C3

THE MAN WHO CRIES ON A BRIDGE

As we walked down the road and cars passed by, I felt so strange and so sad at the same time. Brandon was walking in the middle of the track, oblivious to the cars passing by throwing his... spirit.

“They won't do anything to you, after all you're already dead," he said, "I like to do that, I feel invincible.

I was a kid, I watched a lot of movies. But when I positioned myself in front of him and saw a car coming super fast towards me, I screamed, staying static in the same place.

But the car passed by my body, without provoking me at all.

“Do you see it? Feel free to walk wherever you want. But wait, hold on a moment.

“What's the matter? “I asked.

There was a bridge a little further on.

“Do you see that guy over there? Sitting on the bridge," he pointed.

I could see him. There was a man sitting on the bridge, somehow I knew it was another soul. I had the feeling inside my chest. Maybe because I had learned to observe the Aura around me in the short time I had been dead. And he was covered by a slightly dark Aura.

“He's not that good, I've been here several times, but I don't know how he'll act with you. He doesn't know you. He's not so nice to people he doesn't know.

I was a little afraid of him.

“We should go somewhere else then," I started to back away. I was a bit of a scaredy”cat if you ask me.

“No, come on, it won't do anything to you. You're with me. I'll protect you," he took my hand and led me around the place.

The closer we got to the guy, I realized he was a tall, thin guy with white hair and a little bit on his head. He wore black clothes and looked like he was wailing.

I swallowed hard.

“Why is he crying? “I questioned softly.

“He died about forty years ago," she told me, "he committed suicide on that bridge, jumping into the void. He is very tall. They say he said he heard voices telling him to do it. He drank a lot, so in one of his madnesses he jumped. Apparently he's crying because he's sorry. The house nearby is where he used to live, so he sees his family and what they do. We don't know what he saw or what he realized to make him start to mourn. When you're in this place, Sam, you start to notice the real things that matter and you regret what you didn't do that was within your reach. Most of us regret at the time, but we manage to look on the bright side of things. The tall man didn't do that. He has been regretting for forty years. He has not been able to find solace.

“Why is it bad then?

“Grumpy. That's it. He doesn't like people going over that bridge. He says the tree is bad, that it makes you do bad things. When it's the middle of the night and some soul goes over it won't let him do it, or maybe some living person, he's always making sounds to make people go over faster.

I knew it. We all knew it. Going over this bridge was scary. You could hear things. It was scary and especially because in this part there's no light, it's all very dark and scary, so people were passing by very fast and they didn't stop to experience anything. At night, of course. Several times I had done that myself, with friends, passing very fast through here. But before we didn't know that the tall man was actually there, watching us. That made me more afraid.

We knew the story of the tall man, he had jumped off the bridge many years ago, but we didn't know he was still there.

“Let's go, he's distracted," we walked faster and just as we started to cross the bridge, a voice stopped us.

“Stop!

We turned to see and the tall man was standing now, at a considerate distance from us, staring at us. He was indeed very tall, almost like his brother. I knew his brother, they called him Moyo, and he was a cigarette addict.

“Boy, long time no see, man," Brandon said to him.

“Little Brandon, what are you doing here and why are you holding hands with a live one? “He asked, but then he understood, "Oh, unless you're not alive. You are dead. I knew those noisy little boys wouldn't end well. I know you, child, I see you walk by this bridge, always looking down, as if you were going to meet me there, and you wonder how he could have killed himself if he wasn't so high up? Well let me tell you, little girl, it did hurt. There are rocks and they hurt.

“Wait, how do you know that?

“I have my gifts.

It was true, whenever I had passed this bridge I would look down and wonder how he had killed himself if he wasn't so tall. And it was too dry to say he had drowned, yet it had been forty years ago, I didn't know what the river was like at that time, maybe it was deeper. I don't know.

“It's not true, it's always with you that evil entity, isn't it? You never managed to get rid of it.

The tall man stared at us, but then wrinkled his face and began to wail.

“I can't," he cried, "I've wanted to get rid of this curse for years and I can't get that evil shadow to go away. It always tortures me. That shadow tells me things. It says people are glad I killed myself.

They say the world is better off without me. And that people are terrified of me.

It is indeed terrifying.

“Don't listen to him, Chico, I told you," Brandon said. Brandon was a good boy, I understood then. Always trying to help others and make them feel good.

“A few days ago I had a vision," he said suddenly, "I heard a voice in my head telling me it's time to help. I don't understand. I don't understand anything," he sat down on the bridge to whine.

Well, I didn't understand either.

The cars passed and passed over our spirits and we were there, as if nothing had happened. I noticed kids in uniform coming by. They were already going to class, talking or laughing about something. It was elementary school. The kids.

“We don't know, my friend, but I'm sure you'll find the answer.

“What's your friend doing here? “he asked suddenly, sniffling.

She had been quiet the whole time.

It's just that this man really intimidates me.

He's like Slenderman, the thin man.

Oh how scary.

“She's looking for answers about her death and all that. I take her to Charlie.

“Charlie," he smiles wistfully, "that boy. I tried to stop them that day but," he shrugs, "death was quicker. You, child, it's no use finding answers. You're dead, it's time to accept it.

“I know," I felt a lump in my throat. I knew I was dead, I just had to know certain things in order to understand how it happened, I just don't know how it happened. I woke up today and I was like this. I need to know how it happened.

There were girls playing while walking on the bridge, near Chico, one of them tripped and swung into the lane just as a truck was approaching. The truck honked its horn almost immediately.

I screamed.

Brandon yelled.

But what we suddenly saw left us perplexed, static. Chico had grabbed the little girl by the backpack and pulled her to the safety of the bridge, sparing her a certain and catastrophic death.

The girl got up, shook herself and ran to her friends.

“Boy, what did you do?

The tall man was as surprised as we were.

“I don't know, I just stopped that brat from dying. Honestly it would have been a nightmare to be dealing with that little girl for eternity.

If the girl died her spirit would have stayed in this place, with Chico, just the two of us. It would have been very scary for the poor little girl.

“But you touched her," Brandon said, totally surprised.

I guess I should be since she's supposed to be a spirit and can't touch living humans.

“Yes, I think so," he looked down at his hand.

But suddenly I noticed that the darkness surrounding the tall man was no longer much, now there was a small ray of light on him. And then I understood.

“And do you regret saving her? “I wanted to know.

Silence.

“The truth," I asked.

“No," he answered.

I smiled looking at Brandon, he noticed it too.

“See, kid? It's time to help," I winked.

“Soon you'll put that shadow aside, kid, trust me.

The tall man looked confused, half relieved and a little terrified. I guess it was the first time that had happened to him and he felt strange, not knowing what to do from now on.

“I'll leave you, my friend, I have to find Charlie.

“Good luck," he said.

Brandon and I kept walking and walking until we were almost at the crossroads.

“I think you're here for something," he said suddenly.

“Yes, because I'm dead.

“Sometimes I wonder if you are," he comments.

I gave him a dirty look.

“Brandon, look at me, I'm here with you, in limbo, is there anyone alive here?

“No, but I just thought.

“It's what I'd most like, for this to be just a dream, not a dream, a nightmare. I miss Jay. I feel my heart compress every time I think I won't see him again, won't touch him, won't hug him. I feel sad. I feel my heart break with that feeling.

“Who is Jay?

“My boyfriend.

“Oh, now I get it. Don't worry, boyfriends don't last, I'm sure he'll get over you in a few months and forget you.

I opened my mouth in amazement.

“Hey, why are you telling me that?

“It's the truth. I doubt that true love even exists.

I swallowed thickly.

“But I have this feeling for Jay that... it's like I know when he's sad or when he needs me. It's like we both call each other telepathically, you know? Like I suffer when he suffers and vice versa. I'm not just saying that because you might think I'm in love. I've checked several times. Jay came into my life at the right time. You know, Jay should have shown up in my life two years ago but I decided to see him until now, although now I think it was only as a farewell because I only lived with him 196 days when I could have done it for two years.

“Things happen for a reason, Sammy. Here we are.

It was still sunny, the sun was shining in the sky, it was warm, I could feel the sea breeze, the salt of the sea. We were near the beach and I wanted to go. But in the distance I looked at a boy with a school report, his hair was tousled and disheveled.

He had his hands tucked into the front pockets of his pants and was staring at one place, as if wandering. That boy would be about 17 maybe, or 18, and he had died on this spot on his own graduation day.

“Hey, Charlie! “Brandon raised his hand and caught the boy's attention.

We crossed the road as he looked up at us and smiled. When I got to him, Charlie looked at me quizzically.

“Sam?

And how the hell did he know my name?