The Bridge

Even now, I’m unsure when it all happened. What I do know is that, at some point. More likely, over several seemingly minuscule moments.

It happened.

So fast.

The end of an era. The end of life.

Yet, I wasn’t alone when it happened. No. Others were there as well. But, somehow, those with me were just as blinded from the truth.

Yet it happened.

So fast.

We didn’t know. Nobody told us.

We were trained as runners, fighters, survivors. Taught: if we run hard enough and fast enough, we will one day reach the goal. The purpose of it all.

We sprinted on.

Surging.

Toward the end of an era, the end of life.

So, we ran. We ran as fast as the throbbing legs beneath us would carry, passing signs that louded our prize—our purpose.

Still, we sprinted.

Surging.

We didn’t know. No one had warned us.

Passing those standing at the gates—keeping watch, we ran. Passing the edge of the well-known prairie, we sprinted. Onto the exotic terrain where a lonely bridge clung, we loped.

No hesitation,

Like fires

With glancing smirks, mirth, and merriment.

Across the bridge, we surged. Never had youth brought us this far. Our thrill lasted days. It contagiously rushed through our veins, blinding us to the truth.

No hesitation,

Like fires

Untamed and dangerous.

In the heavens, we first caught sight. No more hidden than the sun overhead. They circled. The word of legends, myths, and stories once recited to children breathed life.

It happened.

So fast.

They tried to tell us. We didn’t understand.

None of us had thought these foreign monsters to be real. With fear in our eyes, we understood what we had done. Though fireside stories could not have prepared us for this.

We sprinted on.

Surging.

Mirthlessly aimed at saving our lives.

The only hearts to blame were those in the cage of our chests. After all, we chose to run; we were not forced. Encouraged, but never forced. We chose customs and rites, chose death.

No hesitation.

Like fires burning

Untamed and dangerous.

We brought the end of an era, ending a life of innocents.