DIRT ~ finished

The Story Of The Pit

'How did you sleep sweetheart?' Mom asks, stroking her son's hair.

Will just woke up, as his mom slid open the curtains and let in the flashy sunlight of a beautiful Saturday morning. A different morning than usual. Days don't look the same after seeing a human being breath their last breath.

'I didn't.'

'Thinking about that man?'

'How can I not?' Will sighed.

His mother raised her shoulders, sitting down on the edge of his bed. Her hair in a ponytail, and wearing a knee length flower dress. She looked great,

'The Pit costs it's price, every day over and over again. Either from the people in there, or the ones out here.'

Will started to shake his head non agreeing, crawling up and leaning against his bedroom wall. The bed was still warm, and he didn't feel like getting out yet.

'How can you call those creatures people? They don't even look like humans. You can see their bones mom. And how they fought over that bread. Like their lives depended on it.'

'Well, doesn't it? I think I should tell you the whole story. If you are ready for that.'

Will nods, he needed to know. Why was the Pit dug? Who dug it? How come no one protested against the horrible protocol? Why was his father sentenced to the Pit? Was he alive? Did he see him last night? Was he the skeleton man or the muscled killer? His mom nodded agreeing.

'I believe you are old enough for it now too. But it won't be a happy ending kind of story baby.'

'That Pit wouldn't even be a part of a horror story', Will said dryly.

And his mother sighed and left the bedroom to make some coffee for the both of them. Will had drank coffee for a long while, and he remembered his first when his father was still with him.

'This is what real man drink son. Not beer, not water but coffee.'

And Will had sipped from his dad's muck and almost thrown up. Father burst out into a laughter, the one Will loved to hear. It didn't happen often, but when it did the mood in the house was instantly like Christmas.

'Maybe you should start a little later', father had joked.

So when mother sat down again, handing the hot muck over, Will couldn't help but grin at the dark brown liquid. And while he sipped and burned his tongue, mother started to tell the story of the Pit.

'The Pit, which other people also call differently. There are a lot of nicknames. Death of despair. The long ending. Torture tube. Got dug in the year 1898, when crime became a struggling thing in this town. Murderers, rapers and other heavy bad people got sentenced to death, but the mayor of Mervy decided the electric chair went to quick for humans made out of pure evil and filth. His words not mine. He collected all of them in the centre of the town, and made them dig for days and days. And each day the prisoners disappeared deeper in the ground, being forced to dig until there was no ability to get out anymore. The major created only three rules. One, you get sentenced down the Pit if the crime is seen as bad enough to end miserably. And believe me, the Mayor sees stealing a cookie as a crime. Two, there are three ways to survive. You either try to climb the steep walls and probably fall your way to death, or you end in yourself.'

'But the man in the Pit said something else too', Will interrupts his mom. Who swallows, knowing her son is right.

'The third way is to chose someone you know, a family member, neighbour or friend, and exchange your place with theirs. Those who do that, are truly corrupt sweetheart.'