Centuries ago, in a small village in
feudal Japan, a young girl resided with
her stepfather. Her mother had passed
away some months ago from a harsh
disease, and her true father was killed
in a farming accident leaving her
begrudgingly in the hands of her
disinterested, and cruel stepfather. He
made her do all of the chores in the
household. The cooking, the washing, and
the laundry from the neighbors in return
for food. He would also make her do
anything else that he couldn't be
bothered doing himself. One chore that
the girl could not do herself yet was
drawing water from the well. This
required pulling a heavy bucket full of
water to the top, and then pouring it
into a larger bucket which was then
carried back to the village. On this
particular day when drawing water from
the well something in the pail caught
the stepfathers eye. It was a stunning
hairpin made of fine metal and
emblazoned with precious stones. "This
must be worth a fortune!" he thought to
himself and something inside him stirred.
He stared at his stepdaughter with his
greedy evil eyes and said to her, "I'm
sending you down to the bottom of the
well to see if there are any more jewels."
The girl couldn't believe what she was
hearing. She was terrified of cold dark
and confined spaces, and the very thought
of going down there completely terrified
her. She knew what the alternative was
though and she didn't dare cross her
stepfather. Shaking like a leaf, she
climbed into the bucket and held on
tight as the stepfather lowered her into
the black pit of the well below. Suddenly
the handle of the bucket snapped and she
fell all the way down into the darkness
until she was completely out of sight.
The stepfather shouted down into the well
but it was not to inquire about her
well-being it was to ask if there were
any more jewels down there. This was
truly all he cared about. The girl had
fortunately survived the fall and knew
that if she didn't tell him she had
found more precious items he would most
likely leave her there to die.
She told him there were indeed more
treasures, the likes of which he couldn't
possibly imagine. He shouted to her that
he would send a rope down and for her to
tie the items to it so he could pull
them up. "What about me?" she shouted back.
"Don't worry, he said. After you send the
treasures up to me I'll lift you out." She
didn't believe him. She told him to lift
her out at the same time but he wouldn't
do it. This confirmed her belief that she
couldn't trust him. She told him if he
wanted the treasure he would have to
come down here and get it himself. This
made him furious and that's exactly what
he decided to do. "You wait til I get down
there!" he screamed "And then you'll wish
you passed up the treasure first!" Slowly
he edged his way into the well and
started to climb down. Then, the rope
snapped and he began to fall. The little
girl watched in horror as she saw him
free fall all the way down face-first
into the water below with a huge splash
and a blood-curdling snap as he broke
his neck, and died. She couldn't believe
what had just happened. She looked into
his dead eyes as his blood filled the
water. Half relieved he was dead and half
terrified that she was trapped in the
bottom of the well. The day slowly turned
into night. She tried to climb out but
the wall was too slippery. She tried to
scream out, but no one could hear her.
Exhausted she gave up, sat down, and cried.
Soon after, she stopped sobbing and
looked into her stepfathers eyes. She was
furious at him for putting her in this
situation. She was glad he was dead.
Suddenly, he stared at her and smiled. She
was completely petrified as the chilling
look on his face tore through her like
cold steel. Then he spoke. "You're going to
die down here.
Then we'll be together again. You'll be
joining me soon."
"No!" she screamed as she kicked him in the
face. Then, when she looked down he was as
dead as he always was. Still and
completely lifeless. This made her more
determined than ever to get out. She
looked up. There was no way she could get
out tonight. She felt the best thing she
could do would be to summon her courage
and ride out the night. In the morning,
someone would come then she would be
saved. She had a horrible sleepless night.
It was freezing cold and out of the
darkness came dozens of insects which
spent the night crawling all over her
face and body. Eventually the next
morning came and she routinely shouted
for help in the hope that someone
eventually would hear her cries. And,
someone did. A man who was passing by
heard her cries and looked into the
well to investigate. He called down to
her, "Are you okay?" he shouted. "I'm fine!" she
called back. "Please help me! I'm stuck
down here!" The man immediately got a
strong rope and slowly lowered it down
to her. She tied it around her waist and
he pulled her to the surface. She
couldn't believe she was rescued. She was
so happy to see this man who looked so
kind. She hugged him and thanked him for
saving her. He comforted her, and told her
that everything would be all right. For
the first time in years she truly felt
safe. This feeling however was tragically
short-lived as when she realized what
was in this man's wagon a chill
ripped through her,
and she wished herself to be back, in the
bottom, of the well.