It is not supposed to rain here.
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Rain brings misfortune, tragedy, and death. Nothing good has ever come out of it, and as far as I am concerned, nothing ever will.
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When my mother gave birth to me, a storm was raging wildly, and the village elders said it was like nothing they had seen before. In the resulting flood, five were drowned.
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When my mother gave birth to my sister, they both perished- my mother in childbirth, my sister of disease a few days later. Through this, there had been a storm much like the one at the time I was born, and so a hatred and fear of me began.
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My village is located in the center of a desert. Most years, there is no rain at all. Precipitation is not needed here. A few hours walk away is a underground pool that never runs dry. It is fed by a spring. We have all the water we need without it having to rain.
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Sometimes there are hunting trips. Although we mostly eat vegetation, animal hides and other body parts are extremely useful to us. The most useful of the limited assortment of animals is the rattlesnake, but to use them and their venom is to wield a double-edged sword.
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Fangs of the snake are hollow. They are turned into spear points and used in the killing of other creatures. When there are those fatally wounded or mortally sick, we use the snake venom to end their life. In their case, it is an honorable death.
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The day was cloudy and damp. We needed meat, but none wanted to go. I volunteered. After all, what did I have to lose?
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After no more than twenty steps, it started to pour. I could hardly see where I put my feet. Perhaps if I had been able to see, my misfortune would not have befallen me.
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The venom of the rattlesnake is potent. Usually it killed within minutes, but there were an unlucky few that took hours to slowly wither away. As the day wore on, I heard the rumble of thunder in the distance, and idly I wondered if any would come looking for me. Probably not.
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The burning was fading into a dull nothingness. I was hot, and the sounds of rain and thunder had ceased, although my blurry vision told me that the storm was still raging. I swear I could see others in the distance, watching me. I hope they die in pain.
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At that moment, lightning blazed before me, and in that brief second I was reminded of my mother and sister, who had perished under these conditions. I let my eyes close.
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It is not supposed to rain here.