Compass

Some would say I got off easy. Only having to spend one weekend with my family out of every year. We were a small bunch and mom knew if we didn’t set a date, we’d never see each other.

My sister, only being my twin in definition, seemed to be getting taller and paler every year. My older brother, who seemingly caught senioritis in eighth grade and hadn’t recovered since; bothered to shave this time. A pleasant surprise.

Seeing mom became more and more of a chore as time went on. I loved her deeply but, with our lives already so separate, I was given the bliss of forgetting about her deteriorating state. I didn’t like the annual reminder that my mom’s dying.

Even though my stomach was filled with pulsing dread, I kept a smile on my face. If spending a weekend at a log cabin with my family was the biggest stressor in my life, then I’m doing pretty well for myself.

I always made a habit of arriving an hour or two late so I wouldn’t have to be alone with anyone. When I arrived, Lora had already convinced mom to make dinner and Steven was pretending to text someone on his phone. 

No one reacted to my entrance besides mom, who smiled greatly. 

“Now that Veronica’s here, we can get started.” There was a chill in the air, despite it being summer. Mom sat at the head of the table like she always does. I sat at the other end and Lora sat to the right of her, so she wouldn’t get us confused. Even though we were fraternal. Steven sat to the left, closest to the kitchen for when he wanted a second helping. Mom served us her famous smoked catfish, before finally settling down. “It’d be no surprise to you all that my time with you is waning.” She said in her fragile, ghostly voice. “Before it’s too late, I’d like to discuss your father.” I closed my eyes and held my breath, relieving the brief moments of grief. Lora crossed her arms and turned away, she was never good with this kind of stuff. Steven continued “texting”. 

“You all were little when it happened but, today’s the anniversary.” Not even ten years could fully heal this kind of scar. As per usual, Lora began to tear up.

“He was a strange man and, our once sweet love soured over many years,” A streak of biting mirth flashed in her expression, “He was erratic, often feeding into government conspiracies and supernatural theories,” She then fell back into her melancholy essence, it, “He would talk about his death so many times that the day it actually happened, I couldn’t believe it,” Mom sighed to herself, “He had an odd request, scribbled into his notepad that I found a little while after.” Steven slid his phone into his pocket and sat up. Lora dried her tears with one of the silky, ornate tablecloths. 

I’m sure mom and dad had some good times together but all I could remember was bitter arguments and dull silences between them. “Your father had a compass he was so very, very fond of.” Meekly, like she was one strong breeze away from death, mom pulled out a carob colored compass. It wasn’t in the best shape, with its arrow stuck at the north and it’s once white insides a pale yellow. “He said he’d wanted me to drop it in the well north of here,” Mom gave us a breathy laugh, “For the life of me, I can’t remember why,” She looked down upon herself in consideration, and whispered, “I always thought I had more time,” Then she laughed quickly, “Anyway, you three would really be doing me a favor if you dropped it in the well for me.” Lora bit her lower lip, prepping herself to let mom down gently, “Please kids,” A tear slid down her wrinkled, sagged cheek, “It’d mean a lot to me.” How could we not?

Squeezed in Steven’s rustic truck, we rode off to the old well. 

“They were happy, right?” Lora said while admiring her nails. I gave her a brief glance while shaking a bit as the road grew more and more rural.“Mom and dad I mean, I can’t remember a moment where they weren’t fighting.” Steven gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“Mom wasn’t the kindest towards him.” He said in a low, cold tone. Lora looked to me, waiting to hear what I would say.

“Well, you guys need to remember,” I sighed, criticizing a dead man didn’t sit well with me but, I won’t excuse him, “Dad was an incredibly paranoid man,” I gulped as the memory of him and I going on a hike appeared before my eyes, “I swear, one day he told me he thought mom was going to kill him,” Steven laughed,

“Dad would say the wildest things,” An airiness filled the car, making it easier for all of us all to breathe. Lora giggled,

“One time, he rambled on and on about creating a secret hideout.” Grins formed in unison among all of us. Dad might have been a little kooky but we were just kids. We just saw his as a storybook character. 

Being able to talk like this was a good thing, I think. None of us were really present at the funeral, creating a drift that never disappeared. Moments like this eased me.

The well was in much worse condition than I remembered. It’s once red bricks were dull and brown. The circled top was littered with chips and cracks. Lora and I’s eyes met. Neither of us liked the dark. Steven opened his door, prompting us to follow along.

The dried parched grass beneath our feet cried out as we stepped on them and approached the well. I held the compass above the well, and let go without a thought. Just as I did that, the truck’s headlights flicked off. 

Only now, could any of us notice that the well had a faint glow.

“This can’t be good,” I said to myself quietly. The wind flowing around us felt like it was growing stronger and more forceful.

“Why is it glowing?” Lora queried as her hair blew back. 

“How could any of us know, we’re not the well police.” Steven snapped at her, stepping closer to it.

“Does it really matter,” I said falling back toward the car, “We completed the job.”

“Aren’t you the slightest bit curious?” Lora said while also stepping closer to it. I began to gnaw on my lower lip in consideration. Steven bent down to observe something.

“This could be dangerous, I think we should just return in the morning.” Crack! Steven jumped away from whatever he was messing with. The foundation of the bricks set in the ground collapsed. Leading down into the well was archaic stairs. There worn down prints indicated that they were climbed frequently.

Without saying a word, we all looked at each other, agreeing to one thing. Steven in front, Lora following behind and me at the end, we crawled down the stairs, lying against the brick wall. There was no rail, the stairs were barely wide enough to hold us, I’m sure you can imagine this wasn’t exactly up to OSHA code. 

The air smelled of mildew and felt damp. A snoring like sound was prevalent too. The walls were made of dried, smoothed out mud. Lighting the wall was a single candle lamp. I picked up the compass. Steven led the way with his phone’s flashlight.

We all went down a narrow hallway that had more lights every few feet. The closer we got, the more things appeared. First, it was a few empty cans of beans. Then an empty packet of cigarettes. Finally, some loose batteries. In the end, there looked to be a room with a flashing television.  The closer we got, the larger the number of can foods became. The dried ones were fine, but some were moist from a recent opening for the contents inside.

Steven entered and immediately gasped. Lora was radio silent. The snoring sound stopped and turned into frantic coughing. My turn. In the hobbled, small room, was an old recliner, the kind you can ease back into. In front of that was a coffee table. It was filled with papers written in red pen. I couldn’t quite understand what it said but I did see mom’s name appear. The walls were reinforced with empty can foods, stacked to the ceiling. In the middle of the room was the thickest TV I’ve ever seen. In the recliner, was an unkempt, unshaved man. A tearful man, who couldn’t come up with the words to say. Only Lora’s stinging whimpering told me who this was.

“Dad?” Steven cried, not being able to process all of this at once. Dad could only muster a nervous smile as he put away his papers and eyed the compass in my hand.

“Can you keep a secret?”

The End