Chapter 255 - Draught, Famine, Sickness

People often took the rain for granted. No, in fact, people often cursed the rain, calling it ‘bad weather’, saying that it ruined an otherwise pleasant day.

People took the rain for granted, until the rain disappeared.

Recently, the rain had been appearing less and less frequently with each passing year. Even so, it had never been a serious problem…until now.

The last time that it rained was on the day of Bear’s funeral. The rain on that day was cursed by many people…

But then, the rain stopped.

After six months with no rain, Tiger died. On the day of his funeral, the ground was so dry that it took a dozen hunters all day just to dig his grave. They were so exhausted by the end of the day that they barely managed to remain standing throughout the funeral.

The months continued to fly by. For the first time in Namuh Village’s history, a full year passed by without any rain.

The year’s crops completely failed. The streams in the nearby forest started to dry up, many vanished entirely. With fewer sources of water, the ecology began to shift. Many animals migrated towards the few remaining bodies of water.

Nobody could have predicted this, and the village was not prepared to deal with such a situation. Village meeting after village meeting was called, wherein the influential figures in the village gathered together in an attempt to resolve their difficulties. Des also attended these meetings, but there wasn’t much he could do to help, other than lowering the prices of his medical services to help the less affluent villagers.

Des was now a capable doctor, but his medicines could not treat hunger and thirst…

Thirst was a problem, but it was not the main issue. There were still some bodies of water remaining, such as the river four miles out from the village, which was too large to dry up entirely. The hunters were tasked with escorting large groups of people out to the river everyday, where they would all collect the water in buckets to bring back to the village.

Water was a small problem, but they could deal with this issue. At least, nobody was going to die from dehydration any time soon.

No, the main problem was food.

Namuh Village relied on three sources of food; food that was farmed, food that was gathered, and food that was hunted.

This year, they completely lost their supply of farmed food. Without any rain, the crops all failed to produce any harvest. This was a huge hit to the farmers in Namuh Plains, who relied on their yearly harvest to support themselves throughout the following year.

Efforts were established to support those farmers, but the issue went deeper than this. Without any farmed food, the village was now relying entirely on food that was hunted and gathered…

Winter was coming, yet their food stores were barely one fifth of what they usually were.

Even though they had doubled down their efforts on hunting and gathering throughout the summer, not only did they fail to build up their food stores, they actually depleted their food stores even further…this had never happened before.

The village was unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with draught and famine. Eventually, as food prices soared and the poor became unable to afford to eat, the village council was forced to step in and take control.

Their temporary solution was to ration all food, such that each person could only eat two meals each day. As for how much food they were allowed to buy for themselves, that varied depending on a few factors.

Obviously, adults needed more food than children, but at the same time, everyone agreed that they could not let the children go hungry. If children went hungry, they would not grow and they would fall ill. For the sake of the village’s future, it was essential for the children to eat.

Children were given enough food to eat two full meals each day, it was barely enough to support their growth. Adults were only permitted enough food to survive without falling ill…they almost all went hungry.

The hunters were allowed more food, as the hunters needed to continue training, plus their jobs were more strenuous. If the hunters were allowed to weaken, the village would be doomed and the situation would collapse entirely.

In a way, this rationing of food brought the people closer together. With this shared difficulty, the difference between the rich and the poor became less obvious. Now, even if you had enough money, you still couldn’t buy enough food to fill your stomach…it was a pitiful situation, but there was some beauty to be found in the peoples’ unity.

It reminded Des of something Flora once said when they were young…that all people in this world suffered in one way or another. Rich or poor, old or young, strong or weak…no matter your status, you were destined to suffer, because suffering was an inherent quality of life itself.

When Des mentioned this to Flora nostalgically, she sighed deeply. She remembered saying this, because it was a realisation that she came to understand after seeing Des…or rather, Yaan…for the first time.

Even an immortal was shackled by the chains of suffering. In fact, based on Des’s incomprehensible tolerance for pain, she knew that his life before Namuh Village must have been filled with far more suffering than she could ever imagine.

“It’s true that all life suffers, but that suffering ties us together, remember?” Flora smiled at Des softly as she reminded him about the positive side of her realisation.

Des glanced at his wife through his hazy vision, causing him to sigh deeply.

He could not see her, but he knew that she had lost weight. They were both giving up a portion of their food rations to allow Shi to eat her fill. They absolutely refused to allow her to go hungry for a single day.

“Even if we are tied together, what good does that do us? We are all suffering together, how great for us…” Des muttered wryly.

“Oh come on, it’s not like you to be so pessimistic!” Flora laughed, trying to lighten his mood. “I think that suffering is not necessarily a bad thing you know…without these harsh times, how would we be able to recognise and relish the good times? These difficult storms exist because they allow us to see the beauty in the sky when the rain clears away.”

“That’s a terrible metaphor, given our current situation.” Des couldn’t help but laugh, knowing that she had phrased it like that deliberately.

He would welcome a storm right now. If it started to rain, that would truly be beautiful…when thinking of this, Des thought that perhaps Flora was right.

“Hopefully those good times come soon…” He muttered, shaking his head as he looked out of the window at nothing in particular.

“Uncle, auntie!” At this moment, Shi ran into the house with an excited expression. As always, she addressed Des as ‘uncle’ and Flora as ‘auntie’. A few months ago, she had tried to address them as ‘father’ and ‘mother’, but they didn’t feel right about this…they did not want Shi to forget about her actual parents, even though they had both left this world.

Shi ran across the hallway and into the kitchen, then pushed her hands out towards Des’s face. Clearly, she was trying to show him something, but…he was blind.

It wasn’t like Shi to act so excited these days. After Tiger’s death, she began speaking normally again, but part of her had matured.

She no longer tried to keep everything bottled up, she expressed her emotions openly, especially to Des and Flora…but she was not that same excitable little child any longer; she was starting to grow up.

So, Des felt surprised to hear her acting like this. Just what had gotten her so worked up?

“Oh? It’s a toad.” Flora commented, mostly for Des’s benefit.

“A toad?” Des raised an eyebrow in surprise. This was a highly unusual find given that there were no open bodies of water within a few miles of here. Just what was a toad doing in the village?

“Wait, you didn’t go into the forest, did you, Shi?”

Shi immediately shook her head.

“No way! I know the forest is dangerous…even my father wasn’t safe in the forest…”

Des relaxed and nodded. He knew that even though Shi was a curious, adventurous girl, she was actually quite terrified of the forest, since it was where her father had died.

“I found it in the herb patch in the garden! Uncle, I know you’re hungry, you must be because you hardly eat anything! Let’s eat this toad, let’s eat it!”

Des’s expression softened and he reached out to pat Shi on the head. She giggled happily, feeling like she had done something good. Even though she was young, she knew that the village had a food shortage. When she saw her uncle and auntie eating so little, even though they never complained about it, she knew that they would definitely prefer to eat more.

“Let’s take the toad to the market later.” Des suggested. “We need to hand it over to the council so that it can be processed and added to the stores.”

Flora agreed, saying that he and Shi should go together. However, Shi was confused…why did they have to give away the food that she found?!

Des explained to her that everyone needed to do their part to help the village. They couldn’t eat more than their share, because doing so would result in others having less food.

It would be easy enough for Des and Flora to obtain more food for themselves if they wanted to. They often treated rich individuals with authority on the village council; it wouldn’t be difficult for Des to use his position as the village’s core doctor to extort more food.

But, they wouldn’t do that. Both Des and Flora were willing to go hungry if it meant helping others. So long as Shi’s stomach was full, they would never stoop so low.

If the situation devolved to the point that Shi could not eat her fill, even after they gave up a portion of their own rations…

At that point, the situation would already be too dire to even think about.

As time passed by, the situation in Namuh Village became truly dire.

After a year without rain, the village entered its most difficult winter to date. Their food stores were insufficient, the forest animals had gone into hibernation and there were no fruits or nuts to gather in the forest at this time of year. Not only that, but origin berries were becoming increasingly scarce, making it difficult for the hunters to continue training…

The village seemed to fall dormant during these winter months. Nobody had the energy to go outside and do anything. Besides, without enough energy to fuel their bodies, it also became extremely difficult to resist the cold.

Des, Flora and Shi found themselves huddled together beside the fireplace almost every single day. Des and Flora wrapped a blanket around themselves, placing Shi between them, often remaining silent for the entire day as they struggled to keep warm. Their bodies were weak, their stomachs were empty, but at least they had the warmth of one another to get them through these harsh cold days.

Finally, they made it through winter. By coming together as a community, even though many people went hungry, nobody died from starvation.

That said, Des knew that this achievement wasn’t as great as it seemed on the surface. Even though nobody had directly died from starvation, the mortality rate amongst the elderly had nearly doubled. Without food, their bodies lacked the energy to stave off illness and weakness. As such, many people lost beloved family members during this winter.

The winter was cold, but there was no rain. Spring came around, but unlike last year, the usual flowers and vibrant grasses did not bloom…the temperature rose, but the plants did not. Without water, life could not thrive.

The temperature continued to rise during spring, until it became as hot as the typical summer months. By the time summer arrived, the temperature was so hot that people began collapsing from heatstroke. Des once again found himself extremely busy; the number of patients he had to treat was increasing with every passing month.

In the high heat, people needed to cool off, but there was nowhere to do so. In these heats, they needed to drink plenty of water, but their only water source was a single well on Namuh Plains, and the almost-dried-up river, five miles away from the village. Water was being rationed, people were not drinking enough.

People held onto their hope last year, but as the months flew by and nothing improved, despair began to set in. They adjusted to the pain and discomfort, but when there was no hope in sight, some people began to break.

The united village became split. There were those who stayed firm in their wills, adamant about sticking together. Then there were those who started to lose their compassion…

Their consideration for others had died along with their family members. The kindness in their hearts was whittled away by their endless hunger. Their will to stay united and strong had been broken down by their collapsing hope, replaced by a single desire…

To survive.

All life desired to survive. People could endure hardships up to a point, but eventually, when those hardships started to threaten their very lives, many people were unable to continue simply enduring.

Instances of crime became ten times more frequent. Homes were broken into, food was stolen. The ration laws were broken as corrupt officials gave in to bribery.

Not everyone fell into depravity, in fact, four fifths of the population stood by their principles. But…when one fifth of a population stopped caring for law and order, society would begin to crumble.

Eventually, the people realised that this could not go on. In order to combat the rising dissent amongst the villagers, the village council could only choose to steel their resolve, becoming unwavering in their judgment.

For the first time ever, a person was executed in Namuh Village. This person was guilty of murder. Even though he killed by mistake whilst trying to steal food to feed his starving children, the law could no longer afford to be lenient.

From now on, all crimes pertaining to food theft would be punished by death. Indeed, now, stealing food was a crime worthy of death.

In the current climate, stealing a person’s meal could be as good as killing them anyway.

Des, Flora and Shi did not attend the public execution. They did not want to see one of their fellow villager’s killing another. They did not agree with the introduction of the death penalty, but at the same time, it was difficult to argue against it.

The public execution achieved what it set out to do; the dissent within the village was largely suppressed. Some hunters were now in charge of capturing criminals, causing the people to feel too afraid to continue breaking the law.

The unrest was quelled, but the famine was not. As time passed by and the sky continued to remain devoid of any clouds, the situation became increasingly bleak.

One year…two years…three years…

Five years without rain.

Des was now 43 years old, but he looked far older. Flora was no different, as a 45 year old woman who had not eaten well in years, time was beginning to catch up with her.

Only Shi looked her age. She was an 11 year old girl, and she now understood the sacrifices that her uncle and auntie had made for her. She used to argue with them, trying to give them a portion of her food, until she realised that if she refused to eat, then so would they.

The only thing she could do to help them, was to live well for herself.

Aside from that, she also made an effort to help out as much as possible around the house and the hospital. She took care of many tasks, such as visiting town and buying herbs…unfortunately, without the rain, the supply of herbs had dwindled to a pitiful level. Medicines that were previously cheap and common, were now completely extinct.

Even Des’s own herb patch had finally lost its last remaining signs of life. He managed to sustain it for an impress period of time by having people fetch water from the river outside of the village, but in the end, his prized herb patch fell victim to the draught.

Des felt frustrated when he saw people dying from easily curable illnesses, but there was nothing he could do. They simply no longer possessed the necessary medicines to treat these people.

When Des had first arrived in the village, the population was 1,458…1,459 with his arrival.

Following the hospital’s expansion, the quality of medical care in the village skyrocketed, resulting in a population boom. In a short few decades, the population went over 2,000, this was simply unheard of!

But now, there were fewer than 1,000 people…as for the exact number of survivors, nobody had the heart to count…

Life was difficult, but Des tried to remain optimistic. At the very least, he still had his family, right?

Although they were hungry, Des and Flora were still healthy. Their adopted niece, Shi, had been risen well by them, and now, she was growing up into a fine young woman. And then there was Fauna, her husband Snake, and their two sons, Panther and Lion, who had both married and were working on starting their own families.

The love and support that they all provided to one another helped them to get through these hard times. Their stomachs may be in pain and their bodies may be weak, but their hearts were still filled with love and strength.

Indeed, although it was difficult, it was still life. These hardships they endured, this pain they suffered, reminded them of the value to be found in life. Life was so fragile and could end in an instant, but it was for this exact reason that it was so beautiful.

But as time passed by, it became increasingly difficult to see the beauty through the fog of suffering…

Des remained optimistic…until one day, Flora collapsed.

“Auntie!” Shi cried out in shock, rushing to Flora’s side as she struggled to sit up. Flora smiled at Shi and opened her mouth to assure her that she was ok, but before she could speak, her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

Des quickly crouched down beside Flora, not hesitating to measure her vitals. He knew that his wife had been pushing herself these days, but it was only when she suddenly collapsed that he realised just how much she had deteriorated.

Des could ‘see’ the struggle in her aura, but because of Flora’s firm will, which allowed her to push herself until the point of breaking, he did not realise…that her health was fading away…

A few days later, Flora finally woke up. Des did not take her to the hospital, but instead made her comfortable in her own bed.

“Auntie, you’re awake!” Shi awoke and jumped up from the wooden chair beside Flora’s bed. She had been sleeping on this chair for the past few days, and no matter what Des tried to tell her, she refused to leave the room for more than a few minutes. She was simply too worried about her auntie.

Des tried to act calm, but he was also relieved to see her wake up. He needed to put on a strong face for Shi’s sake, but how could he not feel anxious?

After examining Flora’s condition, he wasn’t even certain that she would be able to wake up…

She had developed a certain illness due to her malnourishment. In usual times, this illness would be easily treatable. All she needed was a few days of rest, a particular medicine, and plenty of food and water.

Unfortunately, as of now, she was only able to rest. There was not enough food and water for her, and the medicine…no longer existed.

The herbs for the medicine she required had gone extinct. Des did his best to treat her with other medicines, but they were clearly subpar.

After Flora woke up, Des tended to her, day and night. He insisted that she ate a portion of his food, and for the first time, he allowed Shi to give up part of her rations. At first, Flora refused, but after seeing the worry in her husband and niece’s eyes, she could only accept their generosity with a sigh.

Gradually, Flora’s condition began to improve. After another few days, she was able to get up and walk again, however, she was clearly struggling and weakness filled her body. She became visibly and audibly out of breath whenever she walked for more than a few steps, and this state of hers did not improve, even after a few weeks, and then months passed by.

Flora was no longer able to work. She had enjoyed her work around the hospital, and now that she was bed-ridden for much of the day, Des felt worried that she would grow depressed. However, it seemed that he had underestimated his wife’s tenacity.

Despite her weakness, despite her sickness, despite her pain…everyday, Flora wore a smile on her face. She spoke softly to Shi and kindly to Des. Her mood never seemed to sour, despite the obvious difficulties that she was facing.

After one year, Des sat beside Flora’s bed, holding her hand and gazing at her sickly face with a pained expression.

“Flora, do you need anything else? If you want to eat more, please just say so…”

“Oh you, stop worrying so much.” Flora chuckled and shook her head. “Why waste so much food on a dying old woman?”

“Don’t say that…you’re neither old nor dying…” Des replied bitterly. He knew that she was joking, but given her condition, this joke was far too morbid. Her sense of humour had always been like this, but he didn’t expect her to remain so carefree, even as her life was steadily fading away…

Flora turned to look at Des’s face. Seeing his earnest concern for her, she felt a deep sense of warmth in her heart. She felt blessed to have lived the life that she had lived, with this incredible man accompanying her by her side.

“I might not be dying right now, but…it’s quite likely that I will die before you.” She suddenly said.

Des looked up, turning to her with a startled expression. He frowned and was about to refute her, but the words became trapped in his mouth when she spoke once again. Her tone…was oddly serious.

“After I die, I want you to move on with your life…but please, don’t forget about me. Move on to the next stage in your life, but remember the times we spent together…remember the times the three of us spent as a family…”

Des didn’t see how he could possibly move on if she died, but…he found that he was unable to say anything in response.