A Future We'd Like To See 1.24 - The Bridge By Twoflower (Copyright 1993) UGH. This rock's heavy. Why didn't I pick something LIGHTER to tie myself to? I mean, I'm not that great a swimmer. There's no need to use an object heavier than, say, a toaster or two. But no, I had to pick a boulder. I guess I hadn't counted in carrying it five blocks to the bridge. The plan was to throw the rock over the bridge, let the weight yank me down, splash splash, gurgle gurgle, end of me. I figured I wouldn't have much trouble, as it was the middle of the night, and there aren't many motorists in C'atel City at this time. Well, the guy sitting on the edge of the bridge wasn't a motorist. He seemed to just be sitting there, sipping some coffee, staring off into the night sky. "Hello there!" I grunted, heaving the boulder down on the edge of the bridge. "Oh, hello there. Nice night, isn't it?" he said, sipping his coffee. "Yes. Umm. I'm planning on throwing myself off the bridge to my doom now." "By all means, go right ahead. Don't mind me one bit," he said, and took another slurp. I sat there, staring at the water with the noise of coffee being poured from a flask as the only sound in a five hundred foot radius. I couldn't hear the roar of the river, because with all the pollution poured into it, the river is only partially liquid. Doesn't make for a good flow. "Want some coffee?" the man asked politely. "Err, no. Look, could you turn around? It's a bit hard to do this with you watching." "Alright," he shrugged, looking the other way and sipping. "The drinking noises aren't helping much either, actually." "Hmmm? Oh, sorry. I'll wait a minute." The man looked away, examining a neon sign across the river with unusual interest. I started to push the boulder over, but couldn't keep from asking. "What're you looking at?" "Oh, nothing. That club over there. See it? it's the one with the bright green shamrock." "The Lucky Clover? Ugh. Don't remind me," I grumbled, leaning on the rock. "I hate that place." "Can't stand green?" "No, I was laughed offstage." "Ah, so you're a musician?" "Well, sort of. See that planet off to the left?" I said, pointing. The man squinted at it, and nodded. "Well, I'm from there. Spent the last 7 years working on a mix of polka, rap, grunge, and speed metal. Really a hit over there." "I take it you were quite the celebrity?" the man asked. "Well, yes. 'Cept there aren't many record producers over there. One day, one of my fans says, 'Why not move to C'atel? That's THE place for the music scene. You're a sinch to get hired there!'" "Makes sense," the man stated. "After all, this is sort of the Liverpool of the century." "Liverwhat?" I asked, confused. "Liverpool. City on Terra quite some time back. The Beatles were from there." "Can't say I've heard of them," I said, thinking hard. "Where was I?" "Something about hiring." "Yeah. Well, I spend everything I have to fly out here and get an apartment. I'm hired over the phone, sort of a spur of the moment thing, by the Lucky Clover. Opening night, I go up there with my combination accordion/guitar, and start playing." "How'd you do?" he asked, stirring his coffee with a finger. "Terrible. Laughed offstage. A few reviewers in the crowd declared me to be some weak amateur in the papers the next day. Haven't gotten a job since, and I'm out of food. Since I can't get the money to go home, I'm just going to push this rock off the bridge." "Rather final, isn't it?" the man wondered. "That's the point," I said. "Finis, the end." "Well, can't say I blame you. So shouldn't you be hurrying up?" "What?" I asked, confused "Well, with the rock pushing and drowning business. This was your original intention, right?" "Yeah, it was. Alrighty. See you later," I said. "You will?" the man said, confused. "Oh. Well, I guess I won't be seeing you later," I shrugged. The man nodded farewell and continued drinking his brown water. "Umm," I interrupted. "Aren't you going to stop me?" "Do you want me to?" he asked. "Well, sort of. I mean, this is the end, sort of fatal. Pretty drastic. If I do this, I'd be dead." "You sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to be a nuisance--" "You wouldn't be, really. Be doing me a favor." "Okay. Don't jump, you've got too much to live for." "HA!" I laughed. "Excuse me?" he said, puzzled. "What do I have to live for?" I exclaimed. "I live in a rathole of an apartment with real rats. Plenty of 'em. BIG ones, too. I have no job, no cash, no food, and no way to leave. What else is there for me?" I sat there, looking at him, waiting for a reply. "Come on, insist that things will turn out for the better already!" I said. "You really aren't keeping up your end of this." "Oh. Okay, things will turn out for the better." "I doubt that," I rebutted, leaning against the rock. "Now tell me that I'm just acting rash and the future is a clean slate, able to be changed however I want, and that I can always get a part time job flipping burgers until things work out." "Okay, you're acting rash... and... umm... I can't remember the rest. Let me get out a piece of paper." "Skip it. Okay, now tell me that It'll be okay, really, and it's about time that I stood up and faced my problems." "Ooookay... it'll be alright, really, and you should stand up and face your problems." "You're right," I confirmed, seeing the wisdom. "I am acting foolish, really... boy, am I glad I met you. I owe you a lot." "No problem," he smiled. "Coffee?" "Don't mind if I do," I said while untying the rock. I plopped my rear down on the edge of the bridge, and took the warm cup in my hands. There was a loud CLONK behind us. I looked over my shoulder to see a man behind me tied to a large rock. "Scoot over," he said. "I'm throwing myself off the bridge and don't try to stop me... umm... why is there a rock here already?"