Once Upon a Time - 3. His courage had made him rich.

It has been over a month since Fisher’s best friend, Ferris, went into the wishing well where he said he was going to find a fortune in the underground water’s depths. He disagreed with Ferris’s decision to go exploring in that possibly dangerous place with the hope of finding rare treasures based on just rumors.

But Ferris dismissed his worries, stating that the wishing well did indeed hold many treasures since people over the centuries would go to great lengths, or depths to have their wishes come true, so they would toss everything from coins to actual gold to have their wishes fulfilled by unknown magic. And that was what concerned Fisher the most. He did not want his best friend cursed, or worse killed by anything related to magic since it was still a mysterious phenomenon that modern science could not even explain. Also, he could not forget his fear of the wishing well itself that deterred him from accepting Ferris’s offer to join him in his expedition into the water beneath.

Regardless, Ferris made up his mind and one morning they went to the wishing well with Ferris promising that he was going to return and share any treasures he managed to collect with his best friend since childhood. Fisher reluctantly rotated the handle of the pulley that lowered his friend who was sitting in the wooden bucket of the wishing well until he could no longer lower any further. After Ferris completed his quest, he was going to resurface and pull on the string that rang a bell that would signal Fisher to pull him back up, a mechanism that was installed after the incident that traumatized Fisher when they were both children.

Fisher waited by the wishing well with the anticipation that Ferris would ring the bell within only a few minutes because unlike him, Fisher did not believe there was anything significant in the wishing well that warranted diving into those waters. Unfortunately, thirty minutes passed and Ferris did not ring the bell yet and he wondered if he really did find something worthy down there, but when thirty minutes turned into an hour and an hour turned in more hours, Fisher knew something was wrong.

After morning turned into night, Fisher panicked and began checking the string of the bell to make sure it was long enough for Ferris to pull. With the end of the string wet, it meant that it was indeed long enough for him to reach for it, so why did he not. Panic rising, Fisher was reduced to calling out his best friend’s name into the wishing well, but the only response he got was his own echo.

And so time passed after Ferris went into the wishing well to discover treasures once lost by man and life continued and the world kept rotating, but not Fisher who wanted his best friend back and he was willing to do anything to achieve that. So, with the help of another friend, they were able to purchase a potion from a sketchy dealer in the city since they could not purchase this type of magic because it was considered illegal in the state they lived.

The potion was then poured into a cauldron placed on a stove with the only additional ingredient being an equal amount of water that was mixed with the potion and boiled in a high heat. Several minutes went by and the potion was starting to show promise with small bubbles rising form the surface and floating into the air without popping. However, he was becoming impatient and wanted the potion to be completed as soon as possible because he knew he waited too long to rescue his friend due to his immense fear of going inside that wishing well once again.

“Is the potion ready yet?” Fisher asked, impatient with his foot tapping on the linoleum kitchen floor.

“Hold on. I have to make sure the potion is completely cooked, or it won’t work properly. I don’t want you to go missing in that wishing well too,” his friend explained.

Sighing, Fisher said, “I’m sorry for my impatience. I just want to find Ferris as soon as possible and bring him back home.”

“I understand. You two have been close since kindergarten and I would do anything to save someone I truly care about. You’ll get Ferris back. I know it,” she assured Fisher as she took the wooden spoon to her nose to test the smell.

Fisher smiled at his friend’s optimism, but a big part of him believed this was most likely going to be a recovery mission than a rescue even though Ferris used enchanted gear since it had been so long since he was last seen. This gave Fisher intense nightmares that caused him to wake up screaming and drenched in sweat. He just hoped his friend was really alive and just needed Fisher to finally be brave and rescue him.

“Okay! It’s ready,” his friend said as she poured a glass full of the finished potion. “You just have to drink a full glass of this and you’ll be ready to go into the wishing well and find Ferris…but be warned. It smells awful and because of that I highly doubt it’s going to taste good either.”

“That’s okay. Anything to get Ferris back,” Fisher said as he accepted the pink-colored potion from his friend’s hand.

The smell was already wafting into his nose and though it was unpleasant, Fisher gathered up his nerves and gulped down the potion in under ten seconds. Slamming the emptied glass on the kitchen countertop, Fisher physically cringed and stuck his tongue by how disgusting the drink was, rather having to drink actual dish soap than have that potion near his mouth again. However, the potion seemed to be working as he felt a bubbling sensation in his stomach that then resulted in him hiccuping and causing a bubble to envelop his mouth. With a few more hiccups, the bubble grew to cover his face and then completely encasing his head like a helmet.

“Amazing!” his friend said as she gently touched the bubble with her finger. “The bubble is also removable like a helmet, but I’d only do that once you return to the surface.”

“So, this will allow me to breathe while I’m down in that well?” Fisher asked as he looked through the kitchen window and at the wishing well close to his home.

“Yes, it will, but it won’t last for more than six hours, so you’re under a time limit to try to find Ferris, and this is your only chance since that potion was not cheap. Understand?”

Fisher nodded, and they were soon at the wishing well with Fisher sitting in the wooden bucket he thought would be a great hiding place when he and Ferris were playing an ordinary game of hide and seek. Unfortunately, the pulley could not hold his weight and he went straight down into the icy water of the well. He screamed and cried for what seemed like an eternity until he heard Ferris calling his name and he managed to pull him back to the surface. He was very thankful for his best friend coming to the rescue and now was the time to repay that debt despite his fear of the wishing well forcing him to wait so long, but not anymore.

“Ready?” his friend said with her hand on the pulley’s handle.

“Ready,” Fisher confirmed.

“Good luck.”

Rotating the handle, Fisher was steadily lowered into the wishing well that was becoming darker and colder the more he descended into possibly his own death. And memory of what happened when he was a child trapped in this very well were coming back with full force as well. However, he made deep, steady breaths to prevent himself from panicking and soon he was in the water that was so frigid if it made Fisher jump from the immediate temperate change.

However, deciding it was now or never, Fisher submerged the rest of his body into the water and he was soon diving into the water’s depth with only a small flashlight from his pocket giving him just enough visibility of the darkness surrounding him.

As he swam, Fisher was amazed by how huge the area was, so huge that he thought it could undoubtedly solve the drought problem in California without using more than the water here. Then he got concerned about whether there was a bottom to this place or if it was just an endless abyss that claimed Ferris’s life and his body would never be recovered.

Suddenly Fisher saw a dim glow in his periphery and as he swam towards it, he realized it was a series of lights within one location and what he saw next was outstanding. A ship, a literal ship was in his view that was lying on the bottom of this body of water. With its wooden hull and masts, he could infer that this was a ship made several centuries ago and might even have been a pirate ship with…mermaids?

Looking more closely, Fisher confirmed that those creatures swimming by the ship were indeed mermaids with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish. This was the greatest discovery that he himself had ever stumbled upon. However, judging by how all of them within his view began swimming away into the ship, they probably were not as joyous by the appearance of a human within their midst.

“Stop right there!”

Fisher turned to see a group of mermaids swimming towards him and he swallowed when he saw they were armored and holding spears in their hands. Placing his flashlight into his pocket, Fisher raised his hands into the air, or water, and waited as they swam towards him since there was no way he could out-swim mermaids and his best hope was that they might have answers to Ferris’s whereabouts.

They soon approached Fisher with several of the mermaids surrounding him and pointing their spears at him that blocked any attempts of escape or attack. One of the mermaids who looked like the leader of the group swam in front of Fisher with his hands behind his back and a displeased look on his bearded face.

“A human, I see?” the mermaid said with narrowed eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry for intruding in your space, sir, but I came down here in search of someone, another human in fact and I was wondering if you can help me,” Fisher said as evenly as he could with spears just inches away from piercing his body.

Scratching his beard, the mermaid said, “Another human, you say?”

“Yes, and after I find him, we’ll leave and never come back,” Fisher assured the mermaid.

The mermaid sighed and gestured his hand that signaled the other mermaids to withdraw their weapons. “Follow me then since I believe we have the person you’re looking for…but you might not like what you see.”

Fisher bit his bottom lip, nervous about what that meant, but nodded and he proceeded to follow the mermaid with the others close behind him. They eventually made it to the ship where they entered through a door that led to the interior of the ship and inside was the most mismatched collection of treasures and furniture he had ever seen in his entire life. Every style of chairs, for example, ranged from the modern and minimalist to what looked like it came from ancient Egypt and China. All this was what people tossed into the wishing well to have their wishes come true?

Passing through hallways and other mermaids who were curiously looking at the human in their home, they eventually stopped in front of a set of double doors.

“This is where your friend is residing,” the mermaid said. “You can enter now if you wish, but don’t think of wandering into other parts of the ship and taking anything you want. I’ll have guards stationed here to prevent that from happening. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Fisher swam and swam to the door.

“Just let my guards know when you’re ready to leave…with or without your friend.”

Fisher ignored the feelings of doubt that the mermaid managed to cast on him as he opened the double doors. Suddenly a strong force pulled him through the doorway and he fell onto a dry, wooden floor and looking back he saw the mermaids closing the doors behind him.

“Well, this is different,” Fisher said to himself.

Standing up for the first time since venturing into the wishing well, Fisher looked around and saw that this area of the ship looked completely different from the pristine, almost regal look of the hallway outside the doors for example. The wooden floor was eaten away by mold and the furniture and other objects in the room looked just as moldy or just plain worked out or broken. He took off his bubble helmet and placed it on top of a dresser when something moved at the corner of the room…or someone to be precise.

“Hello?” Fisher said when he saw a figure standing in the shadows. “Ferris, is that you?”

The figure stepped out of the shadow and said, “Fisher?”

“Ferris!” Fisher exclaimed from the sight of his best friend, alive and unharmed.

Ferris ran to Fisher and proceeded to give him the biggest hug he ever offered. Hugging back, Fisher smiled like crazy from not just seeing his best friend again, but to touch and hold him once more was treasure by itself. They have never been apart from each other this long before and he hoped that would be the last time.

After a minute, Ferris finally released his embrace of his best friend and said, “Fisher! Dude! It’s so good to see you again! What are you doing here?”

“To find you, of course,” Fisher stated with his hands on Ferris’s shoulders. “It has been over a month since you went down into the wishing well and I suspected the worst.”

“Really? A month? It didn’t feel like a month to me,” Ferris said as he turned around and looked at his surroundings.

“Well, regardless, I came all the way here to find you and bring you back home,” Fisher announced.

“Wow, so you overcame your phobia of the wishing well just to find me. I’m touched,” Ferris said with a smile. “But how did you come here without any scuba gear or enchantments?”

“I didn’t. I drank a potion and I was able to create a temporary bubble around my head that allowed me to breathe underwater. It’s right there on top of the dresser.”

Walking to the dresser, Ferris gently lifted the bubble with both hands and looked at with interested. “Amazing. I never seen this type of magic before.”

“Yeah, well, I had to buy it from a sketchy dealer at the inner part of the city,” Fisher informed as he stood by Ferris’s side, unable to get enough of the sight of his best friend he had not seen in so long and he needed that fix like a drug.

“That’s great! I mean, I’m sorry that you had to get it from a dealer and risk getting caught in a police sting, but…but you might have also unexpectedly brought me the key to finally solving what I’ve been searching for all this time.”

“And what’s that?” Fisher asked as he watched Ferris walked to a desk at the other side of the room with the bubble still in his hand.

At his desk, Ferris placed the bubble on it where there was also a big bucket and several other objected that were in the same state of deterioration as the rest of the room. He gestured his hand to Fisher who walked to him and wondered what he was going to do.

“You must’ve saw all the treasures when you entered the ship, correct?” Ferris asked as he took a rusted-looking coin in his hand.

“Yeah, I didn’t believe you at first when you said that there are treasures at the bottom of the wishing well, but it’s so real now that I saw it for myself.”

“That’s the thing though. It’s not real. It’s just an illusion,” Ferris inquired as he pulled the metal bucket closer to him that was filled to the rim with water.

“What are you talking about?” Fisher asked curiously.

“Just look and see for yourself,” Ferris said as he began lowering his hand with the coin in his palm into the bucket of water.

Fisher did look and when he saw the rusted coin turn into a shiny, gold coin once submerged in the water he was dumbfounded. “What the…?”

“I know, right! It’s all just an optical illusion created by the water that must have some magical properties in it,” Ferris inferred as he pulled the coin out that turned back to its original state. “I believe it’s true when people say that the first mermaids were humans who were cursed by witches to live in the sea for their sins that they could never wash away. Some mermaids even live according to their specific sin, like gluttonous mermaids getting caught by fishermen and forced to live in tanks before they are sold to be eaten to envious mermaids living in the sewage system, seen as nothing more than filth flushed down from a toilet bowl.

“And the mermaids that you most likely encountered on your way here embody the sin of greed and what perfect place than a wishing well where people toss money into it and who live in a ship once used by pirates who attacked other ships for treasures and other things to satisfy their own greed. Also because time is considered an illusion as well like the appearance of the coin, maybe that’s the reason why time here works differently, making things seem like a day long here when actuality it has been a month instead. This is so interesting!”

“Okay, and how does this relate back to the optical illusion that can turn a rusty coin into a gold one?” Fisher asked.

“Don’t you see? Their greed for all these things that look expensive and luxurious are just garbage. It’s just an illusion and that’s the punishment they have to suffer because of their sin, all caused by their original creator who was the antithesis all those sins...the dragon, and more specifically the dragon in Asian society that is associated with water and known to shape-shift, a quality that must be a property in this water as well.”

“Wow, I knew fairies and people who can morph into wolves were real, but dragons?”

“Yeah, it’s crazy, isn’t it? I’ve been trying to find a solution to make these objects on my desk to look like what they do in the water without having to keep them there. This could make us unbelievably rich, Fisher!”

“Yeah, that sounds great and all, but it has been a month since you came here. How much longer will you stay here until you found that solution?” Fisher asked.

“Not much longer actually,” Ferris said as he lifted the bubble on top of the bucket and began squeezing.

“Don’t do that!”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to pop it,” Ferris said as drops of the potion that made up the bubble fell into the bucket of water. “Just trying to get a small sample is all.”

“Don’t squeeze too hard since that’s our only way of being able to go back home,” Fisher warned.

“I’m being careful, don’t panic,” Fisher said and to Fisher’s relief he placed the bubble back onto the desk. “Now let’s see if my theory is correct.”

Holding the same coin between his thumb and index finger, Ferris dipped the coin back into the water and took it out to reveal a gold coin that remained in that state even though it was no longer in the water. Ferris laughed with joy as he played with the coin, rolling the coin on his knuckles and spinning the coin on the desk, it stayed the same.

“Can you believe that?” Ferris said cheerfully as he tossed the coin to Fisher.

“No. I really can’t,” Fisher said as he looked at the coin himself. “How is this possible?”

“The potion probably has some soap-like qualities and mixed with the magical water must have cleaned the coin of any sin and transformed it into a real one. I’ve been trying to create an ingredient similar to that, but with no luck. But here you come out of nowhere and found us an unlimited fortune. We can live like kings, Fisher!” Ferris said ecstatically and hugging his best friend once again.

“Yeah, this is great,” Fisher said, but not as excitable as his friend.

“We can turn everything the mermaids handed to me and turn them into actual treasure. Ah man, I can’t even think, I’m so excited!” Ferris said as he walked back to his desk and grabbed the bubble again. “But we’re going to need more of that potion that created your bubble to make that happen.”

“Wait, Ferris! You can’t just use the entire bubble,” Fisher interjected. “There’s no point of transforming all these things into treasures if we can’t go back home.”

“Well, I’ll just create more of the potion then. I’m sure you won’t mind staying here for a while as I find a way to create more of it,” Ferris said with a smile.

“No, I can’t, Ferris. That bubble will only last for a few hours and considering that time here is different, that bubble might not last any longer,” Fisher explained.

“But…But I need this, Fisher. We need this,” Ferris begged.

“I know you’ve always wanted a life that was much better than the lives we had as kids…but we’re doing all right now and I don’t think money is the most important factor in determining our happiness.”

“So, you’re saying you’d be happy living in the streets and begging for food than living in a mansion and being surrounded by people who will do everything for you?” Ferris asked with discontent for Fisher’s previous statement.

“No, but we managed to get a place together and we can make it even better without having this treasure,” Fisher explained.

Shaking his head, Ferris said, “No way! I worked hard enough all my life and I just want the privileges that the celebrities in Hollywood and Manhattan have. We both deserve this.”

Fisher sighed. “Okay, so you transform these objects into enough treasure that we live like kings as you say. How the hell are we going to bring back that treasure home with us without a means to breathe while underwater, huh?”

Scratching his head, Ferris said, “I don’t know, but I’ll think of something. There has to be some way—”

“There’s no time to think!” Fisher exclaimed as he walked to Ferris and grabbed him by the arm. “We need to get out here now before time runs out and the bubble pops… I need you back, Ferris.”

Ferris groaned as he looked around the room where he most likely spent most of his time. “I…I can’t, Fisher. I need to stay here and find a way to transform these objects into treasures that I can bring back home.”

“No, Ferris. You can’t!”

“Don’t worry about me, Fisher. Just take your bubble and swim back to the surface. The mermaids have been treating me well so far and I’m sure they’ll allow me to stay until I find the solution,” Ferris said, smiling at Fisher as assurance.

“But Ferris…I can’t live without you. I…I love you, man,” Fisher confessed with his lips trembling.

His eyes widening, Ferris said, “Seriously?”

Fisher nodded with his head bowed. “I’ve been in denial about it for so long…too long. And you disappearing in the wishing well, making me worry about you and thinking that you could be dead... That made me realize now that I can’t let my fear stop me from pursuing what I love, like overcoming my fear of the wishing well and the fear of being rejected by you… That’s because I love you, Ferris no matter what and no amount of promised treasures is going to keep you from me!”

Ferris stared at Fisher for what seemed like the longest time, but when he smiled and kissed him on the lips, all of Fisher’s fears seemed to fall away at that very instance. Kissing his best friend made him feel so light and airy, and when they looked in each other’s eyes after their first kiss, he found something so much more valuable and eternal than no amount of gold coins could hope to be…love.

“Never thought you were ever interested in me,” Ferris said as he combed his fingers through Fisher’s hair.

“Oh, you have no idea how interested I am in you,” Fisher said and biting his lower lip. “I need you, Ferris, and if you don’t follow me back to the surface where I can show you how interested I am with you, I swear to the dragon god above…”

Chuckling, Ferris said, “Okay, I got it… Maybe being rich wasn’t the thing that I needed to fill that void I’ve been feeling lately.”

“No, but I know what’s definitely getting filled once we get back home,” Fisher hinted as he looked Ferris up and down like a piece of prime meat.

Ferris chuckled again. “Okay, let’s go.”

Fisher and Ferris walked to the desk where the bubble was and they were both shocked to see that it increased in size.

“Uh, Fisher. What exactly happens when that bubble pops?”

“I don’t know, but we shouldn’t wait and find out,” Fisher stated as he grabbed the bubble. “At least the bubble is big enough for the both of us now. Come on, let’s go.”

Ferris nodded and he followed Fisher to the double doors which he opened with the water remaining at the threshold by some magical force. Fisher pulled his best friend close to him and then placed the bubble that grew even bigger around both of their heads.

“Are you two going back to the surface?” one of the mermaid guards asked.

“Yes, and thank you for watching over my friend,” Fisher said.

“No problem, but you better hurry. I heard bubbles like that explode when submerged in water for too long,” another mermaid guard warned.

The two of them looked at each other with shock before they began swimming quickly and leaving the ship behind them. They continued to swim upwards and just when Fisher saw the opening to the wishing well, the bubble began shaking violently with its once spherical shape changing its form at a rapid rate.

“Shit! We have to abandon this bubble now! Can you hold your breath?” Fisher asked Ferris.

“I’ll try.”

Pulling the bubble from their heads, Fisher allowed the bubble to sink as they held their breath and continued their swim to the wishing well. However, an explosion was felt soon after and when Fisher looked back down, he was stunned to see a huge force created by the bubble moving right towards them. He prompted Ferris to swim faster, but the force got to them first.

Fisher coughed as he felt blades of grass in his hands and he looked around to see that he was back on the surface with his friend running towards him. The force of the bubble’s explosion must have propelled them through the wishing well and back here. He smiled at their luck, but then he saw Ferris who was lying on his back and not moving. He immediately scurried to him and when he pressed an ear to his mouth, he knew he was not breathing. His best friend was not dying now as he began doing chest compressions and pressed his lips onto Ferris’s to revive him.

Ferris immediately started coughing up water and Fisher sighed in relief as he turned him over to the side to cough out the remainder of water out of his lungs.

“My God! Are you two okay? What happened?” Fisher’s friend said.

Ferris snickered between coughs and said, “Let’s just say that Fisher just blew me away.”

“I know something else that’s going to be blown if you promise not to go down that wishing well ever again,” Fisher said with a smirk.

“I promise,” Ferris said before grabbing Fisher by the face and landing a very sensual kiss that took his breath away more than when they were in that very wishing well.

“Wow, I didn’t think you two would actually get together. I’ll leave you two alone then,” she said and walked back to her place.

Both men started giggling like crazy and after a few more kisses with an exchange of heat and tongues, they stood back up and raced each other to the house that they both owned. With the shedding of clothes and any form of decency, Fisher showed Ferris exactly how interested he was in him as they dived into his bed and explored each other’s bodies, going for the treasure that was their hard cocks. And after they surfaced from the explosive orgasms they experienced together, they looked at each other with the hope that despite not having everything in their small, two-bedroom, two-bathroom house, they were more than content with having each other by their side instead.

This was all because Fisher finally overcame his fear of the wishing well, of his fear of being rejected by Ferris and now he was living a dream that had finally came true. His courage had made him rich, not with treasure, but with love from a best friend which was everything Fisher wished for.