There is a legend about the well in the garden.

That's what the maids told Sungjong when he first arrived at the old mansion. Being the bored 7 year old he was, any kind of adventure sounded amazing to him right now. His parents had sent him to his Aunt and Uncle over the summer because they decided to go take a vacation by themselves. The feeling of betrayal once again clouded Sungjong's mind as he thought back to their conversation.

"We would take you with us if we could, but there are no children allowed on the cruise."

'If we could', Sungjong snickered. They could just have picked another kind of vacation but obviously decided he wasn't worth the trouble. His Aunt had greeted him with the love of a mother, Sungjong always had been her favourite nephew. But still he felt a bit lonely, being the only child around on the huge area that belonged to the mansion. So two days after he arrived he decided to go exploring in the well kept garden.

"It is said that the old owner of this mansion was a lord and he built the well for his son. The child was horribly sick you see, and his father made sure that everything he wished for came true."

Sungjong ran over the lawn, pretending to be dancing with the light the old oaks let through their leaves and decided that later at dinner he would ask the maids if it was possible to swim in the lake. The day went by way too fast for Sungjong's liking and before he knew it he was tucked into bed with a full stomach unable to keep his heavy eyes open.

The next day Sungjong made his way over to the lake together with one of the maids. They had agreed to let him go swimming as long as he wouldn't go alone and took a hot bath afterwards. Sungjong had never felt water this cold before and he spent a good 10 minutes in the shallow parts as he rubbed his arms to get used to the temperature.But after that it had been wonderful. He was able to swim to the middle, almost giving the maid a heart attack when he took a deep breath and went underwater. They only went back inside when the sun started setting and it was time for dinner.

"The boy loved everything his father did but his condition just got worse and worse. The doctors didn't know what they could do to help, the air here in the country was as perfect as it could get and they slowly ran out of options."  

It had been a couple of days since Sungjong's swimming trip and he seemed to have caught a cold. The fever was still in decent heights and his coughing only seemed to get worse, no matter how much soup the cook would make him. He had overheard his Uncle's conversation to one of the Maids. He had asked her to travel to town to get him a doctor. His parents couldn't be informed on the sea so all they could do was wait and hope for the best.

On the third night of fever Sungjong was sure he started to have hallucinations. He had awoken in the middle of the night to find a little boy sitting next to him with a worried look on his face. Sungjong would have screamed but his voice was completely gone by now due to the coughing. The boy must have seen his panic as he looked a bit guilty before he finally started talking. "I didn't mean to scare you, sorry. I'm Myungsoo, i heard you weren't feeling well and decided to give you some company."

Sleep seemed to overcome Sungjong again and the soft voice and innocent face of the strange boy were the last thing he saw as he gave into the darkness once again. The next morning Sungjong was alone in the room when he woke up.

"Then when the well was finished the son couldn't stand up anymore, let alone get of bed. His father became desperate, calling in every doctor that was registered and spend all his wealth and time on searching for a solution. He drove himself into ruins without noticing it."

The doctor couldn't find anything particularly wrong with Sungjong's lungs and the fever continued to rise steadily. His Aunt and Uncle were trying their best to reach his parents but all their telegram's came back unanswered. Sungjong also saw Myungsoo again, sometimes looking through the gap of his door or outside of his window. He didn't understand why nobody in on house had told him another child was coming over. And why were the maids doing nothing to keep him away from Sungjong? For all they knew what he had could be contagious.

His Aunt had taken up a habit of reading him stories out of one of the children books she had kept in their library. They were stories of pirates and other adventurers which made Sungjong feel as if he was a part of them. His Uncle started teaching him chess in the afternoons if Sungjong wasn't asleep and from what he had seen his uncle was an excellent player. But it all got more complicated when Sungjong woke up one morning, coughing up blood into his white bedsheets. He could hear his aunt crying at whatever the Doctor was telling her and he could see the lies in her eyes as she told him everything would be okay. Sungjong was young but he wasn't stupid.

Sungjong barely woke up anymore. It had been 4 weeks since his sickness had started but it felt like years. The maids had to help him eat by now and the atmosphere in the mansion made clear what was going to happen. He could hear his Aunt crying in the evenings, begging to God for his parents to come home in time. And Sungjong wasn't even strong enough to feel guilty for making her worry so much. Sometime in the next night he was awoken by something poking his face. He opened his eyes, cringing when the light of a lantern hit his face.

"The lord woke up one morning to hear his son trashing around, unable to breath. It took almost a whole hour for him to completely calm down and the boy decided to ask for one more present from his father, however it was something that the man was unable to get. He knew there wasn't enough time left for that wish but he decided it was better for his son die looking forward to something than to die disappointed. So he said yes and the boy died only a few hours afterwards."

It was Myungsoo, standing in front of Sungjong's bed. He could also make out the silhouette of a rolling chair and a blanket behind the other boy. If he had been able to use his voice he would have asked what was going on but all that came out was scratchy high pitched sound. Shaking his head, Myungsoo did a hushing motion and leaned closer. "I thought you might like a bit of fresh air. took me years to sneak this out of the office," he patted the chair with his hand "give me your hand i will help you over."

The thought of fresh air and a starry sky seemed really appealing to Sungjong. He knew the Maids and his Aunt would throw a fit the next day but it would be worth it. He took Myungsoo's hand, letting himself be pulled over onto the chair. A blanket was dropped over his shoulders before the surprisingly strong boy started pushing him out of his room. They went the left side of the gardens, last the rose bushes that Sungjong loved. And only a few seconds later Myungsoo stopped only a couple of meters away from the well.

"This is the first time i'm getting to see it! It's really pretty isn't it Sungjong??" Slightly amused by the others excitement, Sungjong nodded and gave him a small smile. It truly was beautiful, wooden roses covered the pillars and the stone was a warm variation of red colors. Myungsoo suddenly jumped up next to him. "You know i've been wanting to ask you something, i'm sure you noticed  that around here it's hard to make friends. The only kids i ever come across are children of salesmen which always leave soon after again. So i thought... we could be friends?"

The nervousness on Myungsoo's face was almost hilarious to Sungjong. But he could understand why the other would feel lonely, he had his friends in the city to think of but Myungsoo had nobody. A sudden wave of nauseousness made Sungjong slump forward, closing his eyes. But he fought against it and looked back to the other boy, lifting his right hand with his pinky extended. Giving him a bright smile Myungsoo intertwined his pinky with Sungjong's. "Friends!" He said happily and Sungjong could only nod in return. Friends.

The next morning the maids were terrified to find an empty bed in Sungjong's room. They searched the whole mansion but only found an empty chair next to the rose bushes in the garden. One of them even was brave enough to climb down into the well to look for him but they found nothing. It was as if Lee Sungjong had vanished into empty air.

"Father...can you get me a friend? That's all i want." The lords son asked quietly and his father replied. "Anything my son....anything for you"

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This has not really been proofread yet so if you find any mistakes feel free to tell me :) I'd also love any comments