The Last Pear Tree

"A tree truly does give life," Camilla asserted to herself, as she walked toward the lone pear tree near the edge of their mountain compound. Her sandals crunched on the dry soil, to the beat of the groans from her shrunken stomach. A buzzard soared in a wide circle above her, waiting patiently for dying prey. Camilla shaded her eyes with her hands and looked up, "Vultures and buzzards are the only creatures to thrive, during this world-wide drought."

She stared at the last pear tree in California—perhaps the nation. Its leaves had wilted into a decaying brown, like all life on the ground of this withering planet. Still, the tree would provide today's nourishment... a single pear; a beacon that called her—a dangling promise that they would survive for another day.

Camilla reflected upon how they had ended up in this dire situation… Cities she thought would always be there, like Los Angeles and Las Vegas, were gone. The first sounding of an alarm was a Sunday morning news show, back in 2021. It reported that if Lake Meade lost much more water, area cities could not be sustained. But, nobody would listen! Now, they were ghost towns... All that was left of Los Angeles and Las Vegas were distant memories of the people who used to live there. More communities began to tumble like dominoes, as people rushed eastward. But, the drought followed them, as persistent as that blood-thirsty buzzard.

Tree rings proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the world was in the beginning of a drought incomparable since the year 800 A.D.—the worst mega-drought in 1,200 years! Camilla pondered, "Not only do trees GIVE life, but they also sound a warning alarm that life will be taken away!" Humankind, in blissful ignorance, chose to ignore the bad news rather than be inconvenienced. Soon, it was too late to act... Death was upon them with a ferocity of a Grim Reaper frenziedly wielding his scythe, brandishing it in every direction, far and wide.

The backbone of our nation, the farmers whom we all depended upon for supplying food for grocery store shelves, were the first to be affected… In an omen of things to come, governments cut irrigation water; first 25%, then 50%, then 75%, until finally, there was none at all to spare. With the nation's backbone severed, there were devastating trickle-down effects. The first was massive unemployment. Heart-wrenchingly, thousands of farm workers lost their jobs. Without irrigation, crops couldn't survive, so fields were not planted. There were no jobs left for farm workers to fill!

Soon, everyone was in dire straits, as the second side-effect was the price of food—costs skyrocketed. People clamored for produce, but there were shortages everywhere! The black market operated for exorbitant prices, but their sources soon dried up, too.

Looting was the third side-effect, until the store shelves were as empty as the desolate prairies. Essential workers stopped working, for there was no food and water to sustain them. Homelessness continued to rise, like bread dough that overflows the bowl and expands onto the counter, that used to be our nation.

The fourth two-fold side-effect was a frantic increase in taxes, then crime... State and federal governments could not fund such increased demands for aid. People were taxed beyond their capabilities. Desperation caused a rapid increase in horrible, rampant crime. State and federal governments couldn't step in to protect their citizens, for they soon ceased to exist—the fifth side-effect!

Without funding, the governments dried up like the mega-drought had depleted the land. People were completely on their own... If you called 911 for help, nobody would come; be it police, the fire department, or an ambulance—nobody responded! "We never appreciated how much we needed Firefighters, EMTs, and police until they were gone," Camilla lamented.

For a time, ranchers relied upon meat and dairy products to satisfy their hunger pangs; but then the sixth side-effect hit like a sledge hammer—the rivers began to dry up. The Arkansas River was the first to go; quickly followed by the Colorado River. Soon, rivers from midwestern and eastern states' were also affected. Even crops raised for animal feed, could not grow! Animals that used to provide milk, butter, cheese, and meat, started dying.

The situation became so dire, that crowds began to "hunt" for people's pets—the seventh side-effect! "In my worst nightmare, I never imagined it would have ever come to that!" shuddered Camilla.

Approaching the last pear tree, Camilla thought, "But the most urgent need was (and is) for drinking water." People can live for a month without food, but without water, even the strongest cannot survive. Canned and bottled beverages of all types were quickly consumed. (Looters had long ago cleared most of them out, anyway.) We were facing a situation of a world without drinking water—precious liquid we had always taken too much for granted. In water is the source of life; without water is the consequence of wide-spread death—the 8th terrible side-effect.

"We're sorry for not properly caring for this beautiful blue marble we are privileged to live upon," Camilla paused in her reflections. She wasn't sure who she was repenting to, but all of them had felt the internal need to apologize to someone, for being bad tenants of the Earth. Camilla had never been a religious person before the drought... But, looking death squarely in the eyes day-after-day, had awakened a spiritual need in all of them. Before, they had satisfied that subconscious need with politics and social programs; but they were gone... Now, the fire in their bellies would not be quenched without beseeching One who deserved their apology, for the condition of their planet.

Camilla remembered how they escaped the 9th side-effect—raging fires which consumed everything in their path. Her resourceful husband had urged them up onto the side of this mountain. Up here, they miraculously stumbled upon one of the few remaining streams—it had been keeping them alive; along with their children—and a few other resilient families. "It's amazing how we city-folk learned how to survive out in the wild," Camilla marveled to herself.

They were glad they had been able to protect their dogs from the predatory crowds, by running for the mountain... Besides their unconditional affection (which they all so badly needed—especially the children); their dogs provided security that enabled them to sleep at night. Most importantly, their dogs helped them capture rabbits—which had been keeping them alive! The rabbits quickly reproduced, providing an ongoing food source for these new mountaineers; who otherwise would have starved, just like those down below.

It gave the children something to do—feeding and petting the treasured bunnies, and cleaning out their crude cages. All the campmates were constantly moved to thankfulness for the rabbits—and all things that helped preserve their lives. Honestly, they would have sneered down their noses at such sustainers of life, prior to the drought; but it had focused their values into new directions.

After she plucked the final precious pear with thanksgiving, Camilla looked at the dry bed of the stream, with sad eyes. This miraculous mountain stream with it's life-giving water had kept this last pear tree alive... But in the past months, the drought had crept further up onto the mountainside, like a vicious lion with sharpened claws, ready to pounce. The precious water they had stored was depleted, as well. "How are we to keep our children alive?" all the thirsty adults had been agonizing. "We don't even have enough drinking water for the rabbits!"

Carrying her precious cargo back to the rough-hewn table in the middle of the campground, Camilla remembered how, before the news stations all went off the air, China, Russia, and other countries had intended to invade the USA; desperate for food and water for their dying citizens. (The mega-drought had stretched all over the world, by then.) The threat of large-scale war was the 10th side-effect. But, their looming military forces had no provisions to sustain them—all military forces died off. In fact, Camilla and her fellow-campers despaired that they might be the only ones left in the world, to have survived for this long.

Camilla carefully cut the pear into bite-sized pieces. Each tiny bite of the precious pear was divided among them—except for the two pregnant women, who needed double-portions for the lives they were carrying. (The thought of those babies kept the smoldering flames of everyone's hopes, alive.) Camilla and her husband donated their pieces to those mothers-to-be. After appreciating how the last pear tree had provided for them; the campers each savored the pear, being careful not to let any of its cherished juice escape down their chin.

Preparing to share the core and stem with her husband, Camilla suddenly pointed to the sky: "Could it be?" Camilla had noticed a tiny cloud in the distance, like a promise... It was the first cloud they had seen in too long to remember! Urgently, Camilla plucked out the pear seeds, before she and her husband gobbled up the core. Excitement began to grow among the campers, as the tiny cloud darkened, came closer, and surged BIGGER!

As the storm cloud approached, they quickly planted the precious seeds—just as all of them had planted the seeds from every other plant they had consumed, into the mountainside. In reality, they had been planting their faith, hope, and dreams with each seed they carefully placed beneath the dry dust.

Just as they buried the final pear seed from the last pear tree; lo and behold, it began to rain! For the first time that any of them could call to mind, water rained down from the heavens! Tears of relief would have flowed down their faces, but they were too dehydrated... After rushing to bring out all the containers they had to catch the downpour; they lifted up their faces to the rain and let the clouds do the crying for them.

They didn't mind that they were getting soaked—every long-awaited drop of liquid gold was cleansing them, like a blessing. The rain was purifying the land of humankind's misuse.

Song: "WHEN THE RAIN BEGINS" Words by Jennifer Edwards, Music and Production by Stuart Hoffman, Featuring the vocals of Stephen Rivera

Suddenly, they heard the faint sound of singing coming from the next mountain! "Shhh!" shushed Camilla, as they all strained their ears to listen. (The wind that had brewed up, had carried the distant sound.) It was at that unforgettable moment when they realized—there are more survivors! "We are not alone!" Camilla and her group began to excitedly cheer. They were moved to hold hands and join their thankful voices to the strangers'; bursting into united singing of their celebration song: "When the Rain Begins." The singing echoed down the hills.

The long-awaited, precious rain would germinate the seeds in the ground throughout the land. Renewed, refreshed, and reinvigorated; new life would spring forth, once again. A refreshed life was reborn for Camilla, her family, and the other survivors. But, they would never forget the pear tree, and the other precious provisions which gave their life to sustain them. Already, a future orchard was germinating for them and their descendants. Just as the numerous fires down below had cleared away all the brush and debris, making way for new sprouts; humankind's entire system of things all around the globe, had been cleared away by the mega-drought. Now, the forgiving rain was giving humankind a fresh start.

More timely rains followed; the mega-drought was finally over. Hopefully, they would act wisely this time, in cherishing their new beginning—their second chance... Everyone prayed that THIS time, humankind would live life BETTER! May they always protect and care for their precious surroundings more responsibly—and be more appreciative of the gift of life.