The Wished Well by Zebulon Huset

The well looks simple enough, stones stacked

in an oblong, imperfect circle with only

mud turned dirt and covered in sporadic patches

of moss to patch the chinks, to work as glue

like the boiled connective tissues of hundreds

of dead horses emulsified for crafts.

What I first mistook for rumor or hearsay

soon became clearly more than myth—legend.

Like King Arthur or Babe Ruth, the fountain of youth.

No mere coins could grant wishes, how cheap

could even a child believe magic to be?

No, it took sacrifice. Some left work to wish,

knowing they would be fired from the gas station,

but also preferring that to being an unwed father.

Some dropped favorite baseball cards,

a Ryne Sandburg rookie was the most likely

to be granted a wish, and we all expected

the kid who dropped the common Red Sox team card

would be cursed and avoided him for a whole year,

which, in itself may have had the same effect.

I tried worldly goods for years, sneaking out my window

while the rest of my family was sleeping or at work

and standing over the well, speaking the low hymn

then drop. Yet no lottery tickets appeared.

As I aged I tried other things, once, I dropped

my dreams of being a professional athlete

and also of being over six feet tall. I tried my diploma

but before I did that I knew it wouldn’t work,

I could always get a replica printed for a few bucks.

With mom and dad gone now, more bills

than hours of sunshine on any given day,

I think I finally understood the legend. A finger

had not been enough. I stand on the wobbly rocks

and imagine myself as Tom Cruise in some movie,

some stunt-filled, action packed blockbuster

and as I first feel the wind on my face I wonder

if that glorious moment might be too much.

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Zebulon Huset is a teacher, writer and photographer living in San Diego. His writing has recently appeared in Meridian, The Southern Review, Louisville Review, Fence, Rosebud, Atlanta Review, Texas Review and Fjords Review among others. He publishes a writing prompt blog Notebooking Daily and is the editor of the journal Coastal Shelf.