Bridges

In front of me, there is a long wooden bridge that stretches across a never-ending ravine. The bridge is rickety and there are boards missing from spots in the floor. Small bits and pieces of wood break off and fall into the ravine, falling for what seems to be forever. Jagged rocks on the sides of the ravine shatter the pieces of wood as the shadowy darkness consumes it. The bridge sways over the gapping crack in the earth, looking as if it could crumble at any moment.

The ravine seems odd in a way. All the bridges I have crossed before stretched over rivers. Some bridges were sturdy, some fragile; some were made of stone or metal, though most were made of wood. But no bridges have expanded over ravines before. They always were over rivers. Always. And no other bridges were this damaged or dangerous. Yes, others before were damaged; but not like this...

I step back from the daunting and dangerous bridge and start to look around for another way to cross the ravine. I look up and down the ravine to see if there are any other bridges, or anything really, that I could use to cross safely. I wander and look for a long while, but find nothing.

After walking for a long time in one direction, I somehow end up back at that same wooden bridge. It sways back and forth in the wind, unstable and harrowing. I sit down in the dry, scratchy grass, pondering my situation. My fluffy orange and white tail flicks around, and my pointed ears listen to all the sounds around me. The cool wind flowing around me, the swaying, rickety bridge creaking, the flapping of birds in the sky, the rush of the wind echoing against the walls of the ravine, small pieces of wood crashing against rocks, the quiet beat of a goat...

Wait- a goat? I look behind me almost... frantically? My eyes dart from side to side, looking at every bush and rock, trying to look for any signs of movement or danger. My ears twitch nervously as I listen around me.

Something out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. Two horns peek out from behind a rock far behind me. I... recognize the rock...? I think I used to sit on it to pass the time; many, many bridges ago. A tail flicks out from behind the rock as the pointy horns shift just slightly. But the tail is far unlike mine. It seems scaly and slick with two fins at the end, almost like a fish tail. The strange figure darts out from behind the rock and crosses a stone bridge, only to hide behind a large bush on the other side.

Something in my mind tugs at me, it sounds out to me in a whisper. Calling out to me, letting me know that I know the creature. That I've known them for a long, long time, though I may not fully recognize them now. That voice in my mind whispers to me, telling me that as I've grown older, they have started to show me who they really are. And that I may not recognize that person.

The figure is still many bridges away and the bush obscures the view of it, but I can now tell the horns are pointed and sharp. The slick tail with jagged points flicks as if the ominous creature is anticipating something. Its sharp goat eyes seem to stare at me. The sight of this makes my stomach tighten and flip with nausea and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end as the feeling of unease settles into my being. Though these feelings mix with a familiar feeling of... care for the creature?

My mind floods and swirls with many thoughts and emotions. A feeling of dread fights with a feeling of caring. Thoughts of reason fight with panic.

I look back and forth from the creature and the bridge in front of me over and over. I need to cross the bridge, but my mind overflows with anxiety and dread.

What if I fall? What if over here isn't so bad? What if the creature gets hurt by me leaving? What if the creature gets hurt by me staying? What if I get hurt...?

I freeze from the feelings and thoughts and anxiety overwhelming my brain. I stand at the edge of where the bridge and cliff meet and look down. The ravine seems to grow deeper, if even possible, and my balance becomes wobbly.