The Fisherman's Well

Plink.

Plink.

Plink.

Water droplets fell from the clouds as thunder roared and lightning crackled above her. Farse images of happy times fill her head, but they could never erase the fear and regret she felt.

Time seemed to move so slowly. She didn't even know how long she had been here. Had it been minutes? Hours? She couldn't tell.

Her mind seemed to falter. Was anyone looking for her? "No," she thinks to herself as doubt begins to settle in, "they wouldn't even know where to look."

She shakes her head as she questions the events that led her to this horrible predicament she found herself in. An old legend, curiosity, and stupid dare she couldn't back down from. It was her own fault she was here. Not her friends, not her parents, but her own fault. If she had stayed away, she'd be at home enjoying the warmth their fireplace provided, not stuck at the bottom of an old well in the cold rainy weather.

Grasping the cold, slimy stones, she attempts to climb her way up the wet well wall. One wrong stone, she felt her hand slip. Before she could grab at the wall again, her balance was lost, and she came crashing back down to where she started, in the cold, murky water. Now completely drenched in the disgusting water, her hope diminished into nothingness, washed away by fear and realization. She was going to die down here.

She was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She wasn't going to see her little brother or her parents again. She wasn't going to see any of her friends again. She wasn't going to hit any of the important milestones with her friends...She was going to freeze to death at the bottom of a well, alone and terrified. There were so many things that she wanted to say to her parents, things she wanted to apologize for. And they were all going to be left unsaid.

Tears started to mix with the rain as loud sobs filled the air. She didn't want to die down here. She wanted to die of old age, not hypothermia. This wasn't how this was supposed to end. But life is always like that. It's never how it's supposed to be; it's just how it is. It's never fair.

In a last-ditch effort to preserve her life, she cries out, "Somebody, please! Help me!"

She was only met with the soft plinks the rain gave when they hit the water around her. Flashes of light illuminate her surroundings. For a brief second, she could see the circular walls that surround her. Dried blood and scratches could be seen. It looked like it had been there a while.

Scratches and dried blood...

Was the legend actually real?

No...it couldn't be. Could it?

Her mind raced with unanswerable questions. Everything was falling into place. The weather, the dried blood, the scratch marks...the only thing that would complete the legend would be...

Her frantic thoughts were soon interrupted by a light and a voice, "How are ye doin down there, little laddy?"

Looking up at the figure, endless possibilities ran through her head. This could be the man from the legend. Or it could be someone that could potentially help her out of the well so she could live another day. Without even processing her words, she says to the man, "Please don't eat me...I don't taste good, I swear!"

The older man couldn't help but laugh at the teens' response, "Don't you worry, I ain't gonna eat ya."

She was completely baffled, yet very relieved. Wasn't this the old man from the legend?

"Hang tight, little laddy." The man's accent was thick even for a Scottish one, "We'll getcha out in a jiffy."

We? There was someone else with him??

The man disappears from her line of sight, and when he returns, there's another person with him. A rope gets thrown down, and without hesitation, she grabs it. "Tie the rope around yerself laddy."

Doing as instructed, she ties the rope underneath her legs and makes it like a swing, "Okay, it's tied. Now what?"

"Now hold on little laddy." Gripping the rope tightly, she closes her eyes as the rope begins to get pulled up to the surface. She couldn't help but smile. She was going to see her family again. She wasn't going to die.

As the rope gets closer and closer to the surface of the well, she could see the two men that were pulling her up clearly. It was the man that lives in the light house a mile away and one of his sons. She remembered them. They were always checking the well after that little boy fell in and drowned. The son lets go of the rope for a split second and grabs a hold of the girls hand, pulling her to safety.

Once she was out of the well, she clung to her less frail savior and kept thanking them over and over again. The fear washed away and was replaced by grattidue. She was going to live and she couldn't have been more estatic.

She learned a very important lesson that day, one that she would never ever forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Never leave anything left unsaid. You never know what your last words to someone might be.

Stay safe and stay well.