Since I was young I had found out that I was different from all the kids, I knew I always was different from everyone else. It wasn’t because of my sexual preferences, not my home life, but because I had a secret no one knew. it all happened when I got lost in the woods behind my house, you see I had an abusive father and my mother never was really around, always making some excuse not to be home whether it was her going shopping or she was working was debatable. As I wandered around in the woods, I came aware that I was lost, all the trees looked alike, the ground didn’t look any different either and the sun was starting to set in the far distance making the sky turn different shades of orange and pink.
I realized how deep I really went, I didn’t mean to go that deep in the woods. But I kept walking, slower then I had before, the temperature was starting to drop. I stopped when I saw an old well in the middle of the woods, it looked abandoned. But as I was going to approach it, an older woman got to it before I did. she looked as if she was nearly a hundred years old, although my tiny brain thought so, truly I didn’t know how old she was. she wore a brown dress with a crochet shawl wrapped around her shoulders, she saw me standing there, terrified.
She gave me a small smile, “come child.” She crooked her long finger, beckoning me to come towards her. so I did. apprehensively, I walked closer to her. when I was a few feet from her she turned to me and held her hand out, a wrapped hard candy sat in the middle of her wrinkled palm. “here, take this.”
I shook my head, “I can’t take candy from strangers.”
She smiled all the more as if my words entertained her, I’m sure if she was younger, she would have been beautiful, but with the wrinkles that covered her entire face, made her look creepy. “I understand. do you like wishes?”
“wishes?” I asked.
“yes, if you could wish for anything in the whole world, what would it be?”
I glanced at the well, and I closed my eyes tightly and I said loud enough, “to stop time, so I can go anywhere I want without worrying about dad getting mad at me.”
“that’s a pretty big wish. But I’ll allow it, I’ll grant your wish for one thing in return,” she said and opened my eyes in shock at her words, she was still smiling at me, but her eyes were now glinting as if an idea came to her suddenly.
“what?!” I was excited, I had didn’t know I could get my wish just like that. dad had told me wishing is for losers and suckers.
“once a year, I want you to comeback to this well, and I want you throw in whatever makes you the happiest, it could be anything from toys to your best report card to your favorite food, but it has to be the one thing that makes you happy that year. deal?”
I nodded with so much excitement, “I can do that, but . . .” I stared down at the scarf that was wrapped around my neck, the one my grandma made me, this was the only thing that made me happy right now because it kept me warm. “do I have to throw this down there?”
She nodded, “I’m afraid so. as payment.”
If I could get a superpower like that, I’d be unstoppable. So I had thought at the time. so I did as she asked, and at first I didn’t think it worked. Somehow it was easy to find my way back home from there. I wasn’t sure if she actually granted my wish and why she wanted things that made me happy. but when I got home, my father was furious at me. he had raised his hand ready to hit me, I screamed and wished time stopped and when the pain never came, I realized my dad was frozen in time. that’s when I knew, I would never get beaten again, that I can avoid anything that I hated.
Since that day forward, I used my time stopping abilities to stop others from hurting me, but as I got older, I started to turn into my advantage. Basically I became a cheater at everything, my grades improved, bullies couldn’t figure why they couldn’t catch me. I was unstoppable. So I had thought. I did follow the rules though, I did put things that made me the happiest in that well. until one day in my early twenties, I was still in college, my dorm roommate showed me an article on the well.
The one I threw my belongings in, he had told me the city was finally going to fill up the well and seal it off from anyone in public, apparently kids kept falling into it. a chill ran down my spine, I knew I couldn’t let that happen. I had to stop the city officials from doing it, I know selfishly I wanted to keep this superpower, I’ve used as a crutch for years, but it’s the only thing that’s kept me from turning into my father. Kept me from getting bullied. My roommate saw how pale I got and asked if I was okay.
I told him I’d be back and used my time stopping abilities as I ran through the campus and as I got to the entrance gate and turned to leave off campus. That’s when I heard it. footsteps in the quietness. Not just mine, I thought I was hearing things so I stopped and listened. It definitely was footsteps and they weren’t that far behind me. I swear I could feel as if someone was reaching for my shoulder, I quickly stopped using my ability, but it wouldn’t work. I was stuck.
I turned around so quickly I fell on my ass, and saw that no one was there, but the echoing footsteps still surrounded me. my heart pounded hard in my chest, I scrambled to get up and ran. I tried again to get time going again, but it wouldn’t.
“you can run boy, but I’ll catch you eventually . . .”
His voice was teasing and yet the meaning behind them terrified me, just as I was a child, I felt as if the boogieman was after me. I kept running like a mad man, I kept wishing for time to go, I shut my eyes tightly and wished it with all my being. Suddenly I could hear voices all around, the sound of planes over head, birds chirping. Slowly I opened my eyes, and saw that time was back. I glanced around, as fear ran down my spine.
After that I stopped using my special gift that old woman gave me, the city filled the water well with cement, but every year I still go to that spot and drop off the items that make me the happiest that year. but I haven’t used my ability since I realized someone else was stalking me through frozen time, and even now, I feel eyes on me. I feel like someone is watching me wherever I go, to see if I’ll mess up, or freeze time once again. Part Two part three