You’re free to go. Although we have video of you siphoning from government tanks, a benefactor pleaded for your release. A rain-master. He spoke highly of your value, said he’d known you before the conflict, before the oceans seeped salt into every freshwater source, contaminating every lake, stream, and reservoir.

Bob Thurber is the author of “Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel” and four collections of short fiction. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.