A Friend with Magic Powers?

Dry. Hot. Everywhere. A small patch of farmland in the Sahara. Yet, large enough for a small village. A drought. The water is almost gone from every home’s well, except for one.

My best friend, Isabella, she is perfect in every way. She is smart. She is funny. She is kind. She is athletic. She saved my life, multiple times. She is loved by the whole village. And I could have sworn she had magic powers. And her family’s well, it’s still halfway filled. How is this possible? Magic? Isabella’s magic, maybe.

One morning, I am walking with her to the once overflowing river. Now, as dry as the rest of the desert. We walk along the empty river in silence – my throat is too dry to say anything. Suddenly, something catches my eye. Stones, mud, and trees, completely blocking the flow of whatever water there was left, like a dam. It is what is causing the water shortage. We quickly remove the stones, and the water is beautifully flowing once more.

Walking back home, I asked her how she still had so much water when the river was dry. “Water conservation”, she says.

“Water what?”

“My family is extremely strict about the amount of water we use. We do not waste it” she explained. I am starting at her, still confused.

“Okay, think about it like this. How many buckets of water do you usually need to shower?” she asks.

“Four” I replied.

“You might want to limit it down to one or two, then. And that is just one way. Use one tumbler of water when brushing or washing your hands too – do not use running tap water”

“Really, is that how you still have water in your well?” I asked.

“Absolutely! We use one fourth the water of any other four-person family by doing these and many more things”

I looked at her questionably “more?”

“My family also has a water reuse system where we collect the used water and use it for the plants and for the fields. We do not use a hosepipe but hand water our plants. We have an energy star washing machine and an energy star dishwasher. Sure, it costs more upfront, but when you consider the water and energy savings, the costs balance out. Come home tomorrow! I will show you all the little things we do that add up in saving water.”

“Really? Just doing these small things savesthat much water? I thought you had, like, magic powers or something."

She laughed and hugged me. "Of course not," she said, "Just the magic of water conservation."