The Rains of Sichuan {Choose Your Own Adventure} // Wattys 2019

Chapter Two

You finish dressing, tying the belt of your order around your waist, when your rickety door opens and a child's head pokes through. She grins upon seeing you all dressed up in your new function's uniform, then catches herself and regains an air of seriousness.

"Old Bao has called for a meeting of the village," she says quietly. "Everyone attends. Try to get there quick?"

Then she disappears as quickly as she's come and you hear her footsteps fade as she runs toward the circular plaza at the centre of the village.

You make your way outside and stretch. The sun is blinding, showering you with more heat than you would like; it's been months since the rainclouds came, then left without giving anything to the eager earth. Sheltering your eyes from the glare, you look left and right. Your well has run dry, your fields have taken the nasty colour of old rust. Just gazing upon the parched landscape, your tongue feels dry and raspy in your mouth.

As your feet carry you closer and closer to the plaza, you begin to meet people going the same way as you. Field hands and farmers, mainly, their faces grim and somber, the flesh held taut over their bulky shoulders, their babies too thin in their mothers' arms. A few Warriors trot by, halberds at their sides, their arms thick as tree trunks, a sharp contrast with the Monks walking peacefully forward, their lean, sinewy bodies floating in their wide orange and white garments. You know you should not be fooled by their frail appearance - remove their clothing and you will see they are made of long muscle, strong and supple as water. You move to make way for a Shaman in full, colourful gear, his withered hands stuck inside the large sleeves of his vestment.

Finally, you reach the plaza and join the rest of the village. Before you, on a raised dais, stands the old man She Miao Bao, your wise man, who leads this community with wisewoman Wu Liu Fong. Once the people have assembled, Bao raises his arms to ask for silence and, with a voice straining to be heard, he speaks.

"Today, we face a crisis unlike any other our community has witnessed. The drought is more severe than we could possibly have thought, and commerce with the surrounding area has come to a halt yesterday evening."

A murmur runs through the crowds, but Bao continues. "A messenger brought us news that the Xie Bu river east of here has run dry at last. The whole region is now at the mercy of the skies, but nothing has come."

The old man's eyes suddenly come to rest on you. You feel just a little uncomfortable, but you hold his gaze.

"It is now up to us to make the rain fall. And to that end, I have decided to send our newest fully-fledged recruit to the dragon's cave to understand why he did not create the rain."

As the village turns to you, you feel a knot in your stomach.

To talk to She Miao Bao in private, go to Chapter Three.

To go home and pack your things, go to Chapter Four.