Elisa

She came into my life in a confusing time, came with the wind. The day was grey and ominous, I’ll never forget that. The day she came into my life was the day I had decided that my life would be no more, it would cease to exist. Ironically, that day was not when my life ended, but rather, when it began anew. She was like a ray of sun, beaming through the darkness of my soul.

I remember how I felt that day, the faithful day: leaning on the bridge, looking down to my watery grave. There was no sun; it did not want to bear witness to the act. Instead, it hid behind a veil of clouds. The wind tickled my skin, gently caressing it. The hairs on the back stood up, in response to the wind’s chilly hand. With a deep breath, I began to climb over the wooden railing. My decision was made, the thought was final, today I was going to die. All alone, with no one else around by this deserted bridge. The only witnesses would be the soaring trees and the animals they housed. Slowly, I made my way to the position. I then let my legs danged as I sat on the railing, waiting for the right time. The right time to just slip and let go…

“What are you doing?”

A voice broke through the dead silence that held the forest its prisoner. With a quick glance, I saw her and everything stopped. A chill ran up my neck, yet my face was warm. My heart was beating and beating, trying to break free and run to her. I could not think, I could not feel, I could not speak.

Her eyes were deep and filled with worried and confusion. With an arm extended in front of her, she begged me not to jump. The water is frigid cold and the current is strong, the words that escaped her mouth in a plea. Once again I looked down, now at my feet, which were precariously dangling over the edge. Should I jump and leave her alone? Alone having just witnessed a person die? Would she scream, would she faint, would she do nothing and move on, disregarding a simple stranger…a stranger who found her beautiful?

I was not about to find out, I was not about to leave this simple girl. Using all my strength, I carefully turned until I was safe, away from Death’s grip. A whimper emitted from her, a sound of satisfaction. We were face to face, eyes to eyes, and everything stopped. The river current’s roar was drowned out by a fantastic silence. The only sound I could hear was the beating of my heart.

She then turned away from me, color flooded her cheeks. A bashful smile made its way upon her face and she giggled. I found myself to be giggling along with her, the first time in a long time. This strange girl had brought the gift of giggling back to me, a gift I thought I had lost long ago. She brought a smile on my face even though I was convinced that a smile would never return. This stranger, this passerby…helped me feel happy again if only for a moment.

She was nervous, I could tell. The way she bit her lip, the way she glanced down. Her feet scuffled across the wooden planks beneath our feet, the ones that held us from death. Building enough courage, she took a deep breath and looked up.

“What is your name?” She asked in a meek voice. With a smile and a chuckle, I told her.

My name was Dieter.

I then asked her for her name. Elisa, her name was Elisa. Dieter and Elisa, standing on an old wooden bridge, with the river raging below it, all alone in the woods. Two strangers, yet how much have we accomplished already. A young girl named Elisa had saved my life and she didn’t even realize it. She stayed beside me, didn’t leave. Perhaps she was afraid if she turned her back that I would jump. Perhaps she just wanted to stay. Whatever the reason may have been, I was no longer alone.

Chuckles, an awkward chuckle, it made Elisa shake her head. Something funny most likely came to her mind. She then turned to me and asked if I would like to accompany her on her walk. I smiled and told her that yes I would accompany her on her walk. Where were we going? I did not know. All I knew was her name and that she was beautiful, but it was enough to make me go after her and leave behind what was to be my watery grave. The bridge creaked as we walked across it to go to the other side. It made her jump a bit and I found myself grabbing her, as to tell her that nothing was going to happen.

We walked, walked through the small trail that snaked through the forest. Birds chirped and trees rustled with the wind. A blast of cold wind came by every once in a while and it made Elisa quiver, bundling herself with her shawl. I couldn’t help but to notice how beautiful she truly was. She was neither fat nor thin, she looked strong. Sunshine ringlets escaped the small cap she wore and brushed against her rosy face.

We were silent, until she finally turned towards me and asked where I came from. A small town, I told her, whose name was not important. To the girl, my dull outlook on my life was funny. I didn’t mind though; her laugh was intoxicating. She told me she lived not far from here on a dairy farm her father owned. It was then my turn to giggle. It seemed that my giggles were not intoxicating to her. A look was shot at me, a flash of her blue eyes and sound of disagreement followed. I quickly apologized for laughing at the dairy farm, trying not to sever the newly form bond.

After walking for a while in silence after the accidental blunder, Elisa once again began to ask questions. Who was I? What did I do? Why was I here? I tried to answer them as best as I could. I was Dieter, a law student who came from a small town to a big city. However, I ignored her last question. Why was I here? The reason why I came to this small forest in a secluded area was to end it all. To never see another day of my sorry existence, never have to live through another depressing day again. Nothing matter anymore, it was all rubbish in my eyes.

“I know why you were here…don’t do it. You’ll hurt the people you love, your life is not as worthless as you think.” The way she said it, it was not bashful like she was awhile ago. It was commanding it was strict; it was like she really cared. But how did she know? How did a stranger like her who has never seen me know what was I going to do? It was quite obvious though, feet dangling over the edge of a roaring river, no one around but the trees.

I looked at her, gazed into her deep blue eyes. They seemed worried again, screaming at me to never try something like that again. Shaking my head, I told her not to worry. I wish I could tell her that it was her beauty and kindness that made me change my mind, made me see that there was still beauty on this planet. Instead, I stayed quiet, too afraid of her reaction. The words that I swallowed had a bitter taste, if only I could have told her. If only I could have told her how much she meant to me even though I had just met her. The emotions inside of me swirled and crashed together. My hands were sweaty, my heart was beating, my head felt light. Looking at the ground, trying to get blood to flow to my head, I spotted a flower. A tiny pink flower, it wasn’t like any other ordinary flower, there was something about it that stood out. The softness of its petals, the vibrant color, it was like love. The flower that was blooming inside of me. Picking it up, I turned and gave it my lovely companion.

“It’s so pretty.” She marveled as she wrapped her fingers around it. It was so fragile, yet so pretty. She took a whiff and then placed it in her front pocket, wearing it as if it were a badge. And then she turned and gave me a kiss on the cheek as she tittered once more. Warmth and color flooded rushed to my head; the sensational was like no other. It was indescribable, the lightness of my head, the beating of my heart. Nothing around me matter anymore, it was just Elisa.

My happiness was short lived though. She had to home, she said. I offered to walk her home, but she oddly declined. However, she promised me that we would meet again and told me we could go on another walk tomorrow. The farm she lived on was called Emporia and that it was not far from the bridge, the bridge that we met. Once more I extended my offer to walk her home, insisting that it was dangerous for a young girl to go walking alone. She shook her head and instead told me that tomorrow I should ask for an Alfred and ask him for her. That was her father, old but strong. We were now at the edge of the forest, closer to civilization.

With another kiss on the cheek, she walked away with a giggle and I was left there like a fool. The trees were not witnesses to a death today, they witnessed a birth. A seed was planted in my heart and it had quickly taken bloom. Walking out of the forest, I wanted to go to Emporia right now and see her once more. Run to her, be with her, tell her that I loved her. Patience is a virtue though and I would have to wait to see her and go on a quiet walk through the woods. A walk where nothing is said, but everything is understood.

When I finally got back home, the sun had bid farewell. The moon was beginning to reclaim her sky. All but a few of the clouds were gone now as I made my way up to my small apartment to sleep and wait for the sun to come out once more. I could barely sleep; all that I kept thinking about was my lovely Elisa. Turning and twisting in bed, I tried to get comfortable. Yet my mind kept going back to her, to her soft skin, to her twinkling eyes, to her perfect ringlets of gold hair, to her giggles that rang across the quiet forest. I wanted to go right now and go by her bedroom window to look for her. It was a sensation that I had never felt before. It was the ability to be happy, but to be nervous. Butterflies flew around my stomach and my head as the sandman finally arrived to put me to bed.

The first sound I heard was the chirping of the birds. They were alerting the people that the sun had returned and it was morning. They were alerting me that it was time to see Elisa once more. Quickly getting dressed, I left my tiny room and rushed down the stairs. I hadn’t a clue where Emporia was, but I was going to find it. She said it near the bridge and so I was going to go there, once more in that secluded area to find her.

The day was cool and the wind blew. Walking down the dirt road, I was sure that I was heading in the right direction. It looked like farmland and the air smelled like manure. Finally, I saw it. A great big sign with the name Emporia on it, on any other occasion, it would have been just an ordinary sign, but today it was absolutely beautiful. I ran down the road until I finally reached Emporia.

At my arrival, I walked into the small entrance. There was a man there and he immediately demanded to know what business I had. I told that I was looking for Alfred. He raised an eyebrow but made no objection and walked into a small farmhouse. A few minutes later, he and another older man appeared. This was Alfred, old but strong, like Elisa said.

“I’m not hiring right now…” Those were the first words out of Alfred’s mouth. I wasn’t interested in working on a dairy farm. I shook my head and explained to him that I was not looking for work. I told him that I was here to see Elisa.

He sputtered and his eyes widened like owl eyes. His face turned bright red and his partner stepped back. Words tried to leave his mouth, but they could not escape. Puffing and huffing, the old man did not say anything to me. What did I say wrong? Was Elisa not available? Did she already have a boyfriend I was not aware of? Finally he managed to speak.

“Boy, you best be joking and if you are, that was a horrible joke. How dare you hurt an old man’s heart like that?” What? I did not understand. I then asked if Elisa lived here. The man stayed silent. I then described Elisa, her wide blue eyes, her blonde ringlets, her stout body. He shook his head fiercely as if he was trying to clear his head. “Boy, I would think I would know what my own daughter looks like. I mean, she’s been gone for two years, but I remember her as if it were yesterday.” Gone? Gone where? He saw the confusion in my eyes and let out a great big sigh and began to explain.

She was tired of living, saw no reason to continue. Her mother had died a month earlier. It was a dark day, Alfred recalled, and she went for a walk; her usual habit. Only this time, she never came back. She was gone, jumped off the bridge, the very same bridge. Her body was found two days later, all beaten by the unforgiving current. This was two years ago, according to Alfred.

But how? Elisa was at the bridge yesterday. We walked and talked and laughed and kissed. It was Elisa, Elisa with the blonde ringlets so perfectly formed. It was Elisa, Elisa with the wide thoughtful blue eyes and the father named Alfred with the dairy farm she so very loved. It was Elisa who saved me, saved me from jumping to my death. There must have been a mistake.

With a scoff, Alfred left me behind, behind in a cloud of confusion. Leaving Emporia behind, I ran, ran as fast as my legs could carry me, leaving only a trail of dust behind. I ran and ran until I reached the forest and continued to run until I reached the bridge. There, I looked all over, yelling out her name. The only response was the cruel echo of her name. The river roared as I continued to yell, trying to compete with me. Finally, I gave up.

She was never coming back.

I leaned my head against the railing, trying to collect my thoughts. The one thing that mattered was now gone. With a sigh, I looked down. Perhaps, I could join her and we would be together once more. As I thought about the notion of climbing over and joining my beloved, something caught my eye, something on the railing. I walked towards it and then realized what it was.

It was her flower. The flower she so loved, yet it was so simple. Chuckling, I grabbed it and placed it in my front pocket, like a proud general and as I marched off the bridge, not willing to carry out the deed…

I heard a giggle.