Omni dragged the bucket along behind her, staring at the ground as she wandered to the well. Slowly, sadly, but surly, she made her way across the damp forest. She played with the frogs, and wadded through the creek avoiding the fish. She crawled up the embankment, noticing the ocean off in the distance. “I see not what’s amiss with all the water in the ocean, or in the stream.” The ocean obviously had a high salt content much too powerful for people and even some species of fish to use. The stream water emerged from a lake that the people of the town dumped their waste and byproducts down. This is the same reason her father tells her to never go fishing in that river. However, to Omni all the water seemed the same—cool and refreshing. Finally, at the well, she paused and leaned on the edge. She always wondered how the people of the past had the means of creating such a deep and frightening hole in the ground. She grabbed a small pebble, and dropped it in. She leaned over and waited for it to hit the water below. She unruffled her dress, prepared the bucket for dipping, and played in her hair all before it struck the water below. After picking up a coin from the ground, she thought for a while, weighing the coin in her hand. “I wish to be a seafarer . . . and for Papa to be happy. . .” She flipped the coin in, and watched it twinkle as it fell down.
“You should be careful what you wish for,” a voice said echoing through the trees. Omni looked around, but only saw woodland creatures. A band of crows perching in the treetops cackled down on her. She stomped her foot shooing them away. She watched the bucket twirling as it descended into the dark void. The wooden handle always gave her splinters. She felt the bucket drop into the water. She grabbed hold, and started to pull in the opposite direction. The bucket rose slowly, but it fell down. It raised one twist at a time, until she could see it from the corner of her eye. It came a few inches shy of reaching distance, when a knot in the rope caught in the pulley. The crows returned, scoffing at her mishap. She pretended not to hear them as she reached for the bucket. The bucket she stood on wobbled as she stepped up to the edge of the well. She stretched out her arms; she could feel the bucket with her fingertips. She leaned further in, and felt her hand on the bucket.
Then she tripped. She tumbled down, grappling the edge, but her fingers slipped. The particularly large well gave her enough room to spread out and try to grab on with every limb she had. Her fingertips glided along the slimy, mossy walls, as she plummeted to the bottom. Fear overtook her—her screams muffled by the height of the well. The sensation of flying in the air turned into floating in water. She cracked her eyes open, and could see the opening at the top. Water bubbles slipped from her nose and mouth. She tried to breathe, but she only consumed thick water. Her eyes shut just before seeing a light shining above her. She struggled to open her eyes and when she did, she looked upon the silhouette of a woman reaching out her hands to her. After seizing her tight, Omni fell limp into the woman’s arms.
She felt as if they hovered in a cloud. The colors around her inversed—the blue water turned orange and the moss covered walls turned red. Her skin turned light and her hair turned dark. Although she remained in the water, her lungs filled with air.
How can I breathe?
After a while, she realized she had no heartbeat and was not breathing at all. She screamed, but only air bubbles escaped her throat. The woman appeared in front of her again. They took each other’s hands and she closed Omni’s eyes. The water flushed through her soul like a current. Every drop became one with her body. When she looked at her hands, her hands were crystal and translucent. Her eyes felt wide open for the first time. The golden silhouette of the woman greeted her. Her shimmering aura hid her face from Omni. “With every drop of water that slays thee, may thou use a million more.” The golden angel’s voice echoed as she grazed her fingertips over Omni’s heart. All the colors returned to normal.
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