It was a dark and cold evening at the turn of the century in England.
A worker leaves his house. He walks to the forest, picking up a fallen branch as he walks.
He hears a drop of water hit another drop of water. Another drop of water hits another drop of water as he walks and drops his stick as he picks up a much larger stick. He walks to a road, crossing it and continues walking through the forest some more, either drinking from a nearby stream or picking up another stick. He dips his stick into the river, wipes it on his shirt, and continues walking through the forest. He walks down the path, towards a cabin. He stops to look around and drink from a flask of booze.
Suddenly the worker walks into a lily pad and sits down. Trying to get back up he accidentally kicks a stone into his groin. He stands up and angrily kicks the stone into the trunk of a nearby tree, which then falls over hitting him on the head. He falls over and rests.
Hours later, he awakes and gets up. He hears a girl's voice calling out to him.
"Dear, are you okay?" she asks. "I heard the commotion. Please answer!"
He dusts himself off and shouts back. "I'm fine! Nothing happened!"
"Bright, please don't shout like that!" she replies.
"Sorry!"
He continues walking until he sees the girl.
"What are you doing here?" he says.
"I am going home and my father wanted me to walk home with him tonight," she replies.
"But what were you doing by the woods?" he asks.
"My father wanted me to practice collecting mushrooms, so I went to get some," she says.
"You shouldn't be out here by yourself. What if the woods were to be infested with thieves?" he says.
"I'm sure the woods will be fine!" she says.
"I still think you should not be out here by yourself. Is your father at the house?" he asks.
She shakes her head no. "Do you know the way to his house?"
"I can guide you," he says.
"That's very helpful of you, Bright," she says.
"I mean, is your father in the barn?" he asks.
"No, I think he went to see if the pigs needed feeding or something," she says. "He said he would be back in a bit. He might be gone for a while."
"How about your mother? Are you expecting her to come back?" he asks.
"No, she is out looking for mushrooms," she says.
"Well, how about you go inside the woods?" he asks.
"But I told you, I wanted to look around," she says.
"Your father does not want you out here by yourself, or going into the woods. I'm sure he will want to know about it when he gets back," he says.
"Why don't you go with me?" she asks.
"I would, but I have to help my mother," he says.
"Please? I am not that long from the farm. I'll be fine."
"Well, I suppose it is for the best," he says. "I'll take you back to your father."
They walk through the woods, picking up sticks along the way.
"What do you think we'll find on our walk?" she asks.
"It sure is pretty here," he says. "I'll bet there are some mushrooms around here."
"I love the colors around here," she says.
"I'll pick you some mushrooms," he says. "I have a very good eye for remembering the colors."
"I'm not sure they are needed," she says.
"I'll pick you some!" he says. "I have a very good eye for remembering the colors."
They walk on and pick up a few mushrooms.
"I can look for some for you for next week," he says.
"We haven't even looked for the mushrooms," she says. "We can't go that far. Where did you see the mushrooms?"
"I saw it when I was walking in the forest."
"Would you like to go and find it? I am not very far from the tree," she says.
"Alright, we can go look for it," he says.
They walk through bushes and what he though was the same spot when he looked for the mushrooms there are none.
"Did we just walk in circles?" he asks.
"I don't think so," she replies. "Perhaps are you not in the same place that you said you saw the mushrooms?"
He looks around and sees no mushrooms. "I guess I am wrong," he says.
She looks around and sees the stone that he accidentally kicked into the tree. "You kicked a rock into a tree," she says.
"I did, but it fell down!" he says.
"It fell down on you," she says.
"Can you tell what kind of stone it is?" he asks.
"It was a tough one. It was a stonelike rock," she says.
"I wonder what is inside the well-like opening," he says. "You have a few inches of water in that short well there. Maybe it was some water that ran out of there, but I don't see how that's possible."
She jumps down into the well to look. "There must be some water under here," she says. "How are we going to get out of here?"
He looks around and sees a tree hanging over the well. He climbs up the rope and takes a hold. He sees that the rope stops at the bottom. "There is no way I can get down," he says.
"I can," she says.
"I'm going to need a boost," he says.