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The BridgeLoading...
Alexandria Luo
The little girl walked down the dry plain and through the valley. It was filled with different fluorescent flowers and berries hanging off the cacti and dry bushes. A wave of heat washed over her. She looked out. Nothing there. Just dry cracks scattered around the ground with an occasional roasted bush to accompany it. So she continued to walk. How long would this last? How long will it take? The bearings of the lonely and empty feeling she could no longer endure. The heat blasted day soon turned into the slightly cooler shade of night. Tons of little critters crawled out from under. From tiny scorpions that contain a lethal sting to giant snakes rattling in the dark, waiting for unsuspecting prey. The girl continued to walk. Walking along the cool sand which occasionally sizzled against her still burning hot feet. Her ankles were bleeding dry, and the skin on the soles of her feet started to peel off from the morning heat.
She reached a little bridge. To her though, it was giant. A looming wooden plank swaying as it was pushed by a cool night breeze. A giant wooden frame on either side marked the entrance. But on the other side, just through the fog, she could see light and could hear laughter. A place of joy and happiness. How she longed to go. She bit her lip and took a step. The wood crunched underneath her feet, creating a small crack along the plank. She screamed and held on to the wobbly rope. The bridge swung and swayed in the air, back and forth. It would stop for no one. The girl took a deep breath and another step. This time, the bridge swung more violently dropping a small splinter of wood. The girl watched it fall. Down, down, down, down it went. She listened for a sound and didn’t hear one. She cried for help but no one heard. Her hands shook. Her face went white. A booming sound caused her to scream with all her might. She leaped off the bridge to the dry desert once again. And there she stayed looking with longing and hope at the other side. The next day, when the girl woke up, the bridge was gone. There was not one fragment of it left. Thinking it was a dream, she lay down with exhaustion. Her throat was dry, and stomach was empty, and her skin was burning. She took a deep breath and set out again.
But little did she know, that the bridge was still there. She simply could not see it. It was gone, as was her hope and determination. To her, the valley was as empty as the desert. There was nothing there once more. As for that lively place she saw, it was there too. And much better than she could have dreamed of. People there were always happy and smiling. Full of hope and determination that she had lost. They lived life to the fullest, never even letting a glimmer of doubt pass through their minds. But the little girl was long gone. Never to come back, ever again.
She reached a little bridge. To her though, it was giant. A looming wooden plank swaying as it was pushed by a cool night breeze. A giant wooden frame on either side marked the entrance. But on the other side, just through the fog, she could see light and could hear laughter. A place of joy and happiness. How she longed to go. She bit her lip and took a step. The wood crunched underneath her feet, creating a small crack along the plank. She screamed and held on to the wobbly rope. The bridge swung and swayed in the air, back and forth. It would stop for no one. The girl took a deep breath and another step. This time, the bridge swung more violently dropping a small splinter of wood. The girl watched it fall. Down, down, down, down it went. She listened for a sound and didn’t hear one. She cried for help but no one heard. Her hands shook. Her face went white. A booming sound caused her to scream with all her might. She leaped off the bridge to the dry desert once again. And there she stayed looking with longing and hope at the other side. The next day, when the girl woke up, the bridge was gone. There was not one fragment of it left. Thinking it was a dream, she lay down with exhaustion. Her throat was dry, and stomach was empty, and her skin was burning. She took a deep breath and set out again.
But little did she know, that the bridge was still there. She simply could not see it. It was gone, as was her hope and determination. To her, the valley was as empty as the desert. There was nothing there once more. As for that lively place she saw, it was there too. And much better than she could have dreamed of. People there were always happy and smiling. Full of hope and determination that she had lost. They lived life to the fullest, never even letting a glimmer of doubt pass through their minds. But the little girl was long gone. Never to come back, ever again.