The Mystery of the Well

 

This story unfolded many years ago. In a small village, there lived a married couple, the Billis. Mr. Allan Billis was a baker; his wife was named Britica. They had recently given birth to a daughter, Ilsa. However, Britica spent more time with her cousin Collin than with her husband. Some suspected her of infidelity, others praised her good relationship with her family. One autumn evening, her cousin Collin was to sail away on the ship "Writica" to Europe. Britica told her husband she was going to the port to say goodbye to her cousin. However, she never returned. That evening, the man waited patiently and went searching for her during the night. But to no avail. The villagers hated Britica, and she eventually left her husband with their child. She was often the talk of the town, misunderstood. They suspected she had gone off with her lover, Collin. However, her daughter knew nothing; everyone hid it from her. They told her that her mother had died immediately after her birth. And so year after year passed, and Ilsa loved her mother, even though she knew of her death. And she held onto this belief for 12 years. Everyone thought she was strange because she kept talking about things they considered "absurd." About spells, magical trolls, fairy-tale elves, and forest creatures. The garden was full of nooks, crannies, and corners, and there was a well—level with the ground, therefore very dangerous. It's closed now, but it used to be uncovered for days and nights. One day, the girl overheard her aunts talking:

"That child is strange," Aunt Clara declared.

"No wonder. Maybe if her mother hadn't abandoned her right after birth and sailed away with that Collin, she would have been completely normal."

Ilsa's eyes were the size of eggs, and tears welled up in them. She stretched out her arms and clenched her fists. She stood there for 15 minutes. Suddenly, she turned pale, and her hands turned icy. Sweat began to drip from her forehead. She couldn't move. Only after another fifteen minutes did she run to her attic room, throw herself on the bed, bury her face in the pillow, and cry bitterly. She didn't sleep a wink that night, constantly thinking: "How could she? Left her? How could she escape from her father? Why did I only find out now? Why didn't my father tell me?" She felt she would never forgive her mother. Terrible thoughts haunted her. "She didn't do it, she couldn't," she lamented. She didn't sleep again that night. Only in the morning did she fall asleep. When her father checked on her at noon, he saw a pale, flushed child. She was trembling, wet, and with large eyes staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, the girl screamed, "She didn't do it!" Mr. Allan immediately knelt by her bed and, angrily, asked what had happened. But Ilsa continued to scream, "She couldn't have!" The man immediately called the doctor, who arrived quickly. He said the girl was in shock and had a high fever. Suddenly, Ilsa screamed, "She couldn't have left us!" Allan turned pale and thought, "She knows the truth." He sat down beside the girl and grabbed her shaking, icy, wet hand. The girl jumped up and ran to the window. She saw the well. Suddenly, she cried, "She's in the well! She fell in that night! She's been there for 12 years, and no one has bothered to get her out! It was dark, and she was returning from the port! She was singing, and the well was open! She fell in!" The father laid his daughter on the bed. He knew the girl was delirious with fever. But Ilsa began to scream even louder. The doctor and the little girl's father left the room. They agreed that Allan would climb into the well in front of the girl and prove to her that no one was there. And so they did. The doctor pulled an old ladder from the attic and threw it down the well. Ilsa stood by the open window, tense, waiting for an answer. The doctor stood above the well, holding the ladder. The father was already downstairs. Five minutes later, he was back. Pale and terrified, he stood on trembling legs and slumped helplessly to the black earth...