The Cursed Well

On the outskirts of a village there was an abandoned well. The well was deep yet there was only sludgy wet mud at the bottom, no water. The villagers believed the well to be cursed and stayed away. The village folklore had stories of men who wandered close to it and never returned. People of the village generally stayed away from the well.

Vikram was a young boy, fourteen years old, who used to stay in the city with his uncle and aunty. Vikram's parents were aware that there wasn't much scope for him in the village so had sent him to live with his uncle in the city where he attended a good school and had access to quality education. During summer vacations Vikram would return to the village to spend time with his family.

As always, Vikram had spent the vacation in the village. The vacation was due to come to an end and pre monsoon showers had cooled the village a little. One evening the boys were returning home after swimming in the river outside the village. Vikram was lagging behind. They walked past the well and kept safe distance. Vikram though was curious. He stared at the well and eventually gave in to the temptation.

He walked up to the well and climbed up on the stone wall of the well. As he bent down to see what's inside, his feet slipped on the slippery stones and he fell into the well. Luckily the sludgy mud saved him, falling in slime is not always bad, it saved Vikram's life here. After a few minutes of being blank due to shock he regained his senses. He found himself in the mud at the bottom of the well. He was scared, he knew no one would come close to the well even to look. The distance that villagers maintained from the well meant they would not be able to hear him shout as well.

Late that evening, Vikram's parents got worried, all the other boys had returned home, only Vikram was missing. Senior members of the village, family, friends and the neighbours all gathered at Vikram's house. The women tried to console his mother saying everything would be ok. The men all sat in groups discussing what they should do. No one dared to speak about the well. It was well known that everyone was to keep away from it, so no one thought of looking there.

The next morning all the men went to the local village police station. They lodged an official complaint. It was a small village and everyone knew each other so the inspector immediately summoned three constables and asked them to search the village and beyond. Even the policemen did not look in the well. At noon a jeep pulled into the station, a young inspector from the city had come to check some documents. "Why are all these villagers here?" asked the city cop to the village inspector. "Sahib, a young boy named Vikram has gone missing. They are here for the same. Our constables are out looking for him. Oh here they come", said the village inspector as his constables returned. "Sahib, no trace of the boy", said the first and the other two said the same. "Bring in the boy's family. I would like to talk to them", said the city cop and went into the police station.

Vikram though was not sitting idle, waiting for fate to takes it way. He was trying to find ways to climb out or send some signal or  message outside, which may just catch the attention of a passersby. He tried to climb out a couple of times using the edges of stones along the inside of the well but did not manage to get even half way up. He tried to throw stones outside, but no one noticed. He had two choices here. First was to sit, wait and hope someone would come looking and pull him out, second was to keep making the effort to climb out or atleast make enough noise so that someone would notice. He decided to give it one more try. With a few stones in his pocket he started to climb up. At about half way up, he realised there were no ledges to pull himself up or to place his feet. So he took a strong grip there using his legs and one hand, and with the other took the stones from his pocket and started throwing them out, one by one.

A man from the village was passing by with his herd of sheep and his dog who helped him keep the sheep in a single herd. The dog heard the stone landing on the ground a few feet away. He moved towards the well and started barking loudly. Vikram heard this and in excitement started throwing more stones. "What is the matter with you Tommy", said the man angrily as he rushed towards the dog to take him away from the well. Just then a stone hit him on the leg. Terrified he ran towards the village. He headed straight to the police station. "Sahib.. Sahib", he shouted, panting for breath. "What is it?" asked the village inspector. "The well sir, the well", said the villager, still terrified. "What about the well?" asked the city cop. "Speak quickly, sahib doesn't have all day", said the village inspector. "The cursed well is angry sir. It's throwing stones at us", said the scared man. The villagers who had gathered heard this and immediately there was murmuring amongst them about how the cursed well had awakened and was angry.

"Stop it!" shouted the city cop. "Come let's go and check out the well", he said to the village inspector. "Oh no sir, that well is cursed. I warn you, we should not go there", he replied. "Oh! do you believe in these nonsense stories? Come with me, you be away I will check out the well", said the city cop. The cop, the village inspector and three constables went to the well in the jeep. While the village police stayed back the city cop carefully approached the well. He climbed up on the side walls and looked inside. "Hello?" Vikram?" enquired the cop wen he saw a boy inside. "Yes sir it's me and I'm so glad to see you", replied Vikram, who was hungry, thirsty and tired. The cop with the help of others manged to get Vikram out of the well with a rope. They wrapped a blanket around Vikram and sent him home. "Thank you sir, I'm alive today only because of you", said Vikram to the cop. "That's my duty son", he replied with a smile. "The cursed well! Huh, you guys need to get real. Ha ha ha, the cursed well", the cop couldn't stop laughing as they got into the jeep and went back to the police station.

At night the village folk all gathered at Vikram's house to hear stories about the cursed well. They all crouched around a fire in the centre and eagerly waited for Vikram to start. "What curse are you exactly talking about? I did not know the well was cursed and that's the secret. A curse is a curse only if you believe it is, don't believe it to be a curse and it will cease to be one. Once I fell in the well I had two choices. Accept that as fate, sit there quietly and let whatever happens, happen. Or, I could take matters in my hand and try to change the situation. Trust me, if you just sit and wait, no one is coming to save you. No God sent angel will come and pull you out of the hole unless you make an effort. But, if you keep trying, either you will get out or you will attract the attention of an angel who will come and pull you out. This is the same with life. If you believe it's over its over, if you believe there's a way out you will find a way out. I never gave up even when I was in that deep well, I kept trying untill someone, a dog actually, noticed. If I would have sat there waiting for someone, no one would have come because everyone is too scared of the curse and like others before me, I would have perished in the well. The curse then would have got another stamp of being real", said Vikram in a firm voice. Some acknowledged his wise words while others denied his theory, that again was their personal choice. It was late and everyone went home with what they chose to take.