The Wishing Well

"Rover, come here! Stop eating the nettles!" shouted Mary. Rover was a little Irish terrier with fuzzy auburn hair and playful chestnut eyes, he loved frolicking about in the thick undergrowth in Rosstorn woods on the outskirts of the tiny village of Tallagh in South Armagh. She had come to know the track quite well as his owner Mary who was from the village enjoyed commuted along it most afternoons, however no matter how well Rover had come to know the path, he always seemed more fascinated and amazed with the most seemingly insignificant things, such as a butterfly taking off from a leaf or an old piece of bark that had fallen from the giant old trees that litterer the way. Today was a particularly windy afternoon as Mary and Rover made their way and a lot more leaves had started to deck the floor of the woods. The leaves had started to turn light orange and there was crispness in the air and also Mary’s feet as she walked. "Were starting to see the weather change now Rover, were coming into the autumn" Rover momentarily glanced at his master as she spoke but quickly become preoccupied by the sound of the river further down the path. Mary knew by his eccentric tail wagging that he was excited to go down and play in the water. "Yes Yes.. were heading that way now and we'll stop off at the old wishing well at the river edge so you can have a treat" she said. "At that point, Rover’s ears pricked up and he became even more playful with excitement and expectation. Mary was a middle aged woman with pale complexion, she was a bulky woman and well weathered, a long commute on foot would never be any trouble for her sturdy frame. She had never married and worked mornings at Welly's fruit and vegetable shop in the village of Tallagh. She had a traditional Irish look with freckled face and curly red hair and she always preferred wearing her outdoor gear to proper formal clothing. She was known round the village for having a no nonsense approach and a grafters work ethic. She knew the hills that sat on the east of the village very well possibly better than anyone. They strewn down the twig filled path, Rover dashing on ahead excitedly as he always did Mary always playing catch up, the two of them having an understanding that if Mary ever blew the whistle that Rover would come back to her wherever he was. He was a good and obedient dog and always did. As they came down the bank closer to the river Mary noticed that there were other footprints in the bank that had been recently made. she thought this very odd as there was rarely anyone else down these parts. Suddenly she heard Rover who was ten yards downstream barking uncontrollably, thankfully the wind had carried his tiny lungs to her ears. "Rover what’s wrong?" she said, gently chuckling into herself as she though he had probably seen a fish jumping or a bird taking off from the water surface. But as she came to meet him she could see he was edging himself closer to the water and staring directly at something and barking ferociously. It was at that point that Mary knew something was not right and she looked over to where Rover was gazing and to her shock could make out immediately exactly what it was. "Rover it’s a body!!" She shouted.