Water Bearer

By Crystal Joy Meyer

Walter Krakowski is the epitome of a teenage freak. Living with crippling obsessive-compulsive disorder and emetophobia, he is constantly fearful of contracting an illness. Because of this, he wears a surgical mask and carries extremely purified water wherever he goes - for drinking, for endlessly washing his hands, and to fulfill an obsessive ritual - a perpetual water bearer.

Along with his friend Owen, another freak at his high school, he struggles to get through each day. Bullies, an alcoholic father, confusing asexuality, and a traumatic event from the past makes his life even more difficult. The one thing that keeps him going is his regular online chats with a fellow PC gamer, an intellectual with the screen name CincinnatiLightning96.

One week, a string of events changes everything. A secret ally emerges. Walter snaps and attacks a bully. He finds out that Cincinnati is a girl, and experiences romantic feelings for the first time. A shock comes soon after, followed by one strange coincidence after another, and eventually, a cruel betrayal.

Set in the Y2K era in small-town rural Nebraska, Water Bearer is a nostalgic coming-of-age story full of harrowing circumstances, twists and turns, emotional vulnerability, and the beauty of deep friendship.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GV19Q6MP
• ISBN13: 9798253601259
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"