Dead, No Mistake

It was just an ordinary day for Monica. She didn’t dream of anything, or anyone during her sleep; or anything weird to wake her up; or during most of the morning, when she did all the chores a little girl was required to do.

Like most little girls, she liked to play. So that afternoon, she went out to seek her playmates. And play she did. “Now,” she thought, “only if I could just play games all throughout the day, no more chores, nor going to school, nor anything whatsoever. Just playing and having a grand time all day, everyday.” She thought.

When the sun was about to set, she bade her friends farewell and went home. She still has a lot to do, and her mother would be angry if she was still out and playing instead of helping her already.

Monica went home and did her chores. She cooked dinner and prepared the dinner table. She also went out to fetch water.

Monica went to the side of the mountain an open well was. She took water from the well, just enough to fill up a pail. And she got back to fetch another, to wash her feet and her face with.

Suddenly, she felt someone nudge her at her back. It wasn’t strong enough to push her down into the well, but it sure was enough to make her hold tight to the walls of the cistern. She turned around and found a little girl, smiling playfully at her. She was such a beautiful child, small, nearly like a doll. Her waist-length and seemed to be a little blonde.

"What are you doing here?" Monica asked with irritation.

The child’s response was plain and simple: “Let’s play.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I have to take this back home. My mom will get mad at me if I tarry too long. Besides, what are you doing here? It’s already evening. Isn’t it too dark for you to play already?”

Suddenly, the little lass cried. Tears came streaming down her rosy cheeks. “I’m mad at you!” she screamed. And then she vanished into thin air.

Monica was dumbfounded. She wanted to scream, but no voice was summoned from her throat. “A girl disappeared before my very eyes!” she thought. Greater still was her shock when, upon trying to lift the pail, her hand slipped right through!

She stared at her hands. “I must be dreaming,” she thought. She slapped her face, lightly. She slapped herself again a bit harder. And again. But she didn’t awaken from that dream. She tried to knock over the pail of water with a kick, but her foot also just went through. She didn’t know what to do.

A beggar then came to the well. His clothes was exceedingly shabby, and his breathe reeked of alcohol. When he saw the pail of water, he quickly took it and drank from it, before spilling the remainder of the contents all over his body.

“Hey! What did you to the water I drew out of the well!!” Monica was shouting with all the fury her voice can muster. But the stranger didn’t hear a word.

Then her father appeared. He was obviously looking for her daughter. He worriedly looked around, then went to the well and peered at what was at the bottom while using a flashlight.

“Oh my God! My child! My Monica! My child! No!” he suddenly exclaimed.

Monica also went to see what was going on. She saw a disturbing image at the bottom of the well. She saw, submerged in the water, was herself. Or rather, an illusion of her mangled body floating down the well.

Monica’s father then grabbed the beggar by the collar of his rags. The beggar by then was already starting to sleep by then, his back leaning against the well’s wall. “You killed my daughter? What did you do to her?!” was his anguished snarl.

The beggar only confessed his innocence. “A daughter? I never saw anyone here.”

But his father had none of it. “Do not lie to me, you walking bag of filth! You pushed her down!” she watched in horror as her father took out a fan knife at lunged at the poor beggar. A scuffle ensued, both men struggling to take control of that piece of sharp metal, until blood began to spill into the ground. The beggar stood up, totally unscathed. He fled, leaving the other man to die

She began to wail at her misfortunes when the little girl appeared to her again. “| can save your father.” she said. “I can make sure he survives. I just want you to promise that you’ll be my playmate. Forever.”

Of course, what other option does Monica has? She said yes, without munch thought, though with great pain. Her father would live, but she’ll never see him, nor her mother, again.

Thus, from that day on, she became the little girl’s playmate. The spent their days doing little else but to play tag and hide and seek. They played with toys that Monica never knew they existed. They never got tired, or hungry, or sleepy. Sometimes the little girl would disappear, and that’s the only time Monica can get to be alone. She had tried running off whenever this happens but she never managed to get away. Every time she passed through the woods that surrounded the well, she would wind up exactly where she started, no matter what way she goes.

During those times that the little girl was gone, people would sometimes appear and draw water from the well. Sometimes it would be her father, at other times, her mother. At first, she desperately tried to get their attention, but no matter what she did, no matter how hard she shouted and screamed, no one noticed her. Eventually, she got tired of trying. She would then sit on the edge of the well, and watch as they took the water.

One day, during one of those times that the girl was gone, an old hag came. This one was weird because she hade a satchel tied to her waist, and a handful of amulets at her neck. The old hag’s nose seemed to catch some sort of scent, for she started to sniff in the air. “Who’s there?” she said.

Even though she knew she wouldn’t be heard, Monica gave a reply. “It is only I, a lonely lass.”

The hag suddenly froze. “Who?! What are you? You’re not a ghost for sure, because if you are, my amulet should’ve revealed you already. Show yourself!”

Great was Monica’s surprise! Finally, after all the time she spent alone, someone can finally hear her! She quickly explained to the hag who she was, why shy was there, and how she ended up trapped by the well.

“Ah, yes. You must be a prisoner of hers.” The hag said. “I have heard of talks about a powerful enchantress who began to dwell around here. So, this is her magic. Very powerful indeed!”

“Magic?” Monica was surprised. “This is magic? Do you know anything about this? Can you help me get free?” She started to see a little hope.

“Yes I do. I am what people call a mambabarang. I know magic, but regarding your condition, I don not know how to set you free. The magic this enchantress has is totally different from mine. And she seems to be a lot more powerful than me.” The hag explained.

The hope Monica began to see was suddenly crushed. She started to weep.

“Oh, poor girl, do not feel sad. There’s always hope. I will try to find a way to set you free from this curse.” The mambabarang consoled her before leaving

Days passed. Then months. Monica waited but she never heard from the old hag again. And the little girl seemed to go away a little less often than usual.

One day, during the few times the enchantress was away, Monica started to feel something. At first, she felt a little drowsy. Slowly, she began to lie down. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep.

She then had a dream. In her dream, she was surrounded by a thick mist. She couldn’t see where she was. She heard a voice come from the fog. “I finally got to talk to you, little girl“ It was the old hag’s voice. “I couldn’t go to the well anymore, since the enchantress seemed to know about our little chat. She seemed to be aware that I was trying to find a way to set you free. Her magic is really enormous. But I finally found out a clue haw to break your curse. The only thing is, we have to wait for something that happens so rarely. You need to look directly at the midday sun the moment it sudden turns black, while standing on the well’s edges. But that could only happen once in a lifetime.”

Monica woke up. “to look directly at the midday sun, ,while standing on the well?” she wondered. Then she remembered something she learned from school. “She must be talking about a solar eclipse!”

Then she began to lament her misfortune, knowing that an eclipse is a very rare event.

A few days passed. Monica and the girl were playing ball catch when they noticed the sky began to grow dark. Monica’s heart began to race. An eclipse! She can finally be free!

She pretended not to notice what was happening, for the girl ignored it. They didn’t stop playing. Monica started to approach the well, without making the girl notice what she was doing. Then, when the sun was completely covered, she stepped on the well, and looked at it.

She began to feel something different. Her body, it’s as irf it became a bit heavier. She was finally free!

But just as she was about to step down, she felt a push on her side. She fell into the well! As she was falling, she blacked out.

When she regained her consciousness, she saw a body on the grass lying next to her. It looked a bit older, but she was sure it was her body. It’s neck was grotesquely angled in such a way it was naturally impossible. Now, there’s no mistake about it. She was finally dead.