Drawing has become my new hobby. A big part of that came from wanting to see my characters in real life. This is my first attempt at Kitsy from Down the Wishing Well. She a little too sweet-looking here, I think. I need to figure out how to make her more mischievous.
I was an extremely shy child (I still have my moments), and Kitsy is everything I wish I was at that age--resourceful, fearless, outgoing . . . a rule breaker. Kitsy stands up for herself and those she loves--whether it's her archenemy Hank Cantwell calling her trash or the Rork brothers beating up her little brother. But she also always thinks she knows best and can steamroll others--especially her younger brother, Teddy--to get what she wants.
This scene is from when Kitsy and Teddy first discover the wishing well and pretty much sums up Kitsy's best qualities and some of her not so great ones.
***
“What are you doing?” she asked.
The franc slipped out of his hand, bounced off the rim of the well and fell into its endless blackness. Teddy spun around, both guilty and annoyed.
Kitsy tossed her satchel against the well then leaned over its side to stare down the deep hole. “Did you just toss a coin down a well? Money that could have been used to buy Mama’s medicine?” she accused.
Teddy shook his head. “It's a wishing well. I made a wish. Besides, the soldier that gave it to me said that it wasn't worth anything. It was a coin from France.”
Kitsy just nodded then her eyes suddenly lit up. “How long do you think this well has been here?” she asked. Miette jumped up on the rim and began circling the well.
“I don't know. A really long time by the looks of it.”
“How many people do you think made a wish and threw a coin down there?” she asked, looking down the well again.
“At least a few. Maybe a lot.” Then it dawned on him what his sister was thinking. “Kitsy, no! That would be stealing! We don't steal.”
“How would it be any different than going through people's trashcans? People threw those coins away like they would throw away a half-eaten apple or old bread. The coins down there aren't doing anything except sitting there. It's not like you can steal wishes. That money could get Mama to the doctor. That money could get Mama the medicine she needs.”
Teddy frowned. He supposed his sister had a point. It wasn't like anyone was going to come back for whatever change laid at the bottom of the well. And from the looks of the wishing well, the last coin was tossed down there long ago. The person who threw it in had probably forgotten all about it, if he or she was even still alive. “Okay, but how do we get the coins out?”
Kitsy grinned, climbing up on the well's ledge. “We go get them. I'll get in the bucket and you lower me down.”
“No! It's dark; you won't be able to see anything. And what if there are eels down there?” Mrs. McGullen had told them how sometimes people put eels in wells to keep the water clean. “Or monsters? Or what if you drown!” he said, panicking.
“Calm down. I'll just feel around with my hand. If I find something, maybe we come back with a lantern. And there aren't any eels or monsters down there. And I've got a bucket and a rope—I'm not going to drown! Don't be a baby!”
Teddy crossed his arms, frowning, and stared at her.
Kitsy softened her voice. “How else are we going to get enough money to pay Dr. Malfae? You lost today’s wages, and rent’s going to be due again in a few days.”
Teddy didn't like it, not one bit. And he knew Mrs. McGullen wouldn't like it either, Kitsy risking her life to collect some dirty, old coins at the bottom of a well. But his sister was right. Every day their mom grew weaker. And Mr. Kree would just keep coming back to take the money they earned. Or the Rork brothers would steal it.
“Swear you’ll be careful,” Teddy insisted.
Completely serious, Kitsy swore:
“Devil take my soul to reap
If this promise I can’t keep
Cross my heart
Spit and shake
This promise I shall never break.”
Kitsy crossed her heart then spat in her hand and held it out to shake. But Teddy didn’t take it. Instead, he eyed her skeptically. He wasn’t convinced. “Swear on Miette.”
Kitsy put her hand on the cat’s head. “I swear on Miette that I will be careful.”
Teddy still wasn’t completely satisfied. “Swear on Mama’s life that you’ll be careful and come back safe and without even a scratch on you.”
Kitsy rolled her eyes. “I swear on Miette and Mama that I’ll be careful and I’ll come back.”
“Without a scratch,” he insisted.
“I can’t promise that,” she said. “But I promise that I will always be here to take care of you and Mama, okey dokey?”
“And Miette,” he said.
“And Miette.”
“Okay,” he said reluctantly, spat in his own hand, and shook hers.
Kitsy sat down on the well’s ledge, her legs dangling over the edge. She tugged on the well’s rope, testing it. It was old but strong. Teddy put both hands on the crank that controlled the rope. He still wasn’t sure of this plan. His sister pushed the bucket off the ledge, grabbed the rope with both hands, closed her eyes, and took a leap of faith: she stepped into the bucket. Both the rope and Teddy were able to hold her weight. She crouched down in the bucket the best she could, holding tight to the rope. Her heart beat against her chest with fear and excitement. “Lower me.”
Frowning, Teddy turned the crank using all his strength.
With a jerk, Kitsy descended down the wishing well.
***
You can get a sneak peek at the first chapter of Down the Wishing Well here.
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