. She didn’t even have a drop left to bathe! What was she supposed to do? At that moment, she went out onto the balcony, looked up at the sky, and exclaimed:
“God, send me the rain!”
Minutes later, a heavy downpour began, brightening her day, her week, her life… And allowing her to fill the containers she needed to get through the next few days. The neighborhood was in turmoil. Water from the sky fell like a precious treasure.
Coincidence or divine intervention? It would never be known for sure. But what is certain is that, from that moment on, Holguin’s dams began to occupy a priority place in their bedtime prayers. In times of drought, blessed be the rain.
By: Jorge Alejandro Fernández Pérez
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