When Jack was a child, he had every need catered for by his parents; he had no need to worry about food, no need to worry about water, no need to worry about shelter. Viewed as privileged by some, he still played with the kids who struggled to find food, the kids who had no parents, and the kids with all the other troubles in the world. Despite all the problems they faced, the children knew how to have fun, albeit at the expense of others at times. The target of their fun was mainly Jack, the most privileged of them all, who always seemed to be the most troubled one as well.
Outside of the playground, worries would scurry around in the deep ocean of his mind. Would he be able to survive on his own? Could he find his path through the sea of uncertainty? How would he fare against the raging tides that his parents had warned him about? Fear controlled most of his bubbling thoughts, which led to a fearful child. All sorts of irrational conundrums plagued his mind, from worrying about a frog in his shoe, to worrying about how his parents would catch a terrible flu, he was constantly stuck in a whirlpool of pessimism and dread.
One morning, for reasons even he didn’t know, Jack wandered off into the forest, walking away from the playful laughter of the kids. He distanced himself from everybody, lapsing into a constant state of anxiety, distracted by pointing at fears imaginary and real. Without watching where he was going, he slipped into a pit, one that was known to nobody. At first, he was only stuck by the entrance, being able to still stick out his fingers and touch the grass around. However, the more he worried about not getting out, the deeper he sank. Frantically, he tried to claw his way out, his desperation only dropping him deeper and deeper into the pit. Jack cried and begged and stumbled more and more, his energy slowly depleting over time.
Jack tried, and fell down once more, hitting his head on the cold dirt. He held himself in a fetal position, trying to keep himself warm. He sobbed silently, forcing his body on its back so he could look at the outside. A deep, dark pit, deep enough to trap the whole village, was where Jack currently found himself in. The pit wasn’t a fall straight down, but rather a steep slide onto unstable dirt, which made escape a monumental task.
He spent three days and three nights with no food or water, his only company being the wind, the worms, and the dirt that surrounded him. His body had started to adapt itself to the lack of space, contorting onto itself to find a place of comfort. The color of his skin was white as snow, adapting to the scarcity of light, for it only shined on him once the sun had started to set. He dared not to move too much, else he’d continue to fall down into the bottomless pit.
Cold, hungry, and thirsty, he stayed still, with no strength left to struggle again. A shadow loomed over him, blocking the little sunlight he received. Looking towards the lack of light, he notices Jill, the daughter of the village harlot, standing over him. Her arms were marked with the burns of cigarettes and the scars from cuts, and yet she stood tall in front of the pit. She did not pity nor shame him, but was the first help that he’d gotten, the only one that really cared. She would drop oranges, apples, water, and beans all to help poor Jack get his strength back.
On one of Jill’s trips to the pit, Jack questioned her why she was helping him, and why she knew of the pit. With a look devoid of emotion, hiding a deep sorrow, she explained that Jack wasn’t the first one to fall in the pit. Her brother, who suffered the same abuses as her, was the first victim of the pit. She explained that one day, she and her brother walked into the forest, after their mother had kicked them out, so that she could see a client. The brother slipped in, seemingly trapped, while not moving a muscle. Terrified, Jill hurried towards the village, begging everyone for help with getting her brother out of the pit. However, everyone shamefully turned their heads, for nobody wanted to be seen near the daughter of a harlot. Frustrated, she ran back to the pit, only to see that her brother had only sunken deeper, showing no desire to escape the dirt that slowly swallowed him, as if he actually wanted to fall victim to the darkness deep inside. Every week, she continued to visit the pit, to find her brother, and to deter anybody from falling in.
Jack started to slowly climb his way out, with the help of Jill. Anytime he would slip, she would be there, helping him continue climbing. Anytime he would try to give up, she would yell at him, making him remember the games and fun he was missing. One day, he pushed and pushed, finally climbing out of the pit. Jill smiled, and he smiled back. He took some time to get accustomed to walking around on grass again, excited to see everyone once more.
Thankful and joyous, he walked towards the village towards the welcoming arms of everyone. Except, he received no such welcome. Nobody had even noticed that he was gone. He ran towards his family, who were only slightly concerned, thinking that he had only gone on an adventure.
Undeterred, he began warning everyone about the pit, how it sucked people in, how hard it was to get out, and how it leeched off the energy of those in it. At first, nobody believed him, nor dared to venture towards the forest, and it was only the account of one man. It was only a matter of time before the pit grew, taking in wandering children that had no hopes, dreams, or purpose to strive for. The number of missing people grew substantially, making some worried.
There were still others that negated the existence of the pit, refusing to believe that their children would fall down an imaginary trap. Yet, they didn’t search for the children themselves, perhaps in an effort to avoid being proven wrong.
Jack cast aside his fears, and continued to search, to find and bring back the victims of the pit. Some were lucky, being able to celebrate their return to their families. Some were not, and continued to stray in the chasm of darkness. He did not give up, not on them, not on himself, just like Jill who had believed in him too.
He had no reason to give up on those willing to give up on themselves, for the pit absorbed all energy and reason, which can lead one to an early grave, one that he could’ve found himself in, if someone hadn’t shown him the kindness he needed.
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