The Secret of the 1000 Souls Well - Part I

Some tales are best forgotten...

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Katy strode along the forest path as it opened onto a tiny plain of grass. To the west she could see the ocean rising up to the lower bluffs, crashing against the worn stones at high tide. The sun, threatened by a fast moving fog bank, slid low along the horizon. A typical late afternoon along the coast. Katy looked north at a lush green, gently sloping hill. And in the distance, an ancient gate of thin iron bars at the top. There was no guarantee that the gate would be unlocked but she paid the thought no mind. She had come prepared. Circumventing a locked gate quietly, well…that was another matter. She shivered. Whether from the growing chill or the thought of what she was about to do, she knew not. What she did know is that she needed to discover the truth. And she wouldn’t find it standing there on the trail.

Pulling her cloak tightly around her frame, she moved on, hoping to reach the gate that led to the 1000 Souls Well before sunset. She had finished her chores later than expected so there wasn’t much time. If she were to get back home much after dark there would be uncomfortable questions to answer. To make matters worse, the walk up the hill felt oddly ponderous. She wondered if she was unconsciously letting her growing fear slow her pace. By the time she stood before the gate the sun had relented, and the fog cast a deep gray pall across the land.

The gate she’d only heard about in hushed tones appeared more rust than iron. There was no visible lock. It opened into a three-sided alcove of weathered rock. A cairn of sandstone that matched the color of its worn portal. Beyond the gate the 1000 Souls Well sat, silent and dark. This was it. The place where the young were forbidden to go and adults never spoke of except in vague and apprehensive response to their children’s queries. Katy froze. She didn’t believe the rumors she’d heard about what lie beneath, but without proof, she couldn’t be sure what was real. It took all of her strength to move toward the well in the growing twilight, but she had to know. She pushed the gate and it opened, unlocked and untended like a memory long forgotten. Never taking her eyes off the four foot diameter hole descending into the earth, she stepped forward. Her heart pounded. Her limbs began to shake. She waited there so long that it felt like like the passing of an age. By the time she’d grasped the courage to stand at the edge of the well, the lack of light inside the walls made it nearly impossible to probe the black below. Katy fumbled for her torch and knelt down to pull out her flint and steel. She took a deep breath to calm her trembling hands. Just before she struck the first spark a large hand grabbed her left shoulder. She spun around screaming and swinging the torch wildly until she heard a thud and a loud groan.

“HEY! Oww…stop that!”

Katy fell on her backside, but her fear abated as she soon recognized the form standing above her.

“Wha…what are you doing here?!” She said in equal parts relief and horror.

“What am I doing here?” the man retorted. “Yer late for supper, young lady! And don’t get me started on the fact that yer not even supposed to be up here.”

Katy raised her arms in a somewhat passive defense. “Okay…I’m sorry, Pa, I’m sorry! You’re right. Please don’t be angry.”

The man’s face softened even as he shook his head. He reached down to help her up. “Well…why’d you come here anyway? You been warned more than enough.”

“I had to know, Pa. I had to know what’s wrong with this place…why it’s forbidden. None of you adults would tell me. And I’m too old. I’m too old not to know! Besides, I was being safe.” She proudly patted a sheathed dagger on her hip. Then her face scrunched up into a frown. “Hey, wait a moment…why are you here?”

Pa looked around the alcove as if searching for prying eyes. “Firstly, that’s just a fish knife." he replied. “And second…light yer torch. We’ll talk on the way home.”

Katie look backed at the well. She wanted to stay but knew there was nothing for it. Her investigation would have to wait for another day. They traveled in silence down the hill. Pa was still noticeably chagrined so Katy decided to be patient. By the time the pair reached the bottom, twilight had already turned to night and the girl was sure she’d lost an entire hour somewhere. Soon, they were wending along a torchlit path through the forest toward home. Beyond the edge of the firelight the world was pitch black; an enveloping presence that promised both excitement and terror. Katy noticed that their pace had quickened. It wasn’t terribly late and they were close to home, but the dead of night wasn’t far off either.

She watched her father intently, waiting for him to say something, anything. The girl was fit to burst when the old man finally spoke. “I saw you walkin’ into the forest. Seemed strange to me that you’d be headin’ this way at that hour so I followed. Once I saw the path you were on, I figured I’d find you up there.” He nodded toward the north. "I suppose I figured right, eh?”

Katy didn’t respond but looked at her father with raised eyebrows. Pa looked back at her dark eyes in the warm light and sighed. “Aright,” he continued. “I suppose you really are old enough to know the story. Well, here it goes, I guess. You see, the well is cursed…”

“Wait,” Katy chirped. “You’re not trying to feed me that ridiculous story about a demon, are you?”

The old man gave the girl a wounded look, much like a fox who’d just stolen two chickens but was blamed for three. However, the act didn’t last long. “You talked to yer Ma already, did ya? Well, isn’t that what she told ya?”

“Yes,” she replied. “She said once a child is old enough, the Secret of the 1000 Souls Well is revealed. Then she talked about an ancient demon that invaded the land and was finally trapped in the well by some traveling minstrel with a magic horn or some gibberish. But I didn’t believe her. So I decided to ask Myrna at the apothecary and…”

“Myrna?” Pa snorted. “That old woman is crazier than a took on a sheepdog!" Why’d you go and talk to her for?”

“She’s not mad, she’s our doctor. And the village historian.”

“She’s perfectly looney, if yer asking me.”

“I didn’t,” Katy replied. “But that’s not the point. I talked to her about the well, and she says there’s no record of any demon or demonic possession associated with it or the village. And there’s never been any account of a traveling minstrel coming through these parts to boot. Plus, she said the story was all hogwash anyway. Just a spooky tale to scare the children. So, again, what’s the real story? What’s down that well?

“Didn’t she tell you? Pa replied.

“She said it wasn’t her place to tell me,” Katy said. “She told me to find you. That you knew the real story. And that it was your responsibility to your daughter. But as you already know I got tired of being ignored, so…I thought I’d just take a look.”

“That damnable witch,” Pa muttered. “Aright. I give. But you must promise not to tell anyone, especially not the other children. I gave my word to some of the menfolk that I’d never tell a soul but for absolute necessity .” He looked at Katy as her eyes narrowed. “I suppose it’s that time, then.”

The trees finally thinned and the pair could see that they’d arrived at the edge of the village just south of the forest. The evening fires of nearly two dozen pine and thatch cottages flickered through tiny windows that had yet to be shuttered for the night. Though she’d never admit it to her father, Katy breathed easier. The talk of demons - even ones that (probably) didn’t exist - was scary enough close to home, let alone on the broken paths of a dark forest.

Katy’s father turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She was tall girl for 13 years but he still towered over her by several inches. The lines in his face, barely perceptible in the torchlight, seem to deepen.

“Here’s the truth,” he said just before taking another long breath. “Now, I got yer promise, aye?”

“Yes, Pa, yes! Tell me. What’s down the 1000 Souls Well?”

The old man gazed upon his little girl, a weariness in his eyes, and uttered a single word…

“Soup.”

“What?!?!”

READ The Secret of the 1000 Souls Well - Part 2

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Cover Art: alphacoder.com

Photo of Well: pxhere.com

Photo of Forest: freepik.com