CHRISTMAS DREAMS (cont'd)

as she neared the pond, she heard a mewing sound off to the left.  there was alot of fallen branches and other woods debris on that side of the pond, so she decided to ignore the sound.  she trailed off to the right, going to the far side of the pond.  there was a big stump there, just the right height for her to rest her plump bottom upon.  she dusted off the inch or so of snow and sat, thinking what a beautiful landscape lay before her.  just enough snow had fallen and stuck to make everything in the woods look completely different.  what were once small saplings lining the edge of the woods looked now like small skeletal children, pointing here and there.  even the larger trees' branches looked much like towering skeletal parents, shaking their skinny fingers at the wayward children.  

 

as she sat, taking it all in, she heard the sound again.  she couldn't let it go this time.  she got up from her resting place and hiked off in the direction of the sound.  going this way around the pond wasn't as hazardous as from the other side.  or so she thought.  when she got really close to the sound, it stopped.  her large boots had made alot of crunching noises on the icy snow, thus silencing whatever was calling out.  there was a huge dead tree trunk laying across her path.  she sat upon it, scooting her ample bottom across it, and then over.  as her feet came down on the other side, they found nothing solid underneath.  she thought for a second that it was just her imagination.  but when she felt herself going down, down, down........then she knew she was in trouble.  

 

everything went black around her.  as she tried to figure out in her head what had just happened, she heard the mewing sound again.  it was up there........up there where she once was.........  

 

she could barely make out the light from the top of whatever she had fallen into.  there was a wee bit of sky showing, but mostly twigs and branches covered the opening.  she tried to adjust her eyes to this tomb of darkness she now inhabited, but it wasn't working.  she felt around with her hands, feeling cold, wet earth, mud, roots from long dead trees.  her feet seemed to be planted in water.  not much, but enough to cause her some discomfort as soon as the wetness seeped into her boots.  this must be a well or something similar.  she had never heard anyone speak of there being one here, but then if it was old and abandoned, no one would have mentioned it.  well it may be an old well, but it sure wasn't abandoned..........anymore................