I stood by the bridge staring down at my fate. Soon I’ll be a corpse floating in the river, by fish, beaten by the torrents, and quietened forever. Once again I nervously looked around me and was relieved to find not a soul passing by. The last thing I needed was to explain my deepest thoughts to a stranger trying to 'save' me. This was one of the old bridges, which was ignored by the city officials, forcing the citizens to abandon it as well. The very reason I picked the location to jump to death.
“Stop!” A voice echoed, in the silence of the night.
My grip loosened and my foot slipped off the bar. In desperation, I clutched the railing and hugged it tightly. Regaining my balance, I carefully climbed down and stood on the bridge, angry at my instincts for not letting go at the right moment. Nobody was around here a moment ago and now this abrupt interruption! I turned around to chastise the person responsible for disrupting my plans. However, the image I witnessed stupefied me.
There she stood, with not a halo above her golden tresses but her entire body radiated a glowing presence. I couldn’t see her face but she wore a white crop top over blue jeans.
She stepped aside. The street lamp, which was earlier behind her, now shed light on her facial features. She was gorgeous with glittery eye makeup and her lips painted crimson red. She wore a neckpiece, more like a thick black thread around her neck and a tiny star dangled at its centre. Could it be a real star?
“Are you okay?” her voice was like melting honey, similar to her form.
Was she God sent? Did my final prayer convince Him to rescue me? Believing that her sudden appearance could only mean one thing, I asked, “Are you an angel?”
“I’m Summer,” she smiled. Indeed she was a warm breeze in this cool weather. A ray of sunshine, a ray of hope.
“Where are your wings?” I asked.
She giggled. “They are redundant. I’m in disguise…” She suddenly went silent. Her smiling eyes now filled with remorse, guilt. “I’m sorry.”
Sorry! So my destiny had been sealed! “Are you here to take me with you? To heaven? I am ready.” I knelt down and held my arms wide open, ready to embrace my destiny.
She walked slowly towards me. Now she laid her teary eyes upon me. I closed my eyes in anticipation of being set free. I had no idea of that feeling but I promised myself that I won't flinch. The last word I heard was a soft whisper, “Sorry” and instantly a bolt of lightning surged through my body…like being stung by a thousand bees. Thud! I fell sideways on the concrete ground. I felt icy cold hands brush my skin. I was too dazed, wondering if I were in heaven already. I heard footsteps scurrying away from me and again the voice spoke, “Hello 911… a man is unconscious…” Then it faded, vapourised. A bike zoomed, probably on the other side of the road. I opened my eyes and saw a blurry white vision of the angel disappear on the horizon.
I lay there, slipping into the abyss of darkness as I heard the distant sirens of an ambulance. I passed out.
When I woke up, I found myself in a hospital. And Jessica was seated by my side.
“Hey there, how are you feeling?”
“I don’t know. A little better now. What are you doing here?” Brimming with excitement at the sight of her, I tried to sit up but my head throbbed.
“Don’t get up. You’ve had a concussion. Rob called me and told you were in the hospital. That moment I realised that I was wrong. I don’t want to lose you.”
“So you’re not leaving?” I wanted to hug her, kiss her. But again the pain made it impossible to move. I winced.
“Stop moving! I’m not going anywhere. You can kiss me later,” she chuckled. She read my mind like she always did. How much I missed it all! Breaking my thoughts she continued, “By the way, did you see who did this to you?”
“What?” I was confused.
“Someone tased you. And your wallet was found five miles away from that bridge. You were robbed! Don’t you remember?”
“Not a thing,” I lied, realising what exactly had transpired on the bridge. The angel! I could not tell the truth to anyone. They would label me a fool. But I’d like to believe that I was touched by an angel. And she certainly saved me.
Image courtesy: Unspash/Ludovica Dri
Everyone is not our opponent.... Every stranger is not a bad person.... We don't know what intentions they are holding, so sometimes we need to listen to them... Amazing story ma'am 😊🤗
Angels often come in disguise. And that's what this beautiful story showed, how we give up everything at times and one incident, or thing, or person can help put us back on track. This makes it all the more important to surround yourself with people who'd rather push you than pull you down, for you don't know when you might need them. I think more than the supernatural element, it was this message of having the right people at the right time that resonated with me. Congratulations, Shruthi, on your first story on the blog, a magical start to say the least! Looking forward to more of these.