The Wishing Well

Maddie stomped ahead of her big brother, Sam, as he tossed branches and laughs over her head. She wasn't allowed to go alone to the old garden past the fence. They had been playing hide-and-seek by the weed-tangled wall when they found the old well.

It was small, with a worn roof above and ringed by darkened boards. Sam spit down to the bottom and hauled up the old, clattering metal bucket attached to a rope. Only a tiny bit of muddy rainwater drained from it. Written in rusted letters on the side of the bucket were the words, "This magic well, enchanted by faerie folk, shall grant ye a wish if gold be given."

Sam snorted a chuckle, but young Maddie beamed and wondered. A wish. She stayed up at night thinking and dreaming of it. She didn't have gold, but she knew where to get it. Her father's coin collection had a precious, golden coin found when he went diving in the Caribbean. Since he didn't lock the cabinet, it was easy to get.

The golden coin sunk deep in her jeans pocket as she stomped ahead. Her brother chased rabbits out of the bushes. A breeze flapped her soft, pink blouse as she reached into her pocket and held out the coin. Sweaty and trembly, Maddie let it drop.

It clanged against the rocks below and plopped in the muddy water. Quivering, she thought of all her wishes she might speak, all the things she wanted but, in that instant, she only wanted the coin back. She remembered father's stories and smiles as he turned the coin around and drank in the wide looks of his friends. She could only imagine his smiles turned to frowns and voice to laments. He would be so upset. She could never keep it from him. She didn't fear punishment, but she feared the empty spot in his collection and the stories lost. She had to get it back.

Sitting on the rim, Maddie made sure her brother didn't see as she used the rope to climb down between the rough rock and slimy ground to the dark and musty bottom. Digging the coin out, Maddie breathed deeply and gazed upwards. It was a long ways back.

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She clung to the rope but, several feet up, the old thing gave way and tumbled down around her, sending her into the slim, dark water with a ruined pair of jeans. Brushing her long, amber hair back, she finally called out for Sam.

He appeared with a toothy grin. "Haha! You shouldn't play in wells!"

She held the coin warmly in her hand and glared. "Just get help!"

Still smirking, Sam pondered, "Maybe I....should just leave you. My friends said they were gonna play down by the mill. There's a brand-new candy store out there too!"

Staring, Maddie cried, "You wouldn't!"

Sam just stuck out his tongue and replied, "Seeya, sis!"

Red-faced in the dark and cold, Maddie yelled, "You brat! I wish you were down here instead of me!"

The sun through the trees startled Maddie as she realized she was suddenly on grass again. Her brother was nowhere to be seen. She looked down and gasped. She wore her brother's clothes and her hair was spiky and short.

Realizing what had happened, she stepped over to the old well as the girl below started screaming. She saw her own face looking up in the dark. Her brother was right where she had been.

He batted at her long hair and fanned his pink blouse in disgust, demanding, "Tell mom and dad, right now! I want out!"

Maddie leaned on the well like her brother did and answered, "Maaaaybe. But I got some friends who wanna play by the mill and there's this new candy store. Just wait a tiny little bit...sis."

Sam howled and looked at the gold coin in his new hands. He repeated Maddie's wish but remained where he was, a girl in the mud. Maddie waved and smiled as her now-younger sister called her all sorts of names. She strode off with a smirk. She wouldn't really leave her at the bottom of that well, but some candy did sound delightful.