Wishing Well Flash

Toby lived on the edge of town next to the abandoned garden. In the center of the garden, there’s a wishing well. He heard rumors that it really grants wishes or if you jump into it, it sends you to another world.

Toby was bored one day, so he grabbed his sword and took a walk to the garden. He used the sword to swing through the brambles and vines.

He made it to the center of the garden and he dipped his sword in the water of the wishing well. The water sprinkled onto the ground as he swung the sword out of the water. The grass grew back and flowers bloomed. It’s not the wishing well that’s magic, it’s the water in the well, he thought.

He ran back home and grabbed a bucket. He ran back to the well and scooped it into the water. The well water refilled. He walked back with the oddly very heavy bucket, trying not to drop it. What if I try to drink it? He brought the bucket home. He took a cup and dipped it into the water, only filling it a little. He drank it and suddenly his sinuses were cleared and his eyesight was enhanced since he wore glasses. He took off his glasses and saw everything clearly again. He ran around the house and shouted, “I can see again! I can see again!”

His mother stopped him and said, “Tobias, calm down. What’s wrong?”

“I can see again,” Toby aka Tobias said.

“I heard. What do you mean, you can see again?” Toby’s mother asked.

“I drank this special water and it let me see without my glasses,” Toby replied.

“What special water? Did you drink from the river? That water’s toxic, the river is polluted,” Toby’s mom said in confusion.

“No, mom, the water is from the wishing well at the center of the garden. It has re-growing and healing properties,” Toby said excited.

“Really? I heard the rumors, but I didn’t believe them to be true,” his mother said.

“It’s true, let me show you,” Toby said as he ran off to his bedroom. He took another cup of the well and rushed it outside.

“Look, your dead flowers,” he poured the magic water over them, “now alive and flourishing.”

His mother put her hand over her mouth in shock and awe. She cried since her flowers hadn’t been this beautiful in years.

“We can’t tell anyone, Tobias. The wishing well would get destroyed by so many people

visiting it,” his mother warned.

“Oh, don’t worry, mom. I won’t tell anyone,” Toby promised.

Zach walked by the garden on his way to school every day and noticed the entrance was cleared. He traveled through it and found the wishing well. He dipped his finger in the wishing well and the water turned black. He stood back in confusion. He splashed his hand on the surface of the water and the drops of water splattered onto the ground, killing anything it touched. Blisters appeared on his hand and he ran home.

A few more people entered the garden and the water turned a different color for each person. Each color had a different healing property.

There was a meeting at town hall to decide what to do with the well. They decided to destroy it since it was causing too much trouble.

The citizen used mallets and sledgehammers to destroy it. The water dissolved into the ground and went into the roots of the plants and vines. It made the vegetation grow so much and so quickly that it captured the destroyers. They were stuck and couldn’t move. The other citizens heard their pleas and came to help with axes and swords.

Toby hurried to the garden as well, “Look what you did, you made the wishing well angry!”

“It’s deadly, when I touched the water, it gave me blisters,” Zach shouted.

“When I touched it, it made my skin peel badly,” Emily, a little girl said.

“And when I touched it, it healed my skin rash,” Mary, another little girl said.

“Well, I guess it depends on the person on what the water does. But we shouldn’t destroy things because they’re mostly bad. Spiders can bite, but they kill pests,” Toby protested.

“It’s too late, we destroyed it, all the water dissolved,” said one destroyer.

“Oh, let get something,” he said before running back home. He came back and dumped the water from his bucket onto the destroyers. The vines went into the ground and the destroyers’ wounds healed immediately.

“Thanks, kid, but what now?” asked another destroyer.

The wishing well rebuilt itself and blasted off into space to find another species that would appreciate it.

The wishing well left a mark on each citizens’ life.