Heres a quick Christmassy fanfic about those in poverty sticken countries at Christmas time.
It was one week before Christmas.
Miley, Robby Ray, and Jackson had gone to Africa for a three week trip during the Christmas holidays.
One morning, Miley woke up extra early. She couldn't sleep. She walked around their luxury hotel room for a while, before waking her Dad up and asking him if she could go for a walk for an hour.
From what she had seen so far, she loved Africa; it was really hot; they were staying in a 5 star hotel (as a Christmas present), and had access to swimming pools, game rooms, even safari trips to explore the stunning wildlife.
That morning, it was quiet and calm outside, the hotel seemed empty. Miley walked into the town. There was no-one around. She decided to go a bit farther. The trip to Africa was a once in a lifetime opportunity; she thought that it would be a better idea to expore the land instead of playing games in a hotel, because she could do that in America anyway.
Miley passed some other keen tourists as she reached the other end of the town, and some foreign cars drove by, but it was still quiet.
She saw a small sandy lane, and walked along it for a while, admiring the scenery. She was quite tired already; the African sun was stiflingly hot, even early in the morning. The lane was long and windy, but she didnt turn back. Something inside her was telling her not to. After a while, Miley heard a distant whimper and she walked faster to see what it was. A moment later, she saw what had made the noise, and she stopped, her body froze in horror at what she was watching.
The girl looked like a tiny little skeleton; she didn't look alive. She was nothing but bones. Her body was so weak and unsteady. She was about to collapse with the weight of the huge water jar on her head. She wasn't strong enough to support the weight of the jar. Her knees buckled as she took small unsteady steps forward, dirty unsafe water spilling from the wobbly jar. She whimpered weakly but painfully every time the water spilt.The worst part was that the person carrying the jar was barely more than a toddler. She was around four years old, carrying something that weighed at least half her own body weight. Her face was gaunt and full of pain. She was skeletal, and clearly lived a hard cruel life of poverty. Distinctive wounds covered her stick-thin limbs. Flys and other bugs seemed to be eating at her skin, torturing the little child.
Miley was shocked. She had seen this on TV, but now, it wasn't Tv, this was reality. Miley carefully approached the child. She couldnt speak the local language and the child wouldnt know how to speak english, so it was going to be difficult. Miley just couldnt watch the girl try to carry the water; it was child labour, child cruelty to have a child so small carry something so big. She reached out to lift the jar, offering to carry it for the girl, but the child screamed weakly and tried to pull the jar back, she was scared of Miley.
The child thought Miley wanted to steal the water. Her family needed that water to save her dying siblings. The water was likely too dirty to be safe for drinking, but it was their only chance for survival. So many people tried to steal from others. Her family was so poor. They had nothing. The well was miles from where they were living, it was such a long hard walk for the girl, but if she didnt get the water, her baby brother and sister were going to die. She was so young, but she didnt ever get the chance to be a child.
As she saw the Miley grab the water, the little girl panicked. She tugged helplessly at the jar, but as she pulled the jar, all the water spilled.
Both girls stopped in shock as they both realised how bad spilling the water was.
For the little child, it meant that her siblings were going to die. That water was the only thing that could have saved them, but it was gone, it was too late.
For Miley, spilling the water made her suddenly realise that just a mile from their 5 star luxury hotel, there was a different world. A world of poverty. A world of pain. It opened her eyes to reality. They say the world is a small place, which is true. Our world is a small place. Their world isn't; their world is a place of war, disease, poverty and starvation. If they need something, they have to work for it, even if it kills them. They cant get what they need by the flick of a switch. The planet is a huge place, but it is metaphorically separated. The 'third world' , the land of poverty, was being ignored by the richer countries. Miley was ready to break the invisible barrier dividing the lands, separating the people; she was ready to step in and help make a difference, before it got too late.