Bridges

There's a little bridge outside of town that no one ever really visits. I like to go there sometimes and just think. It's comforting to sit and stare out at the waves of the river. The view is truly beautiful. Once during a visit, a girl approached me. I was smoking a cigarette and watching the waves below the railing. She was quiet and looked at me like she had seen a ghost.

"Are you going to jump?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. I shook my head.

"You look like my sister." It seemed an odd statement to make.

The girl's eyes watered as she continued to look at me. They were the most astonishing blue I had ever seen; almost a purple, but still blue. I could feel her gaze eat me alive. My skin was on fire from the intensity.

"Your sister jumped, didn't she?" It came out more of a statement than a question.

She nodded and started to weep. I ran over to her and wrapped my arms around her small frame. "I'm sorry" floated out of my mouth without any real reason. All I could do was keep apologizing and clinging. I suppose I was hoping I could hold her together somehow.

"That was the last thing she ever said to me: 'Ariana, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry'."

Ariana apologized for her behaviour and while I tried to tell her it was alright, she still walked away ashamedly. I trudged back to my pathetic apartment and sat down on the dingy couch. After a moment, I pulled out a pen and paper. I wrote five words down, taped it shut, and ran back to the bridge to fix it where Ariana would find it.

"You stopped me from jumping."