The Rickety Bridge

Excellence Award in the 'Top Secret 2016' competition

I scrambled up the path to the gateway. The giant churning abyss underneath me. The roaring and crashing sounding on the rocks. It was a savage beast underneath me clawing up at the rickety wooden structure leading to the caves. It was too late. My brother had run forward. I was trembling. The gaping mouth readied to swallow the few hundred that had surged forward to the caves.

‘Twas a dark and stormy night…. In India in which we had just arrived when I was 6 years old. The brightly painted facade of our relatives’ house craned forward to great us. We were warmly welcomed in by our relatives and that was when we decided that tomorrow we see the great Gokak falls and limestone caves. I stared out the water stained windows till morning light shafted through to wake me from a deep slumber.

We finally arrived at the Gokak falls after listening to the smooth tires grazing the ground for over half an hour. I walked over excitedly to receive a strong gust of wind in my face that made my eyes water and sting. Suddenly I noticed the giant drop over the edge into the abyss of gushing water that was thrashing about throwing sprays of mist and water into the air.

Looming under me was a gigantic mass vigorously crashing upon the rocks. The rising mist smothered the single still piece which was acting as a conjunction between the rock faces. I stepped backwards in shock as I saw the flimsy bridge flopping as the wind was scratching at its underbelly. It was too late. My brother ran forward onto the creaking bridge as a few hundred surged after him.

At that instant, I took a step forward clutching tightly at the long ropes not daring to follow onto the planks for if one of them came loose. I ran forward. No. SPLIT! I tumbled down followed by my own scream. But there was no scream, and no plummeting, for there was only the roaring and crashing sound in the air.

My brother was half-way along with the mass of people and my parents were behind me. My heart was thudding in my throat and I was losing my courage to go on. An icy hand was grabbing me and draining my courage. My courage was slowly starting to tumble down into the churning mass below, lost somewhere down there.

I steadied myself and bravely took careful steps to halfway. With my brother I pushed past the crowds of people seeing everything in a blur. I tried not to think of the weight pressing down on the feeble bridge as it swayed in the wind. I set my mind to concentrating until we finally reached the caves. The beautiful sight stood before us.

Later we had no trouble going back even though I thought about the drop underneath every step of the way, for the fear itself was lost somewhere in the giant swirling abyss.

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