The Bridge

The rain fell from the black sky, bouncing off the hard tarmac I stood on. I pulled the collar of my coat up to try and keep the rain from running down my neck. It was a fruitless effort. I was drenched, with water running off my nose and ears. I pulled my sleeve back so I could look at my watch. 

“11:52” I read out loud, my face briefly illuminated by the light-up dial of my Casio. 

I stuffed my hands back into my pockets and stamped my feet impatiently. The only thing stopping me from heading home was the ridicule I would face from my friends. 

“Some friends,” I thought aloud. “Making me come out here to this stupid bridge in the stupid rain. All for some stupid bet.” 

But it wasn’t really the rain that was bothering me. Like any small town, mine had its fair share of stories and legends, like the story that had me out here at night on Halloween. 

Legend has it that years ago, back in the 60s or 70s, a young couple had been driving along this road at night on Halloween and had lost control of their car, plunging over the side of the bridge and into the ravine below. 

I stepped forward and looked over the side. I could just make out the thick trees in the dark and rain. It didn’t look too big of a drop. 10 metres, 15 maybe. Apparently, neither of them died immediately. But the girl had been badly injured in the crash. 

I stepped back away from the edge and turned back towards town before snapping my head back around when the sound of a woman’s voice cut through the rain. 

“Hello,” I called out. “Who’s there?”

I had just about convinced myself I had imagined it when I heard the sound of a woman giggling. 

“Jerry, is that you?”I called out again. “This isn’t funny, man!” 

I looked around at both sides of the bridge, squinting to try and make out anyone. I could feel my heart beating faster. The adrenaline was pumping, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. I chewed the bottom of my lip as I tried to decide what to do. 

“Screw this!” I said to myself and turned to head back into town. 

“Wait,” a woman’s voice called out on the wind. “Don’t go.”

I could feel my stomach knotting itself as I froze in fear. 

You see, there was more to the story. The boyfriend, realising he was fine, apart from a few scrapes and bruises, panicked. He ran from the crashed car, leaving his girlfriend there. She called out to him, begging him to help her, but he left her there. The story says that she died exactly at midnight and every year, her ghost returns to this bridge, searching for her boyfriend to punish him for leaving her to die. 

I held my breath and strained my ears in an effort to hear that ghostly whisper. But all I could hear was the rain. I let out a relaxed sigh and started to walk again. 

“Wait!” a tortured voice screamed from behind me. 

My heart leapt up into my throat as I spun around, tripping on my own feet and falling into the road with a splash. A bright light was bearing down on me. I stuttered out a desperate apology, trying to tell her it wasn’t me that left her, but fear stopped any coherent words from forming. The rain continued to pour down on me as the light came on, getting closer and closer. I held my hands up in front of my face. 

Just as the light was nearly on me, a voice called out. But it wasn’t a woman's voice. “Paul. Paul Dickings. Is that you?” 

I blinked the water from my eyes and squinted into the light. The sound of an engine running filled my ears as I realised it was the Sheriff's Jeep and its headlights. 

“Every year one of you kids gets the stupid idea to come out here and look for that damn ghost,” the Sheriff said. “Come one, I will give you a ride back to town.”

I got up and walked over to the passenger side and got in, grateful to be out of the rain. 

“Every year. That’s why I was out here. Someone has to look out for you kids.” The Sheriff continued to talk as I looked out the window back to the side of the bridge. 

Just as the Sheriff accelerated the car my eyes bulged as I saw the faint outline of a woman standing by the railing, smiling at me. And then, just as I had seen her she was gone. 

My mouth hung open as the Sheriff continued to talk before I was startled by my watch loudly beeping twice. I looked at it. It was midnight.