Thursday, January 23, 2025

A Bloody Fallen Tale

By Scott Jackson
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We all know of the nursery rhyme of Jack and Jill. But what truly happened when Jack fell and broke his crown with Jill tumbling after? We ask because not everything written in those tales long ago was entirely true to what may have happened. Here is just one possibility for the doomed children.
 
Jack continues falling and rolling down the hill that they both climbed up to fetch a pail of water. Just behind him on the hill as well, we have Jill trying to chase after Jack until she trips. Her falling path is just slightly different from Jack’s path. Once Jack had come to a complete stop, he tried to get up, but he got hit on the head by the bucket they had for the water and collapsed. Jill’s tumbling stops as she rolls off of and falls into a thorn patch.
 
Jill cries for what sounds like hours before she stops. She notices her feet have not touched the ground, yet she is in pain. As Jill looks at her surroundings, she sees numerous thorns sticking in her and even a few through her. With the terrible pain going through her just from a slight movement, she begins to cry again.
 
After a while Jack finally comes to; he cries as well from the pain he feels. Yet after placing his hand on the area that hurts, he sees blood on his hand. Which once again causes more crying from Jack. Jack then notices the other crying sound and thinks it must be from Jill. He then shouts out to her, “JILL?” Jack tries to find her by following the sound of her cries.
 
Jack finds Jill stuck in a thorn patch. “Jill! How did you get there?” He asks her while looking around the spot she is stuck in.
 
Jill sniffs partly crying and responding back, “I-I-I don’t know, I just fell after you did and-and-and ended up here. AND IT HURTS!!!” She continues to cry some more.
 
 With his help, she eventually gets out, but Jill does become injured badly as well. They hold each other’s hands as they attempt to limp their way back home. But because of how much blood has been lost, they have been fading in and out for a while.
 
After what feels like walking forever, they look around and find themselves in a forest, then they realize that they are lost. “We’re lost Jack. We’ll never get back home now. Wait, what is that smell?” They both notice the smell of some baked goods cooking.
 
“I don’t understand, who would be baking in a forest?” Jack questions their discovery.
 
“Does it matter? It means someone who can help us.” Jill cries back to him. They make their way through the woods by scent until they come across a house that looks to be made of gingerbread. They both hear a cackling laugh around them. “I-I don’t like t-t-that noise, let’s go back home.”
 
They look at each other for a moment, nodding. They both begin to turn around, but instead they finally collapse and immediately a wrinkled pair of hands grabs them. Dragging them into the gingerbread house, as we hear a witch’s cackle one last time. 
 
 
About the Author


Scott Jackson is a native of Central Illinois, living with his girlfriend and four cats. He loves video games, musicals, comic books, 80s and 90s nostalgia, Doctor Who, and overall, a good story to enjoy. After finally reaching his limits with retail work, he decided to re-invent himself by returning to school to pursue his dream of becoming a writer and teacher. In his spare time, he picks up extra roles in local indie films, works with a local community theatre, and works on his next novels.

 
 

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