Water (Part Four)

Prompt: Foundation  |  Genre: Fantasy  |  Word count: 200 words

Runa smiled at the tiny berry shoots poking out of the ground. She turned around when she heard Einarr trudge along the path that led from the river. She opened her mouth to greet him but instead rushed to his side, “What is it, love?”

Einarr shook his head and stepped past her into the house. Runa followed him. He buzzed around the house, his eyes scanning every nook.

“What do you want?”

“I’m looking for a clean rag.”

Runa went in and got it for him.

Placing the cloth over the mouth of a vessel, he said, “Hold it like this.”

Runa bent down and held it as he’d asked. He then lowered the large waterskin off his back, uncorked it, and poured the water through the cloth.

The stench hit Runa like a blow and she doubled over, coughing.

Einarr knelt beside her, patting her back, “I should’ve warned you about the... smell.” 

When she stopped coughing, he sat on the floor, leaning his head against the wall, “The place where I used to get the water from... I think I dug too deep. Or maybe the mud shifted. I don’t know. It just came crumbling down today.”