A Well

It seems that some rumors about me have spread. Naos looked out his one good window while thinking to himself about how the looks people gave him had changed slightly. If he were to make a comparison, it would be like it went from disgust and apprehension to just wariness.

But Marla's reaction towards him had changed drastically. Now she wouldn't have any problem approaching him to start a conversation.

Naos didn't like that change.

Regardless of his thoughts, it was undeniable that he was assimilating into Calico. It was inevitable, even though Naos thought it would take a lot longer to become one of them. He was prepared to drop a few decades if necessary. Maybe even make the town into a city, who knows?

The kid also came to apologize himself. He introduced himself as Logan and said he was sorry for throwing a rock at Naos. After Logan started talking to Naos, so did the other kids that he knew.

Naos did not like dealing with kids. Or anyone for that matter, but kids especially. They were too sporadic for him. Nonetheless, he was willing to tolerate them because there was nothing wrong with talking to them for a while.

"Hey mister, are you magical too?" Logan's question interested Naos greatly.

"Not really. Why, would you prefer if I'd be magical?" Naos's question was to find out more about the so-called 'magical people' that he had once tried to create himself.

"Yeah, then you can get everyone fresh water!" The childlike innocence in Logan's eyes sparked a relatively recent memory in Naos's mind. He could almost see Astra in place of Logan.

"I can't get fresh water using magical means," Logan lowered his head in slight disappointment, which amused Naos, "but I might be able to get fresh water using other means."

"Really?"

"Don't get your hopes up too high, kid."

"You better keep your promise!" Logan shouted back at Naos as he ran back to his mother and told her the good news.

Naos smirked, "What promise?"

...

Making a well was something that Naos had done more than just a few times. It was a labor-intensive task that required one to find a spot that had water deep beneath the surface.

The location of the well was found pretty quickly. If Naos's guess was correct, then the poor town could not obtain a modern sewage structure beneath their feet, so he was free to start anywhere.

Digging down low enough took quite a few hours. When he had started, it was just before noon, and he was anchored in the center of Calico which he suspected would be the coincidental best spot to start.

He struck water when it was near dusk, and the others had long noticed by now. After all, who wouldn't notice a man digging a hole in the hub of the town? About an hour after he started, the mayor had heard the commotion and came to confront Naos.

Naos responded concisely to the Mayor's angered question as to why he was tearing up the dirt in the very center of Calico. All Naos said was one singular word that the mayor shut himself up at: well.

In truth, it was something that the mayor had been thinking about for a while but was unable to put into motion himself because it took so much manpower that they didn't have. But this single man that had appeared not too long ago was doing it singlehandedly.

The onlookers thought this was a miracle, but the mayor reacted even more. This was because he saw that even after more than six hours of work without rest, Naos had yet to break a sweat.

Night fell and most people had turned in for the night, save for a few like Marla and the mayor. Naos was done digging the hole and prepping the well. Now he just had to build the structure himself.

He crawled out easily and came to the mayor. "I assume you have the materials I need?"

The old man's jaw fell at the deduction of the man. "How... how did you know I wanted to make a well?"

"You had a lot of the materials in plain sight when I walked into your office."

While Naos had acted like it was a simple matter, the mayor could only think of how he had remembered such a small detail that he had only glanced at. The only possibilities were either that Naos had planned to make a well from the start, or he had an amazing memory.

Snapping back to reality, the mayor looked into Naos's calm eyes. "Take what you need. And thank you for doing this for us."

Naos just nodded before starting the second phase of building the well. This part would take a few days, even for him. He had to layer the bricks tightly from the bottom of the hole upwards.

Not to be physically taxing, but it would take days simply because of how many trips he had to make. By his estimate, it would take about a week to complete this part.

Getting to work, Naos made a stack of bricks and other materials that he needed that were all lying in the back of the town hall. He was glad that the mayor was a diligent man who thought for the good of the town.

Slinging the stack over his back, Naos safely climbed down to the bottom of the hole and got to work.

Before he knew it, the sky had turned blue once again and some people were peering into the hole. Naos was ignoring them, but when he had climbed up to the top for another trip, they were looking at him like they wanted to say something.

"Can I help you?" Naos asked.

"No, quite the opposite," one of them spoke, "what can we do to help you?"

Naos smiled at their goodwill. Not letting the opportunity slip by, he gave them some simple tasks that would cut the time in half at worst, and at best, the well would be completed in 2 days.

Everyone that he had met in Calico and even more that he didn't gather to aid the construction of a freshwater well that would help all of them immensely. Naos rarely saw this kind of unity. It was a very welcome sight.