There was a legend about the well in the garden. The story of how it sometimes sang at night is what drew Matthias to visit the old, overgrown mansion. The victorian home had gone through so many owners, no one knew who it belonged to anymore, and whoever it was didn't even live there. The rumours said it was haunted, but Matthias knew better than to believe these rumours. Sure, it would be fun if it was haunted, but after visiting so many supposedly haunted mansions, he knew there was no such thing. Rumours were nothing more than rumours.
But this house was different. The legends surrounded the well in the garden instead of the house, and that's why this one stood out from the rest. Matthias was determined to find out the truth, just as he did with all the others before it. Some people believed there was a ghost in the well and others thought it was fairies. Matthias didn't believe in either, but he was going to camp out in the house until he heard the singing for himself.
He sat in the tea room at the back of the mansion. It was just like any other sun room, with wide french doors that opened out into the garden and a large fireplace along the opposite wall. He laid his sleeping bag down on the moldy carpet in front of the newly lit fireplace and looked out the dirty glass panes of the windows into the garden. He could see that the garden was groomed into a circle with large, overgrown hedges covered in rose vines. There were stone benches interspersed between the hedges with leaves pooled at their feet. In the very centre of the garden was the infamous well. It was large and ornate, made of white marble and a floral carving in the arch where the broken rope still coiled.
The orange light barely broke through the grime in the windows. Matthias looked out into the garden, excited to find out the secret of this singing well and he couldn't imagine being able to fall asleep until the mystery was solved. He wasn't afraid of sleeping through it, since most of the previous homeowners complained that they couldn't, thanks to the haunting songs that came from the well. They said the melody was in a language no one could understand, and Matthias looked forward to hearing it for himself.
Exasperated, he plopped himself down cross-legged over his sleeping bag. The inside of the mansion was nice, and he could almost picture what it would have looked like in its prime instead of the musty building he now sat in. It was chilly, save for the warmth of the fireplace, lit with decade-old wood that was chopped by the previous owner's servants. Matthias suspected the smell alone would make it hard for him to sleep, whether he was overexcited or not. Regardless, he slipped inside his sleeping bag and laying on his back, he let out a deep sigh. He put an arm behind his head to act as a pillow.
This was going to be a long night.
Matthias looked up at the cracked plaster ceiling, trying to clear his mind in order to sleep, despite the excitement that still brimmed inside. His ears were constantly peeled for any sound coming from the garden. He suspected that "singing" might have been a generous description, but he would have to wait and see for himself. He was only off from work for the next three days and hoped to God he would get to hear the well singing before those three days were over. He would be terribly disappointed if the well didn't sing during that time. The legends made it sound like it sang every night.
Slowly, the light in the fireplace started to dim. The shadows started to seep out of the corners the lower the light became, accentuating sharp corners and making the house more creepy looking than it needed. By the time Matthias closed his eyes and fell asleep, the fire had extinguished itself and the only light available was cast by the moon. The only sound that could be heard was Matthias' gentle snoring.
The rusted grandfather clock ticked the minutes away, and chimed the hours as well. With every chime, Matthias was startled awake and had to calm his nerves and try to sleep again. He didn't know why this house made him so jumpy. He was starting to look forward to the singing from the well, if only so he could get out of this creepy old mansion and its pastel plaster walls.
The clock chimed again. Two sonorous rings rang through the house, announcing to Matthias that it was now two o'clock in the morning and he was wide awake now as the anxieties seeped into his thoughts. The house occasionally creaked, but that was to be expected from a building so old. Rustling could occasionally be heard from the trees in the garden. There was the sound of vermin scurrying in the kitchen, the next room over, making Matthias glad he had closed the doors to the tea room, isolating him from the rest of the house.
There was still no singing. He supposed the rustling of the leaves could count as singing. He would wait out the next three days, listening to leaves rustling, and he would return home, disappointed in having wasted his time. Actually, now that he thought of it, it was a nice house. He could buy it off the current owner, if there still was one, and fix it up. It would be nice to own a nice big house like this, especially with the reputation it had.
With this resolution in mind, he tried to clear his thoughts again in order to try falling back to sleep. He closed his eyes and focused on the rustling in the garden, ignoring the creaks in the floorboards and the scurrying rats and mice. He listened to the minutes ticking by.
Tick, tick, tick, tick. Moans.
There it was. A melodious sound could be heard coming from outside, drawing Matthias' attention, prompting him to sit up suddenly, perking his ears to listen harder. Ignoring the sounds coming from the house, he could hear the moans turn into a strong male alto voice coming from outside. Matthias tried to stand up quietly, still listening to the soft singing that reverberated through the house and echoed into his ears as he stalked over to the large french double-doors. He tried to peer into the garden through the grimy windows, but he couldn't see anything in the dark through the dirt. The sound was increasing in volume. There was no mistaking this was the singing that the legends spoke of.
Matthias tested the knobs and opened the doors. They creaked open noisily, disrupting the melody that came from the garden. Matthias cringed when the voice died down and was silenced by the creaking of the garden doors. He waited in the entrance for the sound to resume, but when it never came, his earlier excitement died down and he exhaled deeply. He stepped out onto the deck and shut the doors behind him.
The moonlight cast a charming glow over the decrepit deck and garden. Matthias took his time walking down the steps towards the well, walking over fallen, broken branches and crunching leaves.
"Come on, come on," he mumbled to himself. "Sing for me again." The white marble of the well seemed to glow in the moonlight. It was a fantastic scenery before him, but the magic of it was dulled by his broken hopes.
He strode towards the large well, hands in his jeans' pockets and shivering in the cool autumn breeze. He stopped at the edge of the well, and laying his hands on the edge, looked into it. His eyes couldn't pierce the deep blackness in the well. He wondered how far a match would drop before being extinguished by water or ground at the bottom. He wondered if the well was dry.
"Come on," repeated Matthias. "Sing for me."
He leaned against the edge now, still peering in. He was sure he didn't imagine the singing; the legends were true, but that still didn't answer the question of what caused the singing. Then Matthias chuckled as another thought crossed his mind. "I know I don't seem like much," he said to the well, "and I know I'm not worth such a beautiful voice, but it would really make my night if you would sing for me again." Matthias paused briefly to scratch at his cheek. "Please?" he begged.
He waited patiently by the well to see if the singing would resume. The longer it took, the more his enthusiasm dwindled. He sighed again, feeling ridiculous for letting himself get caught up in just another myth. He straightened up again and lightly tapped his fist against the edge. "Well, it was nice hearing you while it lasted," he lamented, and then he started walking back to the warmth of the house. He took a few steps towards the mansion when the moans started again.
He froze as soon as he heard the voice. It was definitely singing a beautiful tune, haunting and sad, but he couldn't understand what the song meant. Most importantly, it was definitely coming from the well.
Careful to avoid making noise, Matthias crept back towards the edge of the well, listening to the haunting music growing louder the closer he got to the well. The lament echoed throughout the garden, making it no wonder that it could be heard throughout the house. The sound of it gave Matthias goosebumps and he did not dare scare it away again.
He was so completely mesmerized by it. Matthias listened and contemplated, trying to decipher the words in the mysterious language they came in. He was listening so closely, he almost missed the single recognizable word that fell on his ears.
"Please…," it sang.
Matthias' heart hammered in his chest when he recognized the plea. He leaned against the edge again and peered in, now desperate to pierce through the darkness.
"Please…"
Matthias could only hear pounding in his ears now as blood rushed to his brain.
"Is someone there," Matthias cried out tentatively, quietly.
The song stopped almost immediately. There was a pause.
"Who are you?" asked Matthias.
There seemed to be no response before a quiet "please" echoed up the well again. If this was a trick, it was a very convincing one. The best Matthias had ever seen.
He anxiously drummed his fingers on the edge of the well again, thinking of what he should do and how. After a moment of waiting, the singing started again, this time with a broken lull to it. Whatever was down there was very, very sad, and Matthias felt his heart break at the lament.
The delicate song came up again, barely above a whisper. It reminded him of some of the songs his grandfather sang to him when he was little. Gripping the edge of the well, he peered into the mesmerizing darkness and absently started humming one of the many fishermen's songs his grandfather used to sing. When he did, the song in the well responded by singing the next verse. This stunned Matthias into silence. Then the song faded to a whisper and to silence again.
"Who are you?" repeated Matthias louder.
He was responded with silence again. Matthias was getting increasingly frustrated. This wasn't at all like any other haunting he explored.
Then a sound was heard from the bottom of the well.
"What?" asked Matthias. He didn't expect any sort of answer.
It repeated the sound, and fell silent again.
Matthias waited for more, but nothing came. The singing eventually started again, but the song seemed a little less lonely now. Matthias absently looked up at the broken rope hanging from the arch and a thought occurred to him.
"I'll be right back," he whispered into the well. The singing stopped for a brief moment before restarting, almost in acknowledgement of Matthias' promise.
The Dane ran out to his car at the front of the house. The farther he got from the singing well, the more lonely he started to feel. He went into his trunk and found a sturdy rope that he kept in case of emergencies on his hiking trips. He gathered the entire bundle and a flashlight before heading back out to the garden, looking forward to hearing the sad singing from the well. Whoever or whatever was down there must have been very lonely after singing alone all these years.
He tied a tight knot around the marble arch and tested the sturdiness of the old stone. Satisfied that it would hold his weight, he peered back into the darkness where the melody still reverberated.
"I'm lowering a rope for you. Do you think you can climb up?" he asked, not sure if the being would be able to understand, let alone answer.
The singing stopped and there was a pause before a male sounding voice could be heard, but Matthias couldn't hear what it said.
"Please," said the voice.
Matthias drummed his fingers again before dropping the length of the rope down. He shortly heard the end of it hit water at the bottom. "So it's not dry," he thought to himself with a smile.
"No," came the disembodied reply.
Matthias rolled his eyes at the voice from below. "I'm flashing a light down. Shield your eyes," he said.
The voice quietened before he turned on his flashlight and beamed the light into the darkness. He could just barely distinguish where the rope met rippling water. At first, Matthias was puzzled noticing that the well was empty. Then something shifted in the water and the light glistened back at him. Matthias was ready to panic when he saw the light gleamed back ominously as it did. No singing could be heard so he couldn't be sure if it was a thing or a ghost. Matthias continued to beam his light down the well shaft, waiting for the singing to start again. He was rewarded with a long fish-tail poking its scales out of the water. Panicked, Matthias dropped his flashlight and he yelped as it tumbled noisily down the well and crashed against the water. He couldn't take his eyes off it as it went down and sank into the water, illuminating the water from beneath and revealing a large, pale fish that disappeared as the light sank lower.
Matthias tried to still his racing heart. That was far too big to be a fish and far too real to be a ghost. He couldn't wrap his head around it. He settled on crumbling next to the well, leaning against the carved marble and hugging his knees to his chest as he tried to steady his breathing.
For several minutes, all he did was breathe in, breathe out, trying to calm his heart rate and trying not to think about what he saw. Before long, there was singing again. While the sound of it enchanted him before, now it terrified him.
"Please," came the lament, no longer hesitant. Matthias could hear the rope tugging against the arch. That thing must be trying to climb up.
Matthias was frozen with panic. He wanted to run back to the safety of the house, but the song the thing sang still ached him. Once his heart-rate went back down to something resembling normalcy, he let himself listen to the soothing sound of it again. He noticed that it didn't sound so lonely anymore.
He slowly gathered his strength again and stood up, grasping the edge of the well. He took a deep breath and peered back down. The light from his flashlight was peering back up at him, but in the light from the bottom, he could just make out the fish-like creature that laid at the bottom. Letting out the breath he'd been holding, Matthias finally realize what he was seeing.
It was a merman. Blond-haired with turquoise scales that gleamed like gemstones in the right light. It's pale skin was so white, it almost glowed, and it was covered in sores and gashes from the stones around the well. He was floating just off the surface with his tail curled up, long-finned and elegant. He was holding Matthias' flashlight and tugging on the rope that hung from the arch.
Matthias rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked back down. The merman was quiet now, but there was no denying that he was the one singing the lonely melody all these years.
"Can you climb up?" called down Matthias.
The merman nodded his head sadly. Matthias took pity on the poor creature. He couldn't have been malicious—he just seemed lonely. He clutched the flashlight into his jaw and gripped the roped tightly in order to start his climb up. Matthias was amazed seeing the lean muscles at work as he shakily made his way up the rope, his long tail flopping in the air, completely useless in this exercise except for balance or awkward coiling.
By the time he reached the top, the merman's arms seemed like they were numb and he seemed exhausted. Matthias took this opportunity to pull him up in the edge and sat him down on the edge of the well, his tail hanging into the abyss. Matthias was finally able to get a decent look at the creature thanks to the moonlight, and he was surprised to find the creature was attractive with his sharp cheekbones and soft blue eyes. He looked up at Matthias with sadness.
"Niels," he said.
"What?" asked Matthias dumbfounded.
"I'm Niels," it repeated in its sing-song voice.
The voice took getting used to. It occurred to Matthias that Niels was just speaking normally all these years but because of the sing-song nature of his voice and the echo of the well, his pleas for help came out as ominous singing and scared people away.
"What is your name?" asked the merman.
Matthias didn't piece what he said together right away and Niels had to repeat himself slowly several times, before Matthias could understand what he was saying. He smiled awkwardly, glad to see the creature was somewhat talkative and willing to answer his questions, even partially. "My name is Matthias," he said. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get down there?"
The creature paused and seemed to consider the question. It didn't take as long for Matthias to piece the words together this time. "I swam into a cave in the ocean and the walls collapsed behind me. I tried to find an exit, but the only one I found in the underwater currents was the well opening."
Matthias considered this. "So you spent all these years singing, hoping someone could rescue you?"
"Singing?" it asked puzzled. "What does 'singing' mean?"
Matthias raised a brow quizzically. "Singing is that sound you've been making all these years. It sounds musical and makes people feel things."
This only seemed to puzzle the merman more. "I was only speaking normally."
A longing look crossed Niels face. Seeing it made Matthias' heart ache as he remembered the lonely song the merman had been singing all these years. He sat on the edge next to Niels and reached his hand out to hold the merman's own hand. "You must be so lonely," thought Matthias out loud.
Niels' hand tightened around Matthias' instead of shying away from the contact. His eyes clouded. "It's less lonely now that you've found me," he said.
Matthias started to blush, but quickly caught himself before it could become visible in the moonlight. "You must miss home, right?" he asked.
Niels cast his eyes down into the well and nodded, pulling his hand away from Matthias' as discreetly as he could. He couldn't grow too attached to a human, knowing they could only live worlds apart.
Matthias noticed the merman distancing himself, but chose to not be bothered by it. He was more bothered contemplating how long the rumours of the singing well were circulating and piecing together how long Niels would have been trapped. "I'll help you get there," he said. "I couldn't live with myself if I let you keep rotting in his little hole. I'll come back for you and I'll make sure you get home again," he promised.
Niels' expression seemed to grow paler, if that was even possible. His lips remained tight and all he could manage was to nod his head again. It had been so long since he'd seen another of his own kind, he wanted to cry realizing he didn't remember what any of them looked like. What was the use of a long lifespan if you didn't have a memory that could last just as long? Niels felt his emotions begin to overflow, but his expression hardly changed. Too much was happening so quickly after being cornered in underground currents for so long.
He didn't want to hold back anymore. It had been too long since he felt any sort of contact or since he heard any sort of song beyond his own. He leaned into Matthias' shoulder, resting his head there, and closed his eyes.
"Please," he said again, his sing-song voice choking up as he sobbed into Matthias' cold sleeves.
Matthias reached his other hand around and laid it down softly over Niels' head in an effort to comfort him. They remained this way, quietly humming or singing under their breaths, until the sun started poking over the horizon and it became time for Niels to go back down into the well—he'd been out of the water too long, and his scales were starting to shrivel and crust painfully. Matthias helped him take a firm hold of the rope and watched him make his way down. Thanks to his flashlight, Matthias could see the merman disappear below the water's surface and he felt a pang in his chest.
The most magical thing he'll ever experience in his life just happened and he let him slip away.
A/N: Even though I wrote this over a year ago, I'm finally finding the time to revisit it! I hope to have chapter 2 written and posted within a month.
And don't forget to let me know what you think :)
