Suspension Bridge

Ethan was caught between two sides, his girlfriend and Michelle. He looked out to the valley, past the edge of the river that flowed underneath him. The running water kept trying to grab his ankles. As he teetered in the middle, Jessica refused to move from the edge of the cliff while Michelle urged him forward, “You’ll be alright. Just listen to my voice.”

As Ethan looked at Michelle, she smiled and waved her hand forward. Ethan crept forward, his feet sliding over the wood. He dared not to look down. His eyes were locked on Michelle and her wave. “Ethan! I can’t do this,” Jessica shouted from the other side.

Ethan looked back at Jessica. Her eyebrows were raised, and her lip quivered. Her toe tapped the first plank. “Jess, you can do it. Just follow my voice and don’t look down. It’ll be alright.” Jess slid her one foot forward while the other gripped onto the loose dirt. He continued walking towards Michelle.

The suspension bridge whistled and whined in the wind. Every step he moved the bridge moaned. Ethan remained slow but steady, finding comfort in Michelle’s voice and in his own. As much as he thought he was helping Jessica, he was helping himself. “It’s ok. It’s ok,” he said aloud.

Jessica had made it a few feet forward before a gust of wind sent the bridge into a temper tantrum; the rope tried to shake her off and the wooden planks tilted to the side. The old bridge shouted at her to move or get off, so she did just that. Jessica ran back to the safety of the cliff, “I can’t do this!”

“It’s ok,” he whispered as stepped past the last wooden plank. “It’s ok.”