AT THE SAME TIME
MEI SHEN'S POINT OF VIEW:
The village elder's voice cracked as he pleaded again for help. His hands trembled as he showed me the brittle stalks of what used to be their wheat, a harvest lost to the relentless drought.
"We don't know how much longer we can hold on." He said, eyes wet with despair. "The children… they grow weaker by the day."
I swallowed hard, feeling my chest tighten, the weight of their suffering crushing me like a stone. I wanted to promise miracles, to summon rain with words, but all I could offer was a solemn nod. That night, the sky finally broke. Thunder rolled in like a battle cry, fierce and wild, shaking the earth beneath us. Sheets of rain poured down, washing over the parched land, drumming against rooftops and filling the dusty riverbeds.
