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tilt his head, his mouth gaping open, swallowing the droplets. Nevin gasped, “Is this real?” Yannis ripped off his shirt and so did Jean Philippe, rubbing the fresh water over their salt-crusted skin. As the shower turned to a downpour, I heard Nina laughing.
    â€œGrab anything that can collect water!” Geri hollered.
    I found the notebook tub and dumped the contents under the canopy. Then I raced out to catch the raindrops. Geri was doing the same with the bailer. Jean Philippe held up two empty cans and let the fresh supply splash into it.
    â€œThank you!” he screamed to the heavens. “Oh, thank you, Bondyé!”
    We were so busy rejoicing in the storm, we didn’t realize how much water was collecting in the bottom of our raft. I moved my knees and slipped. The plastic box spilled its water everywhere.
    â€œDamn it, Benji!” Yannis yelled. “Get back up! Fill it again!”
    Lambert still had his mouth open like a fish, and Nevin, lying on his back, was angling the tray on his lower teeth, funneling rainwater to his lips. I saw Alice smiling; she was soaked from top to bottom.
    Then, just as quickly as the storm arrived, it ceased. The clouds parted and the sun returned.
    I looked at the plastic box, which was mostly empty thanks to my fall. I turned to the Lord, who was awake now, watching us.
    â€œKeep it going!” I screamed.
    â€œSo you believe I created that storm?” he asked.
    It caught me off guard. I looked at the empty tub, then said: “If you did, it wasn’t enough.”
    â€œWasn’t one raindrop enough to prove who I am?”
    â€œJust keep it going!” Yannis yelled. “Give us more water!”
    The Lord looked up at the thinning clouds.
    â€œNo,” he said.

Sea
    Day twelve. The water from the rainstorm will buy us a few more days if we ration correctly. Yannis wanted to gather what was in the raft bottom, but Geri said no, we don’t know how much seawater got mixed in. We can’t take a chance. Drinking seawater is potentially deadly. It leads to muscle spasms, confusion, and, of all things, dehydration. How strange, Annabelle. So much water everywhere, and all of it undrinkable.
    We have also suffered another small casualty. The handheld fan. It died an hour ago. Geri had been holding it up to little Alice’s face when the blades stopped. Most of us were watching, and a few of us groaned. Lambert groaned the loudest.
    â€œYou wasted it,” he said.
    â€œShut up, Jason,” Yannis said.
    Earlier this morning, Geri, Yannis, Nina, Lambert, and I sat outside the canopy while the Lord slept underneath it. We don’t stay outside for long, as the sun is brutal. But we wanted to speak where he couldn’t hear us.
    â€œDo you think he created that rain?” Yannis whispered.
    â€œDon’t be stupid,” Lambert said.
    â€œWe still don’t know how he survived in the ocean,” Geri said.
    â€œHe got lucky. So what?”
    â€œHe gets hungry and thirsty like we do,” I said.
    â€œAnd he sleeps,” Yannis added. “Why would God sleep?”
    â€œWhat about Bernadette?” Nina asked.
    â€œThat’s hard to explain,” Yannis admitted.
    â€œNo, it isn’t,” Lambert said. “What did he actually do?”
    â€œHe brought her back to life.”
    â€œYou don’t know that. She could have woken up on her own.”
    â€œShe did die a day later,” Geri said.
    â€œYeah,” Lambert added. “Where’s the miracle in that?”
    â€œThe rain could be a coincidence,” Yannis said.
    â€œThen how come it hadn’t rained before?” Nina said.
    â€œBut why would God stop it when we needed it most?” I asked.
    â€œRead the Old Testament,” Lambert scoffed. “God isfickle, mean, and vindictive. Another reason I never took to religion.”
    â€œYou’ve read the Old Testament?” Geri