Chapter 3 - Susie

I hear a scream.

It’s Lanie. My big sister.

Memories flash past my eyes. Running in the field, slick with dewy grass. The moon, lighting our path. The cellar, deep and cold and dark.

No, this is the opposite of dark. I can see light.

I’ve seen light before. But it was in cracks and slivers, tiny rays that snuck through the boards. It’s been like that for ages. I remember dancing in the sun, with Lanie.

I quickly realize that there is something moving, right through the door! A foot, I think. An ankle, a leg. Small. It must be a child.

Then, it’s being pulled away, and the boards with it. The sky is cracking open, like an egg, spilling light onto my face, my lips, my hands. Warmth.

I hear a girl talking, an older one. Older than Lanie, even. She sounds worried.

“Hello? Hello? I’m down here!”

The girl peeks over the edge of the well. “Hello?” she asks. I’m surprised she heard me.

“I’m trapped! Please, help me get out!” I yell, stomping my feet in the puddle of water that rises to my knees.

The girl looks scared, upset. "I'll go get my Dad;" she says. The fear makes her voice shaky.

Then, she disappears from view.