by A V Awenna
***
On Monday, Heledd sought out Mary and Tom, who were sitting together, as usual, chatting in the garden. She told Mary she’d found the old farmhouse, and it was now a pub and restaurant in the middle of a housing estate. ‘We couldn’t see the well, though,’ Heledd said. ‘The closest thing we found was a manhole cover. Maybe its reputation got the better of it, and they covered it over.’
‘That’s such a shame,’ Mary said. ‘But the water will still be there. If the pub owners had any sense, they’d bottle it. They could sell it to one of those New Age shops.’
Vicky came out then, and asked Tom and Mary if they fancied doing some art.
‘I used to model for art classes, you know,’ Mary said. ‘Didn’t feel the cold so much when I was younger.’
‘Well, it’s not life drawing today, but if you were willing to sit in the future that would be great – clothed, if you prefer. You wear such lovely clothes,’ Heledd said. Heledd could see the old lady was flattered – and why not, even if she was well over 70, she’d still make a good subject for a painting. Mary decided to join in with the art class, ‘to see what they’re like,’ knowing Heledd and Tom could talk for hours.
Tom suggested they stroll around the garden. ‘This sunlight is so good for warming my bones. I need to keep moving – arthritis, you know? Anyway, my dear, how’s our little friend, Miss Cheese Spread? Will she be coming to visit us soon?’
‘Term finishes on Friday, so she’ll be down for the weekend. I think she got a lot out of working here, so she’s returning as a volunteer,’ Heledd replied.
‘Well, it will be nice to see her again’, Tom said. ‘She’s got a lot going for her, despite the silly name. So full of life and energy, lives completely in the present, doesn’t she? A bit exhausting, but invigorating too. Makes a change from being surrounded by people who live in the past. And our Vicky. She’s all about the future, with her technology and her big ambitions.’
‘Whereas I spend my life in the early Middle Ages,’ Heledd sighed.
‘Oh, but the past is important too, as long as you don’t let it hold you back. Yesterday I saw two youngsters who were visiting their Nan. They were throwing pennies into the well over there. I told them they were doing something people had done for thousands of years, making a sacrifice to the water gods, just as you always say. One of them looked at me as if I was the most embarrassing person imaginable. But the other said it was “awesome”, you could tell he was fascinated by the idea of the water being a gateway to another world.’
They had been walking as they talked, and now they reached the well. They both leant over it, their shadows blocking the sunlight on the surface and revealing the depths of the water itself, the brickwork of the sides fading into a deep, dark mystery. Heledd gasped, and took a step backwards, then realised Tom had done the same. She gawped at him.
‘You saw it too?’ she asked.
A nixie had slipped out of the darkness towards them, offering her hand.
‘What did you see, Heledd? Tell me it’s not an old man’s madness.’
‘I saw a figure in the water. White and shining like a ghost, but with purpose. She came out of the depths and held out her hand, as if offering to take us somewhere.’
‘Then I didn’t imagine it,’ Tom sighed. ‘She wants me to go with her. And this time I’m ready to leave. But I can’t just disappear, it would get the staff into trouble, and they don’t deserve that. And besides,’ he sighed, ‘I could never get up on that ledge.’
Heledd could see that Tom was shaken by the encounter. She was shaken too, her mind running through the possibilities of what this meant.
‘Let’s have a cup of tea,’ she said. ‘Somewhere quiet where no-one will overhear.’
‘A cup of tea. The cure for all ills,’ he said.
‘And an excellent disguise,’ she replied. ‘You find somewhere and I’ll fetch the teas.’
