Bridges & Daydreams

• Reece Towner, Grade 11, Blue Hills College
• Short Story
• 2011

Excellence Award in the 'Step Write Up 2011' competition

He sat alone in a compartment by himself, his dark hair waving in the rushing wind. There was nothing to do but admire what was outside the window, nothing to hear but the clattering rhythm of the tracks as they slid swiftly under the train and away into the distance.
The fields were full of cows munching away on the bright green grass. Some of the cows were brown (not the dark brown of the aged leather seats that likely held many secrets, but the kind of brown that leaves turn during autumn.) Other cows were black and white. They dotted the hills as far as the eyes could see.
Teddy sighed, bored out of his mind. Teddy was having a hard time adapting to his new life at a new school in a new town. His parents had said the trip to visit his grandparents would be fun and full of adventure. They had lied.
Minutes passed in what seemed like hours while the rich green field’s metamorphasized into tree strangled cliffs that spaned along beside a beautiful river as it sparkled gracefully towards the shimmering sea. Ahead the tracks bent towards a towering structure of majestic yellow and grey stone. It was a bridge that bounded across the river far below. On the west side of this solid structure was the sea burning scarlet in the setting sun.
The shadows clung to the rocks searching for sanctuary from the light twisted on the rocky supports of the bridge. Shadows that moved. Shadows that formed People! At first they vanished if teddy looked straight into the brooding mass.
The sun was slowly being pulled down towards the never ending water. While the light that emanated turned everything it touched to gold, like king minus. The sight was spectacular.
Suddenly Teddy’s focal point pivoted and he sat staring open mouthed at the monumental pillars of stone as the bridge steadily grew closer. The last thing Teddy had expected to see was a thousand, maybe more, people (like actual people. As real as you.) Standing on each other’s shoulders. They were the bridge. At this point Teddy realised even though the bridge was made of stone. The same bridge was made of those people. People that spent years designing and building, people whose prayers for their loved ones safety are carried away on the wind that flow along the tracks. These people are lifting the tracks.
The train flew over the bridge and the people vanished from sight. The train continued on, relentless, never skipping a beat. Pine trees dotted the slopes on either side of the ravine. And the train sped off into the distance leaving Teddy a different person.


‘Imagine a day when hope and daring are all we need to build bridges? Because I already do.’