Rayika, Neel and Kiara made their sand castle on the beach, each building one aspect of the castle. Rayika built the moat, Neel shaped the castle and Kiara built the tall towers on both sides. With the sound of the waves striking the shore and a gentle breeze playing with their hair, the three cousins focused their attention on the sand castle. All of a sudden the air turned warm, the humidity made them sweat profusely. They stared at each other in amazement. “It has suddenly become so hot,” Kiara wiped her face on her sleeve.
“My sweat is making the sand wet,” Neel grumbled. “You can now say I shaped the sand castle with my sweat,” Rayika joked. Looking around she said, “Suddenly the beach looks empty, wonder where the people have disappeared?” “Let’s complete the sand castle, click some pictures and go home,” Kiara said.
She added, “We need to work on our project for World Earth Day.” In half an hour they completed the sand castle, clicked photos and started for their house. The beach looked different, the sand was black, the water muddy. Even the air felt different.
Their throats started to itch. Small dark clouds hovered in the sky. As they stepped on to the road leading to their house, they saw a long line of people waiting with buckets and pots. Small children held cups and glasses in their hands. “Why is there such a big crowd?” Kiara frowned, as they approached the throng of people.
“Mom, can we please hurry up?” a child said to his mother. “I’ve just two hours to study before the blackout happens.” Kiara, Neel and Rayika stared at each other in amazement.
“What blackout are they talking about?” Rayika frowned. “Excuse me, ma’am,” Kiara asked the woman. “Why is there such a long queue here?” “We are waiting for water, we get water just twice a day, two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening,” the woman replied. “What is this blackout this young boy is talking about?” Neel asked.
“We get electricity too for four hours a day,” the woman replied. “Two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening.” “Till yesterday things were normal, why this sudden change today?” Kiara asked. “Are you kidding me?” the woman said. “This has been happening since my mother’s time. My mother is now 60 years old.” Kiara, Neel and Rayika were shocked. “Which year are we in now?” Neel asked.
“2222,” the woman replied. “Can you please do me a favour, if you three stand in my place for water, I can go home and complete several chores. I need to collect cow dung for fuel and pluck some wild fruit and vegetables for dinner.”
“You don’t have gas cylinders?” Rayika asked.
“What is a gas cylinder?” the woman frowned. “My grandmother and mother used wood for fire, but thanks to our ancestors, who had cut trees indiscriminately to construct buildings, the forests are now empty, we hardly have any trees left for firewood.”
“Why are the buildings empty?” Neel asked.
“The air is so toxic, many people perished, some migrated to the mountains,” the woman replied.
“Why are there no vehicles on the road?” Rayika suddenly noticed the absence of traffic. “Look there,” the lady pointed to a bullock cart trundling past, with several people sitting inside.
“I mean cars, scooters and buses,” Kiara said.
“We have seen them in the museum,” the woman sighed. “Ever since I was born, I’ve travelled only on bullock carts. I’ve grown up hearing about the indiscriminate use of natural resources which led to water shortage, fuel shortage, environmental pollution, deforestation, soil erosion and global warming. Now please let me complete my chores while you all stand in my place.”
“Looks like our generation and all the ones after it has made these peoples’ life a complete misery,” Neel sighed.
“I’ve an idea for our project for World Earth Day,” Kiara said.
“Every person should plant minimum of three trees in their lifetime. Every house should have a rainwater harvesting. To conserve gas and electricity, people should use solar cooking utensils and solar lights. To conserve fuel, they should use public transport more often. Every family should have a kitchen garden.”
As the children discussed their project, the crowd started diminishing. Suddenly the crowd disappeared. Kiara, Neel and Rayika walked toward their house, intending to implement their resolution soon, to successfully prevent a catastrophe in the future.
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