When
we were fifteen, we joined a gang in a place called Sunnytown.
They referred to themselves as 'The Bridge Bike Gang', and that gang was where
all the 'popular'
people were. We were lucky, and pretty soon after we joined, we became infamous
throughout all
of Sunnytown, and two of the most popular people in the gang. They called us
'Big Jess' and 'Little
Jim'. Everyone in the gang looked up to us because we were so ruthless. They
should have been the
happiest months of my life, but of course, if they were, I would never be telling
you this. I was so
lonely... everyone was worshipping us because of what we did, not who we were.
I felt like a
wilting rose; with every new crime we committed, another petal withered and
fell, until only the stem
remained, full of thorns and dangerous. I became more and more withdrawn and
introverted.
Finally, one day, I snapped. The fragile stem of the rose within broke under
the harsh storms of despair,
and I ran out into the wind and the rain. I ran as fast as I could through the
bleakness that mirrored my
soul, and eventually I came to the Sunnytown bridge. This bridge was old, decaying
beyond repair and
perilous, and I was going to walk it. The bridge Bike Gang had a term they used
to use when they
were referring to a dangerous, foolhardy, most likely fatal stunt; bridgewalking.
Can you put two
and two together to make four?
I stepped out onto the first plank of the bridge and I heard the retort as the
gun fired.
I put my foot on the second plank and images of my mother screaming as she foundmy
father's body
flashed through my mind.
I stepped onto the third plank and James' face wavered in the hazy mists of
my memory. I realised I
would be leaving him behind. He would probably miss me, but I cared not as I
stepped onto the fourth
plank. I never cried anymore, I never felt regret, or sorrow, only bitter hatred.
The rose inside had died, leaving a shrivelled, thorny stem, brittle and vicious.
All I felt was the consuming hatred.
Fifth plank; I could almost hear him calling out my name...
Sixth plank... his voice was getting louder...
Seventh plank... I stopped. Had I heard right?
He was behind me on the bank, not daring to add his weight to mine on the bridge,
pleading with me to
come back. Nobody has ever said anything to me that touched my stone heart as
those words that he
shouted to me across the distance, through the howling wind and sheet rain.
He told me that he loved me.
I opened my mouth to reply, and the bridge snapped. Ropes gave way and planks
literally disintegrated
beneath my feet, and I plummeted towards the water below.
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