Down the Well

Well.

Well….

It was there, right in front of us. Although, to be fair it was more like a hole in the ground rather than one of those circular walled things with a bucket, a winch and a little roof.

But it was a well.

I dropped a stone… then, what seemed like several seconds later, there was a loud, echoing - and very satisfying - plop.

I looked at Sue and she looked at me, smiling.

‘Hello,’ I yelled.

‘Hello….’ The well echoed back.

I looked at Sue. Sue looked back at me.

‘That wasn’t an echo,’ Sue said.

‘Not unless my voice had a sex change halfway down,’ I agreed.

‘Is anyone down there?’ Sue yelled into the hole.

‘Of course,’ the well replied.

‘Are you stuck?’ Sue asked.

‘No.’ the well… or who ever it was, said. ‘Although, I would regard it as something of a kindness if you didn’t throw any more stones down here.’

‘Ah.’ Sue said, looking at me the way women look at men when they think the man has done something so obviously stupid it is a waste of time the woman even mentioning the idiocy of it.

‘It landed in my tea.’ The voice added.

‘Tea?’ I said, looking at Sue and shrugging.

‘It made me drop my digestive,’ the voice said, sounded rather aggrieved. ‘It landed in my tea… and now my cup is full of soggy biscuit crumbs.’

‘Sorry,’ I yelled. ‘I didn’t know there was anyone down there.’

‘You never even asked.’

‘Sorry, but I never thought…. What are you doing down there, anyway?’

‘I live here.’

‘What?’

‘Where else would a well spirit live?’

‘She has a point,’ Sue said.