FYNDORIAN'S CHALLENGE - Taste of Water

  WON MERIT BADGE - STYLE                                       

Our illustrious editor of WDC’s September Newsletter for Authors has issued an assignment in the exercise of descriptive writing.

Fyn writes:  “I challenge you. An everyday occurrence. Something you see, hear, taste and drink everyday. Water. Describe what water tastes like. It is harder than you think and will require creativity to make it real.”

Hmmm…...  How hard could it be?  I might even get a Merit Badge out of this.  Ok, here goes.

Water tastes like…..uh….well, it’s wet.  No, that doesn’t describe taste.  “Wet,” is how it feels.

Water tastes clear. 
No…that’s what it looks like.

Wait… I’m getting an idea here.  Fyn says, “…it is the details that give birth to the story.”  To detail the taste of the water, you have to know what kind of water we are talking about and who is drinking it.

Ok, let’s see.  There’s tap water, rainwater, seawater, spring water, pond water, lake water, river water, bottled water; and my favorite, bourbon and water.

We also need a taster.  The taste of water depends on the person drinking it. To a man dying of thirst in the desert, water tastes different than it does to a sot at the bar.

So, now, I think I’m ready to take on Fyn’s challenge.

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THE TASTE OF WATER
by:  Winniekay

I clawed my way through the burning sand to reach the oasis, shimmering in my view.  Just a few more feet, I thought.  I inched forward until I felt the sandy rim of the pond.  Plunging my sun-baked face into the cool water, I began to drink.  The taste, running across my parched lips and swollen tongue, was rich and sweet.  The floating fronds of the nearby desert flora added a leafy flavor to the life-saving liquid.  There was a mineral taste from the inorganic processes of the soil and sand.  To this weary traveler’s arid senses, the water tasted of life and sustenance beyond any delicacy in which I imbibed.