Only Figments
Nostalgia
They ran across the streets, dodging cars that honked angrily at their reckless crossing. They released hearty laughs at every close encounter while waltzing in the middle of the road. The thrilling adrenaline from danger was what fueled them for more so they began to run again.
The fog accumulated heavy over the small town, chasing them. The muscles in their legs were passed the exhausted point into weightlessness from all the running but their energy only grew exponentially and they continued to tread.
“How long ‘til our legs fall off do you think?” Lucy half panted half shouted into the nipping humid air.
“Probably the same time that our lungs will explode!”
Jake slowed at the site of the nearing bridge his master used to always jump off in the summer to escape. It stretched over a large creek that stretched away from the main river. Lucy followed behind him as he walked towards it so they could catch their breaths.
She looked at him confused, “Jake, it’s a bridge. There are so many more amazing things to see than this simple bridge.”
“Not just a bridge. Jimmy and I used to jump off this bridge all the time in the summer. You should have seen his face every time, I didn’t know what it was like but he would scream all the way down and come up with the biggest grin.”
Lucy’s curiosity engulfed her when she thought of experiencing it herself. She hopped to the railings of the bridge and peered down. She gasped estimating the distance of a potential fall. Little Emily, her master, would have never neared the edge of such a high place. She was so afraid of many things and had created Lucy the opposite, as confident and brave as little Emily could imagine (which really wasn't much). Lucy had a nostalgic lurch in her stomach and noticed Jake had a similar grimace.
“What if they still need us?” Jake whispered all the glow that had surrounded him now flickering dully in his eyes. Lucy took his hand and shook her head.
“They have each other now. They are growing up,” she paused not wanting to finish the truth they both knew, “Why would they need imaginary friends that can’t even hold them.”
“We can now.”
“We would not be real if we go back.”
“How do you know?”
“I can feel it.”
Jake could feel it too.
The fog accumulated heavy over the small town, chasing them. The muscles in their legs were passed the exhausted point into weightlessness from all the running but their energy only grew exponentially and they continued to tread.
“How long ‘til our legs fall off do you think?” Lucy half panted half shouted into the nipping humid air.
“Probably the same time that our lungs will explode!”
Jake slowed at the site of the nearing bridge his master used to always jump off in the summer to escape. It stretched over a large creek that stretched away from the main river. Lucy followed behind him as he walked towards it so they could catch their breaths.
She looked at him confused, “Jake, it’s a bridge. There are so many more amazing things to see than this simple bridge.”
“Not just a bridge. Jimmy and I used to jump off this bridge all the time in the summer. You should have seen his face every time, I didn’t know what it was like but he would scream all the way down and come up with the biggest grin.”
Lucy’s curiosity engulfed her when she thought of experiencing it herself. She hopped to the railings of the bridge and peered down. She gasped estimating the distance of a potential fall. Little Emily, her master, would have never neared the edge of such a high place. She was so afraid of many things and had created Lucy the opposite, as confident and brave as little Emily could imagine (which really wasn't much). Lucy had a nostalgic lurch in her stomach and noticed Jake had a similar grimace.
“What if they still need us?” Jake whispered all the glow that had surrounded him now flickering dully in his eyes. Lucy took his hand and shook her head.
“They have each other now. They are growing up,” she paused not wanting to finish the truth they both knew, “Why would they need imaginary friends that can’t even hold them.”
“We can now.”
“We would not be real if we go back.”
“How do you know?”
“I can feel it.”
Jake could feel it too.
♠ ♠ ♠
I know I said this would be the last chapter but this story just has a mind of it's own.