Sublime

where water was mined

The headwaters of two streams, Basin Creek and Fools Creek, flow on either side of the divide. They were only a few yards apart, but the waters of Basin Creek would eventually empty into the Pacific Ocean, and Fools Creek would flow into the Atlantic.

What has happened to the Medlwc? Does it just empty into this basin now, becoming a canal, losing all sense of itself as a wild thing that flows down from the hills? Kay hates it, the way people treat the world. People used to worship rivers. Now they brick them in, they make the water bend to their own will. They play at being gods themselves.

You turned a tap and lo, water came forth, sweet, soft water without odor, pumped from some sub-surface pool by a silent, faithful servant, a small electric motor.