There once stood a settlement at the edge of a marshy wood. Over the years, the settlement flourished into a town, but the woods did not allow it to grow without sacrifice. Even centuries later, one could find the remains of lost estates scattered between the trees: broken stone walls and half-buried cobbles.
One such site was less weathered than the rest. Though there was no sign of the home that once stood there, brick outlines of outbuildings remained, and at the center of the old property sat a crumbling well.
The parents of the town, fearing loose stones and swampy surroundings, submitted a yearly petition to seal off the well. But things moved slowly in the town, and the well still stood.
When the town’s authorities failed to remove the danger, the parents turned to an age-old tactic: fear. They spread ghost stories about the old place, and this frightened the little ones away. But the older children only grew more curious, and so, as with any forbidden place, the well became a favorite among the town’s teens. They would climb the fragile structure, and shout inside, and drop in the old bucket, daring each other to drink the haunted water. But their bravado was fueled by their numbers, and few dared visit the old well alone. Most days, the well was quiet.
Which was why Kei loved the old place.
Kei was not one to fear ghosts. She had seen real monsters, and they looked and sounded just like everyone else, at least until they were behind closed doors. Sometimes, Kei imagined there was a ghost, and it was as lonely as she. So she would sit on the edge of the well and recount her day to an imagined, ghostly ear.
“Mrs. Maple told me last night that she won’t be able to take care of me anymore. I thought she liked me.” She bounced one foot against the stone wall. “I don’t know if there’s another family, yet. We’re supposed to go talk to my case manager this weekend. What a stupid title, ‘case manager’.” She looked up at the half-rotted roof covering the well. “I got in a fight with Simon today. He nearly ran me over on the way to school, and I swear he did it on purpose. He was laughing as he drove by. So I snuck out of class and slashed his tires. I know I shouldn’t have, and I felt bad right after. Anyway, he found out, and—”
A voice floated up from the darkness below her.
Kei started and leaned over. “H-hello?”
The old stones gave.
As Kei fell down the well, and the light above her dimmed, she felt only embarrassment. What a stupid way to die, she thought, and then she hit the water.
Cold and fear flooded her. The water seeped into her clothes and dragged her down until she no longer knew which way was up. She fought her body’s urge to gasp for breath, knowing instinctively that the lack of air was preferable to the pain of water filling her nose, her throat, her lungs.
“I’m sorry. I tried to warn you.” The words carried through water as if through air.
Kei thrashed towards the sound, but the murky water revealed nothing.
“I can help you. Will you let me?”A figure separated from the silt: flowing hair and a tattered dress.
Darkness crept at the edges of Kei’s vision. She nodded, desperate.
Something heavy wrapped around Kei’s neck. “Take a breath.”
Kei shook her head.
Her rescuer swam closer, gesturing to herself. An ornate necklace sat at the base of her throat. Bringing her hand to the weight at her own neck, Kei felt a similar shape.
Despite everything in her mind warning her not to, Kei inhaled, and braced herself for the stabbing pain.
It never came.
She parted her lips. Water filled her mouth, and she could swallow it as if she were drinking from a cup, but she did not choke. “How—“ Hearing her own voice in the water startled her even more.
“It’ll keep you alive down here. Come.”
Kei followed.
The walls of the well widened into a cavern. As they approached the bottom, Kei slowed, eyes widening.
The darkness solidified into a handsome manor. Even in the dim light she could make out paneled glass windows, carved wood, warm brick.
They swam under a pediment held up by a pair of columns.
“Welcome to my home. My rooms are in the west wing. You’re welcome to explore the rest of the house, though I’m afraid there isn’t much to do.” Her rescuer pushed open a waterlogged door.
“Who are you? What is this place?”
“You may call me Leto. This is my home.”
Kei followed her inside. “Thank you for rescuing me. I’m Kei.”
Leto floated in place, studying her in silence. She turned towards a hallway and disappeared into the green water without another word.
Suddenly exhausted, Kei chose not to pursue her. She tried some doors until she found a sitting room, furniture bolted to the floor and walls, curtains flowing freely around windows. She lay down on a chaise and breathed out, and that seemed enough to keep her in place.
The water around her rocked her gently, lulling her into sleep.
***
Time didn’t matter in the drowned manor. Hours or years passed since Kei fell. She felt neither hunger nor thirst marking the passage of time. Her days started when she woke and ended when she slept.
On the first day, she swam to the surface of the water. The light above was a distant pinprick; the walls of the well were slick with algae. Kei refused to feel discouraged. She felt around the stones, searching for a handhold, trying again and again to pull her soaked body from the water, until her fingertips bled and she had no strength left.
She floated on the surface, watching the light above change, thinking. She had been going about this all wrong, she realized. It was impossible to climb these walls on her own. But maybe there was something of use back at the manor.
Kei spent the rest of the day exploring the sunken home. Each room was a diorama of carved wood and embroidered cushions. Memories of paint and gilding were on every surface. Rings and necklaces poured out of broken lacquered boxes. Gemstones littered the floors, strewn about like sparkling dust bunnies.
Kei tried to tie some old linens into a ladder, but they disintegrated at her touch. She tried to wedge a wooden plank into the well’s wall, but a shower of gravel and a handful of splinters were her only rewards.
The days began to blur together. Every morning, Kei filled her pockets with jewels, telling herself that today would be the day she found a way out, and the treasure would be payment for her troubles. Invigorated by sleep, she tried to climb out, failing again and again until she could barely stay afloat. Then she returned to the manor, searching for anything to aid her escape.
Some days, she would find her hostess sitting in a wingback chair, or on a chaise lounge, gazing at nothing. Leto showed no interest in conversation, not offering so much as a look when Kei swam by. But the silence and solitude were driving Kei to madness, so the next time she came across Leto, she spoke up.
“Have you always lived here?”
Leto turned slowly. Her expression shifted to surprise, as if she’d forgotten about her guest. “No.”
“How long have you been here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where did you live before?”
Leto hesitated, worrying a string of pearls between her fingers. “Right above here, I think. The well you fell through used to be in our front garden. And before my father built this home,” she gestured around the room, “we lived in England.”
Kei looked around at the old-fashioned, hand-made furniture. She looked at Leto’s fine, fancy dress. “Oh.”
“What is it?” Her hostess showed an ounce of curiosity.
“You moved here from England.”
“Yes.”
“What do you call the place up there?” She gestured up.
“It’s one of the colonies.”
Kei snorted and quickly covered her mouth. “Sorry. Wow. Um… You’ve been here a while.”
“How long?”
“Well, this ‘colony’ got its independence about 200 years ago.”
“Two hundred…” Leto’s face twisted. “So… They’re all gone.”
Kei looked down at her hands, realizing the implications of her own words. “If it helps… I don’t really have anyone, either.”
“I…” Leto looked at the pearls in her hands. “I’d like to be alone, please.”
“I’m sorry.”
Her apology was met with silence.
***
Kei spent the whole of the next day at the surface of the water. Her fingers were raw, her muscles ached, but she stayed where she was, trying again and again to climb out, too embarrassed to return to the manor and run into her hostess. She lost track of the days, floating on the surface of the water, drifting in and out of sleep, her eyes searching the walls for an escape.
She thought she dreamed the rattling at first.
The bucket!
“Hello?!” She cried, splashing upright.
The rattling stopped, replaced by shocked exclamations. The bucket swung far above, abandoned.
Kei pulled a gem from her pocket, willing it to bring her luck as she gazed up. She waited.
A shadow blocked the light above.
She held her breath.
The bucket resumed its descent.
Kei clenched the gemstone. A new idea began to form, and with it, hope.
The bucket plopped into the water. As it started to retreat, she dropped the stone inside. The bucket traveled up.
More shouts echoed from above.
The bucket dropped back down. She placed a necklace and a ring from her pocket.
Again and again, the bucket lowered. Each time she placed more treasures, until none were left.
The next day, she filled both pockets with jewels.
The bucket returned.
She dropped in treasures by the fistful until her pockets were empty.
***
“You’ve been stealing from me.”
Kei froze, a bracelet and a pile of rings in her hands. She turned slowly.
“What are you doing with them?” Leto’s voice held no anger, only curiosity. “They’re of no use down here.”
“I’m putting them in the bucket.”
“Why?”
“I started with one. Now, I’m putting in handfuls. Eventually, if they want more, they’ll have to throw down a stronger chain.”
“One that can pull you out,” Leto said softly.
“Yes.” Kei waited, heart pounding.
“Brilliant!” Leto dashed forward with unexpected vigor. “I’ll help you. Come!”
They filled pockets and pillowcases, and grabbed up boxes, and swam to the water’s surface.
“Fill it,” Leto whispered once they saw the bucket moving down, as it had every day before. “As many as it’ll hold.”
They poured the treasures into the bucket. It jerked up, barely leaving the water before dropping.
They watched the shadow above struggle with the windlass.
The bucket splashed back in the water.
The shadow retreated.
They waited.
***
“How did your home end up down here?” Kei asked as they bobbed above the water, eyes trained on the opening of the well.
“I don’t exactly know.”
“What do you remember?”
Leto shifted and turned to face her. “It was just my father and I. Mother stayed behind with my brothers. She thought they were too young to travel until we were more settled. I was helping father with his ledgers; he was a merchant, a rather well-known one,” she added, her voice tinted with pride. “And, well, I had just come of age, and we thought it best to find me a husband close to our new home, for I didn’t wish to be separated from my family.”
Marriage? A husband? She can’t be much older than me.
“There were a few men in town who courted me, but one was the most insistent. We entertained him at first, but I didn’t like him, and Father didn’t trust him. We agreed that I would reject the man, and Father would support me, the next time he came by to see me. But then Father got called away to check on one of his ships. The man came while he was out, demanding I agree to wed him then and there. I refused, and…” She stopped. “I remember not what happened. The next thing I knew, my home and I were underwater, and I was wearing this horrid thing,” she brushed her fingers against the necklace around her throat, “and I could breathe and speak as if I were on land, and the man, he was there too. He wore a necklace just like mine, and he told me there were only two in existence, and this was his way to keep me all to himself, where no other man could ever find me. I pleaded, and cried, and while he was distracted I tore the necklace from his neck and locked myself in a room. I don’t know if he ever got out, or just died, though I’ve never found his body.”
Kei swallowed. “I would be terrified.”
“I was.” Leto shook her head. “I hate to think of how Father felt, coming back to find myself and his home both gone. He had to tell Mother, too, and my brothers. I hope… I hope they lived good lives.”
“I’m so sorry,” Kei had no other words. She had always been alone, and knew no other way. She couldn’t imagine having a loving family, parents, siblings, only to lose them.
“I don’t know why I kept on waiting, why I didn’t just take the damn thing off and let myself drown. I thought I would spend eternity alone here. And then… You fell.”
Kei touched her own necklace. “So this was his?”
“Yes.”
She shuddered. “We’ll take them off together, then. And throw them in, as soon as we’re out of here.”
Leto looked up. “Do you really think it’ll work?”
“Everyone around here could use the extra cash. They’ll come back.”
“What about after? I’ll stand out terribly. I sound so different from you, and the way I look… I’ll never fit in.”
Kei considered Leto’s tattered dress. “We’ll tell people that there had been a costume party, and we detoured by the well. You fell in and hit your head, and now you remember nothing but your name. I’ll tell them I met you at the party and have no idea who you are.”
Leto sighed. “The world’s very different now, isn’t it?”
Kei offered what she hoped was a comforting smile. “It is, but it’s not all bad. There’s television, and planes, and phones. Girls our age don’t get married, at least most of us don’t.” She felt her own excitement build. For the first time, she felt hope for her future. “We’ll keep some of the jewelry and pawn it, and use the funds to get a used car. We’ll drive until we find somewhere pretty, and then we’ll get a little rental. I’ll help you learn about everything that’s changed. We’ll get jobs at a cafe, or in a little shop…”
Leto looked down at the pearls in her hand, and back up at Kei. “What’s Tele Vision? It sounds like witchcraft.”
Kei laughed.
***
Echoes carried down from above: voices, clanging, a motor. The light above was blocked out completely. They moved to the wall, making room for the galvanized tub suspended by chains as it lowered to their level.
Kei clambered into the tub and held out a hand. After a moment’s hesitation, Leto gripped it and joined her.
The tub began its ascent. Every time it stuttered and swung to a stop over the pit below, Kei’s heart stuttered and swung as well. But each time, the movements resumed.
The light turned quickly from comforting to blinding. Kei covered her eyes and listened to the growls of a struggling engine, to the townspeople’s gasps as the tub came into view.
Hands helped them to solid ground. Exclamations of concern and disbelief surrounded them.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s two girls!”
“Call 911!”
Kei squinted against the light, searching for her companion. She only saw unfamiliar faces, and she wondered idly if it was the shock confusing her, or if she herself had lost a century inside the well.
“Give us some space! Please!” Leto’s commanding tone surprised the onlookers into compliance.
Arms embraced Kei, hands felt around her neck, and the weight of the necklace fell away. She gasped, and it was the easiest breath she had breathed since she fell.
Leto took Kei’s hand. “Please, help me with mine.”
Kei reached out, but hesitated. “What if it’s keeping you alive?” Her mind flooded with images of Leto aging centuries in a matter of moments, or drowning from years of water trapped in her lungs.
“It’ll be okay. Whatever happens, I don’t want to be under his curse anymore.”
Kei nodded, and unclasped the necklace from Leto’s neck.
They both held their breath.
“I’m okay.” Leto whispered. “I’m okay.” Her eyes brightened with new light. She held her arm out over the well, Kei’s necklace swinging.
Kei hesitated again.
“Kei?”
If the jewels that filled their pockets were worth a small fortune, these necklaces would guarantee that Kei would never have to work. They could live in luxury. Scientists and governments would be fighting for a chance to own the magical necklaces that allowed a girl to live in a well for centuries.
“Kei, no.” Leto placed a hand on her arm. “Please, we have to get rid of them. They’re too dangerous. Someone will use them for ill, just as that man did.”
Kei’s ears caught the sound of approaching sirens. Soon, the first responders would get here. She and Leto would be whisked away to a police station, or a hospital. They’d be questioned. They’d be searched.
“You’re right.” She held out the second necklace.
Their fingers released their hold at the same time, and then Leto’s hand found hers.
And Kei didn’t feel so alone anymore.
–
Izzy T has worked in a variety of fields, including education, logistics, waitressing, banking, and retail, during which she has perfected the art of people watching. She now applies those skills to writing about the mundane, and the secrets it hides. She spends her days writing in the Oregon home she shares with her spouse, their friends, and two cats (cow-print and matte-black).
© 2024, Izzy T
Halfway Down the Stairs 