Story a Day #11 The Hill

The prompt:

Choose a nursery rhyme.

That is going to be the plot of your story.

Jack and Jill could have been twins.   They were the same age and they even had the same birthday.   Both of them had red hair and freckles and they were both energetic and mischievous.   Whenever you saw Jill, Jack was sure to be nearby, they were that close.   The fact that they lived in separate houses next door to each other didn’t faze them at all.  As far as they were concerned they were twins.  They had known each other since birth and liked to joke that maybe they knew each other through their mother’s wombs when the women got together for tea.

Every morning the two children would each take a bucket and climb the hill to the well.  They would fill their pails with water and climb back down again.  They did this every day rain or shine no matter what.   When they were very little it would take them a long time.   The hill was steep and their legs were short.  Coming back down was treacherous as they couldn’t spill a single drop of water or there wouldn’t be enough for the day’s work at home.   But they didn’t mind the chore.  It was their favourite time of day because they got to spend it together.  There was no lack of things they would talk about on their way up and down the hill.  The bullies at school who teased them mercilessly about their red hair, what they wanted to be when they grew up, how hard it was to be poor and what they would do one day when they were rich. 

As they grew it took less and less time to complete their journey and they began to drift apart as they grew busy with other things in life.   Jack was a rowdy boy always getting into trouble and having mishaps.  Jill was not allowed to play with Jack in that way because she was a girl and she missed her friend very much.  They still made the trip up the hill but it wasn’t the same, the conversations were mostly Jack being a braggy, disgusting boy and Jill chastising him for being so awful.

One day in early May they were heading up the hill together and both of them were in high spirits.   It was a perfect spring day, not too hot, not too cold, the sky a clear blue and the birds were singing.   The grass on the hill smelled so fresh and sweet.  A gentle breeze blew winter from the air and life was beautiful.   They raced each other to the top of the hill.   Jack, who was used to running, won the race, but Jill didn’t care because it just felt good to run.

“Hey, Jill!  Let’s race down the hill and see who gets to the bottom first without spilling a drop of water!”  Jack shouted.

“Are you crazy??  That’s impossible!” Jill shrieked “We’ll surely spill it all…and we’ll be in big trouble!” 

“Don’t be such a girl Jill.  I remember when you would run and play all the time.  What’s happened to you?  Now you are a sissy!”  he chided.

“I am not a sissy Jack you take that back!”  Jill was very angry and did not like to be reminded that she was a girl.  “Okay, let’s have that race, but you’ll be sorry when you lose!”

So they filled their buckets and counted to three and they were off down the hill carefully balancing their buckets of water so as not to spill a drop.  It was no easy feat!   The grass was slippery from the morning dew and they had to be careful of their footing.   But Jack was restless and he tore off down the hill at breakneck speed, and Jill was astonished that he was not spilling any water!   He probably didn’t fill his bucket all the way full she thought and picked up her pace.

A few minutes later Jill watched in horror as Jack lost his footing and went tumbling head over heels the rest of the way down the hill and then lay at the bottom motionless. 

“Jack!  Jack..!” she screamed as she ran, forgetting all about her own bucket.  Her friend was hurt and she had to get to him.   

Jill also slipped on the wet grass and she rolled down the hill and landed beside Jack.   She was unhurt but Jack still lay there not moving.   Jill jumped to her feet and ran to get their mothers.

Jack was carried into his house and laid on the bed.  He opened his eyes and smiled weakly at the concerned faces peering down at him.  He looked at Jill.

“Did I win?”  he croaked.

Jill wept with relief.  She thought she had lost her dearest friend and couldn’t bear the thought.

Jack spent a week in bed with a concussion but was as good as new after that.  He and Jill still went up the hill together every day, but there was no more racing.   They found they were enjoying each other’s company once again…in a new way.