If I was a river

By Janvi Sharma

My parents are the mountains, who have many daughters, and I am one of them. All of us are named rivers, just like me. I am generated when the snow over my parents melts down during the summer.

My family includes greenery and all the things that belong to nature. I flow through many villages each day, and everyone there needs me. I am very valuable to them because I provide so many things without asking for a single penny. And by the way, who doesn’t like things that are free, especially when they benefit them so much?

I am not a mother, but I take care of others like a mother. A mother gives birth to them, and I am like a mother to all, as all their parts eventually flow into me as ashes. I have many friends, some of whom include pebbles and soil.

Nowadays, I feel very sad because some people are making me dirty by throwing plastic bags into me and washing clothes in me, among other things. Because of these actions, people call me poisonous, and when others drink from me, they get diseases. I know that it’s the people’s fault, but some still blame me, thinking I am the cause of others’ deaths.

Now, I am suffocating in my fear that I am going to be killed, drying up in no time. So, I request people to clean me instead of making me dirty; otherwise, I will wither away and be found dead.