“No, Mrs. Kumar. I’m here on a mission of mercy.” He held up the orange notice like a white flag. “They say you can pay water bills here?”

Subject: Payment Received. Thank you for your prompt action.

Panic began to prickle at the back of his neck. He imagined the shame of the plumber coming to turn off the valve. The horror of his morning shower turning into a dry hiss.

He tapped the Metro Water Authority app—the one with the two-star rating and complaints about the login screen. Of course, he’d forgotten his password. After three failed attempts, his account locked.

He’d woken up late, spilled coffee on his only clean tie, and now, as he stood in his kitchen trying to toast a bagel, a single, unforgiving slip of orange paper taped to his refrigerator caught his eye.

“Three hundred twenty-two dollars and fifty cents. Includes the late fee, I’m afraid.”

Arjun’s stomach dropped. He’d seen the email. He’d even opened the PDF. But between quarterly reports, his daughter’s science fair project, and a leaky faucet he’d sworn to fix, the due date had evaporated like… well, like water in a Metro City summer.