Water, the start of writing.

I wait tables. I run around left and right, up and down. Its Friday, the Monday of the restaurant world. I stop for a minute to take a break. Next to me is the soda machine, accessible, cold. I fill a glass and gulp it down. I instantly regret opting for the harshness. It feels like acid down my throat and I'm still thirsty. I try again, this time going for the simplicity of water, not quite as cold, but cool, refreshing, simple.
My body relaxes as I drink the water in gulps. My mind starts to feel contentment but I want more. I did not realize that I was so thirsty. So I have another glass, this time I sip it, use it as an excuse to take a minute to myself. Then I go back to work discarding what is left of the water. Not even realizing the waste.

I wake up in the middle of the night craving something. My lips are parched. I hate the man made heat. I don't crave food or juice, I crave water. I stumble around in the dark making it to the kitchen, fill a glass and take a sip. It tastes like mud. I spit it out and try again, yet the outcome is the same. Something is wrong with the water. I remember the road work on the highway. That is probably the source of the muddy taste. With the extensive roadwork the water will taste like that for a long time to come.
I just moved to this house a week ago. I checked out the area, the neighborhood, the garden tub, the big back yard and the walk in closet. I never tasted the water. Who tastes water before moving into a new area?
Standing there with water in hand, I imagine living far off where there is no water at all, where the faucets are empty and the rivers run dry, where people die of thirst. I think of the desert heat, the dryness of the earth, the cracking of the soil. I think of the plants, animals and people all sharing a common fate, death. Because all they lack, I hold in my hand.
I drink my water, all of it, not wanting to waste a drop. Tomorrow I’ll install a new filter, and when I go to work if I’m thirsty, I’ll drink what I pour. The amount of water in the world seems massive, but if others can die of thirst so can we. Maybe if I save some water that will make a difference to the world, maybe not but at least I can try.