As Jack checked the bus schedule, he frowned as he realized that the next bus wouldn’t be there for quite some time. It’s not a terribly long walk, but he usually preferred to make his trips as short as possible. He really didn’t feel comfortable around crowds. Granted, the one back at campus was an especially bad case, but regular crowds weren’t much better most times. He let out another sigh. That made, what, three sighs so far? And it wasn’t even ten in the morning yet.

He has mostly been walking on autopilot, and by now his route has taken him to a shopping district of town. Looking for something to occupy his thoughts, he looked at one of the stores.
Bad idea.
It was a women’s clothing store, and he didn’t even know why, but it only served to make him more uncomfortable. The guys at campus all wore these exaggerated stereotypes, but what he saw here actually looked like something someone would want to wear. Well, he didn’t want to put down anyone who actually wants to wear stereotypical frilly dresses and stuff like that, of course, but, urngh, why did he have to justify this to himself? He should just go on and–

It was only then that Jack noticed he had stopped dead in his tracks, staring at this store for a good 20 seconds. His face flushed red and he continued on his way. He doubled his pace for good measure, he just wanted to get away from anyone who might have seen him. Idiot. Idiot, idiot, idiot. Just walk home like a normal person. Freaking idiot.

He must have been visibly upset, because while he was busy counting the pieces of gum on the street, he heard the voice of an old lady calling out to him from his right side. “Is everything all right, young man?” The voice carried that classic ‘worried grandma’ tone with it, and it managed to calm him a little. Except for that part at the end, though he couldn’t quite place why. “Oh, erm, just feeling a bit under the weather, that’s all.”

Jack was actually somewhat surprised at seeing such an old lady in this part of town. Being this close to campus, its students were usually the main demographic here. Her simple, muted clothes actually gave him a good change of pace from what he’d seen earlier in the morning.

“Young man, you might think I’m just saying this out of courtesy, but please, be honest. This looks like more than just feeling under the weather.” The old lady actually looked rather serious now. That surprised Jack. He appreciated her earlier concern, but it seems he couldn’t just stop worrying her with one of his usual non-answers.

That said, he couldn’t tell her the truth, either. She seemed like a nice lady, he didn’t want her to think of him as a freak. He didn’t want to really lie, either, so he went with a good old half-lie, a tool he’s been using for many years. It probably wasn’t a good habit, but it got him out of uncomfortable situations while still being truthful enough.

As such, he settled with the closest thing he could think of. His semester was having this fun gender swap event, and he was disappointed he couldn’t get anything done in time because he was busy with work. In a way, this was also repurposing an earlier lie, so was this a double lie? Does this make it better or worse? Either way, the lady seemed to buy it this time.

“Well, young man, thank you for being honest now.” Jack cringed a little, but tried his best not to let it show. Did the old lady know he was being dishonest? In any case, it made him feel like a terrible person, though that wasn’t really an uncommon feeling for him. She continued, seemingly oblivious to Jack’s reaction. Or maybe he had just gotten good at hiding these things.

“You know, I might be able to help you. Would you wanna come with me?” The lady surprised him again. Jack would’ve expected some well-meaning words that would ultimately fail to help, and for him to move on with the rest of the day, with the rest of his life. Just like most other times.

Should he trust her? He probably should be more careful, but it’s not like he’s got anything to lose.

“Erm, sure, thank you very much for your offer. Are you really gonna be able to help me, though? I’m really not sure if I’m even worth the effort, haha.” The old lady actually looked a little angry now. Or maybe disappointed? He couldn’t quite read her expressions. “Young man, none of that self-deprecating attitude. Everyone deserves help, and I am ready to offer it. So, will you follow me or not? I’ll be on my way.”

And with that she was, indeed, on her way. Jack contemplated for a few seconds but decided to catch up with the lady.

After a few minutes of walking at a pace that was too slow for Jack’s tastes – he constantly had to pace himself so he didn’t accidentally run into her – they arrived in one of the older parts of town.

Modern buildings became less and less common, and soon he could practically feel the history behind many of these houses, each one surely having housed generations of people, It made Jack feel… small..? In some kind of metaphysical sense. He never really visited this part of town, he had little reason to do so usually.

He still didn’t know how the old lady, who has introduced herself to him as Tabitha on their way, could fix even the fake problem he described, but she seemed to care about him, in some way? How much that accounted for, he didn’t know, but it at least made him feel better than he had for most of the day so far.

After a few more minutes of walking, it seems they reached just about the oldest place in the whole town. It didn’t necessarily look run-down or anything like that. The buildings didn’t look like their age was a burden, it was as if they were showing what they are with pride, openly displaying it. The thought made Jack feel weird, and he wasn’t quite sure why.
Thankfully, Tabitha interrupted him before he could start another chain reaction of self-loathing. “We’re here,” she said, pointing at the door of a building that looked ancient even in comparison to the other ones he had seen in the area. It looked uneven and rough, a mixture of stone and wood, but it still stood, it held out. It may not have been pretty, but it was functional. Just like himself, Jack thought. He hoped the inside would be more reassuring, though.

Surprisingly, the first room he entered was in pretty good shape. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it had electric lighting and a television. It made sense, of course this house would still have all these features. There’s probably some regulations about that, too. The room certainly looked cozy, and seeing all the old and innocent decorations that littered every shelf and table only added to that feeling.
“Well then, young man, once you’re done marveling, please head into the back room,” she instructed, pointing at a door on the other side of the room. ”And have a quarter ready.” Jack got suspicious. A quarter? Was this some sort of money making scheme? But at the same time, a quarter is next to nothing. It took them about fifteen minutes to walk here, and all that for a quarter. He couldn’t believe that would be feasible in any way. He let out a sigh. What was that now, four of them?

“Alright, I’ll… go do that then.” After getting a quarter out of his wallet and carefully putting it back in his pockets – he didn’t want to take any chances – he opened the door. This room, unlike the one he came from, had almost no artificial light, only a single lamp dimly lighting it up. It took him some time to adjust to the darkness. It wasn’t a very big room, just large enough to house an ancient-looking well in the middle, like the kind you’d see in fairy tales.

The first thought that came to his mind was the question of practicality. Who would put a well in the middle of a building? Or… was the well there first? But then why would it be located in such a specific place? Was house built around the well? Did the ones that constructed it want a monopoly on water?

He shook his head. It’s not like he could ask the ones who did this any questions, they were long gone. This thing looked like it was at least a few centuries old. So, pondering on why it was built seemed pretty pointless. The fact of the matter was that it was, in fact, here, in this small room. He approached it and looked down, no water in sight. In fact, he couldn’t see a bottom of any kind.

Jack didn’t quite know what he expected to see in this back room, he just kind of went along with Tabitha. But he certainly didn’t think he’d see a well here. He began absentmindedly playing with the quarter that was still in his hand, and made the obvious deduction.
This was a wishing well.

He sighed. That was the second time now in, what, two minutes? He really ought to stop that habit. The nice gesture of the old lady was appreciated, but in the end it seemingly really was just a way to get some change out of him. He didn’t really mourn the loss of the quarter as he flicked it down the well, watching it descend until he couldn’t see it anymore. Strangely enough, he didn’t hear any kind of collision. Shouldn’t there be… some kind of sound when it hits whatever is at the bottom? Or maybe the quarter was too small to make any meaningful noise?

It was a fun little distraction but he really should go home now. The lack of sleep was actually starting to get to him. As he turned around to open the door, it was locked.

“Okay, Tabitha, thank you for all the nice words but I really wanna go home. Could you unlock the door maybe? Or do you want more money?” He just said that last sentence because it seemed reasonable but then the full gravity of that situation hit him. What if he was trapped here? Did he have to give her everything he had on him in order to leave? Of course a quarter wouldn’t be worth the effort. Because he had to give up more than that. There’s few people in this part of town, of course that would be an ideal spot for that. Wait, what if this is a kidnapping? Who would even pay the ransom then? Oh god oh no oh god oh–

“Well, young man, did you make a wish?” Tabitha’s answer snapped him out of his paralysis. “A… wish?” He was flabbergasted. “Well, that’s what wishing wells are for, aren’t they?” Jack sighed again. “Listen, I really enjoyed your company but this is getting kind of silly and I–”

Before he could finish his plea to leave, Tabitha interrupted him, seemingly more irritated than she had been up to that point.

“Listen here, young man, you won’t leave until you say your wish. Speak it loud and clear.” So, what, was this just to embarrass him? Have this guy say some stupid and silly wish out loud? Is she going to record this, is there some hidden camera in the room? Jack sighed. This was a really bad day, he was about to break his personal sigh record.

“Well, alright then. I wish I could properly participate in the gender swap event at my college. How’s that, Tabitha?”

Jack heard ploink, and his world went black.