Danny, Dakota, and the Wishing Well

i. the sun

Danny, Dakota, & the Wishing Well

a short story

Heat. Sand. Bright. Then, suddenly, that all disappeared. It turned into, dark, cold, and wet. The walls were slick with moisture making it impossible to climb up. The small girl cried out for help yet no one came. She screamed for what felt like hours until she finally gave up. Sitting down, she decided to wait.

Soon, the well entrance was covered in stars and the little girl gazed up at them in wonder. Her tummy had begun to rumble but she ignored it. The girl was so enraptured by the way the stars gleamed, that she didn't care about how thirsty or hungry she was. The only thing that mattered were the lights.

Eventually though, the tiny girl became tinier because of no food or water. She started to become a shell of what she used to be yet her eyes never once strayed from the entrance, always waiting for the stars to come back for the night. She was old enough to know that the stars were there in the day, but she wanted to see them glow and shine. And the girl died like that, staring up in awe with a look of sadness yet hope that one day the stars would come down and save her.

-

September 6th, 1954.

That tale was known by all in the small modest town of Mase. As the dark serious boy looked down into the well, he tried to get a glimpse of the rumored skeleton but there was only a pile of glittering copper pennies.

"Why are you out here all alone?" The slight young girl with glittering bows in her hair inquired the other smaller boy. He was still currently staring down into the old wishing well that was near the back of the schoolyard.

The wind swirled around them as the children screamed in the background. The sun was bright on everyone's faces and even though it was September, the humidity never lessened.

The child shrugged, dark eyes squinting up towards the girl. His expression was a mask of confusion. He knew it was the new girl who had moved from the nearby city. He had also heard that she was very mature for her age. It had only been a month since she moved here yet she already had ten times the friends that he had ever had. Which was one but that friend had moved away to a far more special place than this lazy town.

"Well, then why are you lookin' down there?" Her bright green eyes questioned his own brown ones. In the light, she could see gold flecks in the dark irises. The girl had always seen the slightly darker skinned boy somewhere at the playground alone and she wanted to be kind to him just as her mother had always taught her.

"I'm lookin' for some wishes. I really need some..." The scrawny boy trailed off and continued to stare down at the bottom of the murky run-down well. The well was somewhat a legend at the small school of Mase Elementary. Everyone knew the myth surrounding it, that the one thousandth wish would be granted true. No one had much money to spare though.

The girl lifted her head up from their conversation towards the schoolyard. Some students had begun to whisper and point at the unlikely pair which made her huff at their ignorance. Second graders could be so judgmental.

"Hey Dakota! What are ya doing with that nosebleed out there?" Dakota's outspoken friend, Judy, yelled out to her.

"Why don't you mind your own fish, Judy!" Dakota called back to her and returned to face the young boy yet he was already dashing off, not wanting to talk to the intimidating, pretty girl anymore.