On the edge of town, there was a wishing well. It lay off the road down a short path. Greenery surrounded it on all sides so that going there, one had privacy in the wishes that were made. It was a very tranquil, quiet place. Beneath the hanging leaves lay the pool itself, a polished mirror of black glass gazing up at the sky. In the form of coins, lost beneath the glassy surface, this pool contained in it the accumulated wishes of hundreds of travelers and passersby. These dreams and wishes slept soundly beneath the surface of the still, silent water.
A boy in a threadbare jacket came sniffling and sniveling to the wishing well. He pushed his way through the green curtain to stand at the edge of the well. The quiet of the place weighed on him. Here there was no noise or bustle of the town. No adults to intrude upon him as he dreamed. He had in his pocket three small pennies. Each being a wish in tangible form. He stopped at the edge, peered into the black water hoping to see the glimmer of the coins which had been dropped in there by others. But alas, he was not so lucky. He stuck his hand in his pocket. Between his fingers he squeezes a coin. Was it worth it? All he had were three pennies. To be sure, the boy had wishes. He had dreams. Surely just one wouldn’t hurt. He stopped fidgeting and thought for a moment about what he would wish for.
Casting the coin from his hand, the boy watched the copper flash through the air and break through the surface of the water with a plop. In an instant, the copper coin was lost in the darkness of the pool. With a sigh, the boy turned away, thrusting his hands into his pockets. He shouldered his way back through the wall of leafy bushes and started trudging back down the narrow path.
Water splashed, little waves lapped against the side of the wishing well. The boy stopped, raised his head. He turned back around, wondering if perhaps something had fallen into the well. But what could have made such a noise? He was alone, wasn’t he?
The boy peered through the bushes. He saw nothing. Sheepishly, he sidled back up to the side of the pool. To his utter surprise, he saw a toy soldier floating in the water at his feet. That was strange. How had it gotten there? Strangely too, it was exactly like the toy soldier the boy had wished for: the one he had seen so many times in the window of the toy shop in the center of town. A smile began to creep across the boy’s thin face. Could it be? Could it really be? He glanced around, half expecting someone to come crashing through the underbrush and claim they had dropped the toy in the pool. But no such thing happened. He was alone, in fact. Stooping down, his eyes full of wonder, the boy took the toy soldier out of the pool.
Something cold and slimy touched his fingers. The boy yelped and fell backwards. But when he scrambled to his feet, he saw it had merely been a piece of grass floating on the surface of the water. He let out a relieved sigh. He studied the toy in his hand, marveling at it. For so long, there had been a pane of glass and a price tag between him and this fine toy soldier. But now it was in his hand. Had the pool really answered his wish? The boy looked down at the pool. And he had the strangest feeling that the pool was itself looking back at him. He could not have explained the feeling to anyone had they asked. He just felt… seen. As if the pool was a huge, open eye looking directly at him, waiting. Waiting for the next wish.
Fishing out another coin, he tossed it in the pool. This time he didn’t turn his back, but watched the black water intently. He clutched the toy soldier tightly in his hand. He didn’t have to wait long. And a good thing too, as he had stopped breathing at some point from sheer anticipation. With a loud gasp, the boy leapt back as he saw something suddenly burst up through the surface. Setting aside the toy soldier, the boy leaned over and grabbed the rectangular parcel. This time, he was sure fingers, slick and cold, brushed his hands. The boy lurched back, shuddering as he did so. The pool stared back at him, inert and expectant. Now was its turn to wait with bated breath. The boy turned his attention back to the parcel in his hands. It was a heavy thing wrapped in layers of oilskin. Opening it up he found what he had wished for: a new coat. One of the ones in the new style, worn by schoolboys from fashionable families. Shrugging off his old, threadbare coat, he put on the new one. It fit him perfectly. The boy stood up and checked his reflection in the pool. He thought he looked rather splendid in the new coat. The pool, with its silent gaze, agreed.
Now possibilities swirled through the boy’s head fast and fierce. He had one more coin left; one more wish. But as each new toy or clothing item came to mind, they were struck down. Through the mess arose a wish that burned brighter than all the rest. Taking out his final coin, the boy cast it into the well. The coin sank into the black waters. The well seemed to sigh in relief as it knew at last what the boy’s final wish was to be. The boy waited. His heart hammered in his ears. He clenched his fists, his whole body tensing as he waited to see what would arise form the wishing well. He waited. And waited. His heart began to sink. It was taking too long this time. Could the dreaming water not make this one request? Had he found the limits of this wish-granting well? But just as this thought entered his head, he noticed something in the middle of the pool. It was a lightening of color, from inky black to gray. Something was rising up slowly through the waters. The gray thing then became white. The boy leaned out over the water to get a better look. To his shock, it was a face. A face as pale white as a winding sheet. Slowly it rose closer and closer to him. It was a woman’s face, the contours and shape of which he knew all too well. The eyes opened and looked directly up at him. The boy felt a thrill shoot through him. The surface parted and the whole woman emerged into open air. She rose up to her full height. Ripples danced, white rings across the ebon surface. She was dressed in a somber black dress just as the boy had last seen her in. The boy was open-mouthed and speechless. He could not begin to wonder what power had brought her, his mother, from where he had last seen her sleeping in the earth to this watery womb which had brought her to life once more. Wonder mingled with joy as pure emotion exploded in his breast. His mother smiled at him. She reached out both arms to the boy. With a cry, he leapt into that embrace he had missed for so long. Hot tears streamed down the boy’s cheeks. He wrapped his arms tight around his mother and squeezed. His mother held him close to her. Long white fingers played through his hair.
Still with a warm smile on her waxy face, the boy’s mother clutched her son close to her as she slid backwards into the water. There was a great splash as her body broke through the glossy onyx surface. Then down they went together as the cold, dark waters enveloped them both like a black shroud. Nothing, not even death, would separate them this time.
Silence came back again to that still and tranquil place. The wishing well watched and waited with bated breath. Who would be next to cast a coin into the bottomless darkness. What wish would be borne out of the depths of that darkness on slimy, unseen fingers in exchange for a penny?
