The Villagers finally put down their tools, their faces tired but full of hope. Raju stood in the middle of the courtyard, and raised is voice for the last time of the day, “The hardest part is done. Now, we wait. Give it one day — just one — and we’ll see if our efforts have worked.” With quiet nods and tired faces all returned home with little ones for rest.
A day after tomorrow everybody quickly got ready to see their field’s. Raju and Mohan were the first ones to come and see the fields. Surprisingly every field had recovered within a day. The lime juice had worked. Cheers and laughter burst through the air as the children ran barefoot along the edges, shouting, “We did it! We did it!” While everybody were celebrating a government jeep arrived, the same officer stepped out of it , expecting to find flooded fields and anxious faces — but was met with joy, music, and the aroma of kheer(Indian traditional sweet) being prepared for celebration. In confusion he asked , “How did your field’s recovered this quick?” Every villager pointed towards Raju who was sitting with dada ji. The officer approached the Raju and kept his hand his shoulder, “You led this all?” asking Raju. He nodded while his Dadaji came and patted his back. The officer appreciated Raju and announced that he will be awarded in the village meeting ,saying this the officer left. The celebration began once again; Raju went back into his room and brought a mango seed and decided to plant it near their villages gate. Before planting it, he called all the children of his village and planted it, soon all the people started asking why he planted a tree over there. “This is for our future,” he said. The villagers clapped for his work.
As the village burst into music and celebration once more, Raju looked around at his people, his fields, and his future — knowing that in the heart of a small village, even the smallest hands could sow the greatest hope.
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