Dark Well

It was past eight o'clock in the evening when they got home. Michelin was sullenly in her lap in front of Lauren. She was looking at Lauren's lifeless face with her arms raised. She made a meaningless sound a couple of times and started to cry.

Lauren pulled Michelin from her mother's lap bag as she began to cry. She started walking slowly around the house. Michelin hugged Lauren tightly and cried for a while longer. Then she calmed down. Brendon, on the other hand, adjusted the lights and temperature of the house by commanding his telecomputer. Then he left his jacket on the seat.

Lauren entered the room and prepared to change Michelin's diaper. But as soon as Michelin got off Lauren's lap, she continued to cry. Lauren told her to be patient a little longer and changed her diapers. She also took off her clothes and put on a single shirt that was a little too big. She picked her up again and went into the living room.

At first she thought Brendon had gone into the room. Brendon was in the kitchen preparing Michelin's food. Lauren wanted to put Michelin in the baby chair, but she gave up because Michelin resisted sitting in the baby chair.

"After this stage, I don't know much about its consistency and temperature. How would you like to relocate?" Brendon asked. Lauren walked over to him, a little hesitant, and with Michelin on one arm, she took the mixing spoon from Brendon's hand and checked the consistency.

Brendon wanted to get the Michelin, but Michelin refused to snuggle with Lauren any further and go to her father. Realizing that Brendon was running out of patience, Lauren tried to control her voice and said, "I-I'll handle it. If you want to rest..."

Brendon was about to say something when he barely restrained himself. He lowered his outstretched arm to the Michelin and went to the room.

He took a deep breath after closing the door. He rubbed his forehead. He didn't know how right it was to leave the two of them alone. If he hadn't just caught himself, "I shall give Michelin to you and you shall throw her from the twenty-third floor." he would say. He didn't even want to think about saying that. Once he said that, the crisis they experienced could have gone as far as divorce.

He was surprised, too, that he was in control of his anger. In fact, it was Michelin that caused his anger to explode and what caused him to calm down. Michelin had been crying ever since he found them in the hospital. Doctors said she was in good health. There was nothing to cry about. But when she clinged to Lauren like a koala and tried to pull her away, she screamed.

At the same time, this behavior of Michelin relieved Brendon. The only thing that sustained her trust in Lauren was the love and trust of a nine-month-old baby. He laughed bitterly at the fact that he felt so helpless. He pulled his head between his hands and sighed. He would take a cold shower and think calmly.

Lauren sat on the sofa. She put the Michelin on her lap. At first, She thought Michelin just wanted to be on a lap. But Michelin was calm when seated. Her only problem was whether Lauren was holding her or not.

When Michelin took a few scoops of the food and then started spitting out the food, Lauren gave up and cleaned Michelin's mouth. Michelin voluntarily turned to Lauren, wrapping her tiny arms around her neck and laying on her chest. She was humming something like a lullaby in a strange voice. It seemed to Lauren as if she was trying to comfort Lauren…

Lauren's eyes filled with tears. She had a hard time not crying. She kissed Michelin on the head and asked, "Are you sure you want to stay with me?" Michelin continued her baby lullaby. Lauren wiped her tears and gathered her mind as she listened to the babyish voices. She reconsidered her experiences.

She had safely managed to pass through the underground passage and reach the large garden complex across the road. She went that way because she knew the association was in block C. This garden site consisted of five star-shaped buildings. These buildings were joined by a courtyard in the middle.

She saw that there was a large water well in the courtyard. She couldn't remember what happened next. When she regained consciousness, all she remembered was a woman knocking her down and Michelin crying on the floor. And there was only one word she remembered: Venir.

"What does Venir mean?" she asked out loud. The telecomputer immediately replied, "The closest meaning is 'Come in' in French." Lauren was not surprised. But she had never experienced such a powerful delusion. Her mind was still confused.

She looked down at the huge bruises on her leg just below her shorts. Her stomach was still nauseous. She didn't know what was happening to her. She was afraid. She felt so helpless that she wanted to die.

She laughed merrily. Brendon Walker... His first wife had committed suicide. Now his second wife was desperate enough to want to take her own life. Suddenly, lightning flashed in Lauren's mind. What if Michelin's mother went through the same situation, she thought. Then "No way..." she muttered. Desperation was starting to form absurd ideas in her.

Brendon left the room and sat on the other sofa in the living room. Across from him, Lauren was sitting with Michelin on her lap. Michelin was dozing off with one hand holding a lock of Lauren's hair. She was holding a strand of hair, as if to make sure she wasn't separated from Lauren. This both frightened and comforted Brendon.

A baby wouldn't do that to someone who would hurt or have given her, even if she was a baby. But a baby was a baby after all. Even if it's her own daughter... They sat in the dim light for a bit of silence. Not knowing where to start, Brendon reviewed his experiences since the police officer's call.

This afternoon Lauren had gone to the old building of the Astronautical Society, which had moved in the previous year with Michelin. A woman who saw Lauren had seen Lauren calmly trying to throw the Michelin down the goddamn well, and tried to stop her by knocking her down. Meanwhile, Michelin had fallen to the ground and Lauren had come to her senses as she began to cry.

Luckily, Michelin did not suffer any damage as she fell on her hip. Brendon knew it was a bad idea to think about the bad part, so he tried to get away from that part, but he couldn't help it. A two-hundred-year-old historical water well in the Green Palace, where the Space Sciences Association is located... It had become quite popular seven months ago because a woman had killed herself by throwing herself into that well. In the virtual newspapers, the name of the deceased was written as A. W. to respect privacy.

So Anna Walker, the mother of a two-month-old baby, had killed herself for an unknown reason. The autopsy report was certain that she had not been killed and thrown into the well. Now his second wife, L. W., had tried to throw their daughter M. W. into that well. Brendon feared he couldn't control his outburst this time. Why was that well still active? Didn't it have a cover or something?

Brendon was about to open his mouth when Michelin began her babyish lullaby again. She was staring hard at her father, still holding Lauren's hair. The lullaby melody she held up with her hard stare was so contrasting that Brendon just stood there.

Lauren stroked Michelin's hair. It was then that Brendon saw the huge bruises on Lauren's leg. At the hospital, she was so worried and fearful for Michelin that she refused treatment.

"Stupid woman, if your immune system fails again, those wounds could kill you." he said inside. But that thought made him calmer. The doctor, who roughly examined Lauren at the hospital, said that Lauren might have had some form of epileptic seizure. Brendon had heard of people with epilepsy drooling over or having one or more limbs twitching constantly in their bodies. What kind of epileptic attack could make her throw the baby in her arms into the well where her mother died?

Lauren was so afraid that Brendon was sitting quietly on the sofa right next to her that she hesitated to look in that direction. She had learned something about the well in the hospital. Her heart started to hurt. She shouldn't have let her tears flow. The pain of being "a woman who tried to throw her daughter into the well where the daughter's biological mother died" was unbearable.

What if no one was around? What if Michelin had really fallen into the well? She gave up because the sentences starting with "what if" strained her mental health. She swallowed silently. That's when Michelin started her baby lullaby again. This time, she turned her head towards her father and sang a lullaby.

Lauren patted Michelin on the head, grateful but timid that she was still in her lap. "I have to thank him for still letting me touch her," she thought. She mustered up her courage. "If he wants a divorce, I will divorce him. If I have a disease that could harm Michelin and him, that would be for the best." she said to himself. She could start with a sentence like "How angry are you with me?"But, she swallowed once and timidly uttered a sentence, "P-Please call Margaret."

Brendon looked calmly at Lauren. In fact, he thought that whatever word she said he would explode, but he did not expect such a sentence. He relaxed a little. Lauren had not taken Michelin there on purpose, and this sentence was proof of that. Lauren was aware that she could unintentionally harm Michelin and wanted someone who could watch over Michelin.

Brendon pushed himself a little more and empathized. "Why would a woman who loves and embraces her stepdaughter all these months try to kill her now?" he thought. Lauren loved Michelin. Of that, Brendon didn't doubt.

He took a breath and said, "Let's revisit today, Lauren." Lauren didn't answer right away. It was clear that she was afraid. Then "Y-Yes," he replied. She told him what had happened that afternoon.

Brendon was surprised to hear the answering machine message. He had never sent such a message to Lauren. Besides, he thought, why would he order a job that is on a professional subject to his wife? However, because his telecomputer was turned off, Lauren could not reach him and went to the association to check, thinking what could it be. Listening to this part, Brendon cursed his mind, which had forgotten to turn on his telecomputer.

Lauren didn't know the association carried it because when she searched it showed the address here. Brendon took Lauren's telecomputer and checked it. He noticed that the navigation program was synchronized to two years ago. Normally it should be updated automatically. He was surprised.

Then he checked the answering machine on his home phone. He listened to the message Lauren was talking about. This was also two years ago. There was something wrong with this matter. Brendon wouldn't call home for that reason. He wouldn't have called two years ago either. He couldn't remember exactly, but maybe he had called an employee two years ago for such a reason. He thought he should check Lauren's telecomputer and home phone in case of cyberattacks.

Okay, that clears up why Lauren went to the association's old building. So what was the explanation for what Lauren was trying to do to Michelin? Lauren said she didn't remember that part. Brendon actually didn't want to get into that part too much because he didn't want Lauren to cry. Lauren swallowed once, retelling that part. Her eyes were filled with tears and it was obvious that she was trying not to cry, and she did not cry with a great effort.

She later apologized about her delusion. A tear fell as she did so, but Lauren quickly got rid of it. She looked strong and determined. "If you want me to stay away from Michelin, I will stay away from Michelin. That's why Margaret should come home. If you want me to leave the house, I will do that too. I don't know what's happened to me, but I promise I won't harm Michelin or you again." she said.

Brendon remained quiet at Lauren's strong and courageous demeanor. He had never considered sending her. He empathized once again with the guilt Lauren felt. She could have a serious illness and did not know the solution. Moreover, she could harm a baby... Of course, she would imagine that she would be fired or divorced.

Brendon wondered how long she had had such delusions. He didn't think it was when they met. "Is that why you see your doctor so often?" he asked calmly. Lauren nodded her head this time, unable to hold back her tears.

"She said I had no problems," she said without Brendon's asking. Tears were not flowing from fear or regret. She was crying because she felt comfortable being able to tell someone about it. Brendon hated seeing women cry, but somehow he didn't hate those tears. If Lauren had cried over the topic five minutes ago, he would have hated it again. But these tears comforted both of them.

Michelin noticed Lauren's tears and looked up at Lauren. She started to cry too, but this time it wasn't screaming. It was as if she was partaking in Lauren's silent cry. Lauren tried to comfort her, trying to smile towards her. She didn't want Brendon to be disturbed, so she wanted to take her to her room, but she was also afraid of being alone with Michelin. She was worried that she would hurt her.

She wiped her own and Michelin's tears. It occurred to her to stand up and walk her around the hall. She was about to leave when Brendon got up from his seat and sat next to Lauren. Lauren looked at him. Brendon took Lauren's hand holding Michelin's back.

"I trust you to keep your word," Brendon said. Then he looked at Lauren and said, "I don't want the wound on your leg getting worse. It's already shelled. Let's wash Michelin first. Then you take care of yourself. Sleeping a little early today will do us all good."Lauren held back her sobs and tears once more and nodded, "Okay, thank you."

The moonlight was pouring in through the open window. Lauren watched Michelin's innocent sleeping face for a while longer. She was lying between her and Brendon. Contrary to what she had expected, they both fell asleep immediately.

After the bath, Brendon suggested that Lauren see her doctor once more, this time going together. Brendon wanted to accompany her by providing permission on his work. Although Lauren was worried it would disrupt his work, she accepted. She didn't want to be alone. However, her self-confidence was somewhat shaken.

"If I am unhealthy and have a disease that cannot take care of Michelin, the deal is over." She couldn't get the thought out of her head. She didn't know how she could stand being away from Michelin. She didn't know how long Brendon could endure her ill. She shuddered to think that she had a disease that could harm her, other than worrying about an illness that wouldn't be able to take care of Michelin.

The wind had gotten stronger. She got up quietly and closed the window. She didn't want Michelin to get cold. She watched the faces of the father and daughter as they lay down. She thought they were quite similar to each other. "How about looking alike..." she thought to herself...

Yes, this condition was most likely a disease. However, there was something else. There was something she saw in and around the house that she couldn't remember what it was like... The voices she heard... The whispers she heard... These could have been a sign of illness. But she had hallucinations in French that she never knew… Sometimes Brendon's messy stuff… And there were application programs that weren't meant to be broken but were broken…

Lauren had heard that Michelin's mother had committed suicide. But she had never researched it. Finally, there was the unknowingly trying to kill her daughter at the place where her mother died. Yes, she might be being silly, but Lauren couldn't shake the suspicion that she was being controlled by someone or something.

What if that thing did the same to the woman who gave birth to Michelin, she thought. Yes, Brendon could have been a bit of the cold type. They could have been married because their marriage was the decision of the families. But what idiot would want to abandon a man like Brendon and a baby like Michelin and die? She would investigate. Whatever had made Michelin and herself experience this, would have killed her. She regained her confidence and fell asleep.