Magenta Bridge

"Wherefore art thou, Ladybug." The woman misusing the famous line from Romeo and Juliet is Janiyah Johnson. Searching high and low for her scraggly cat. She's late to meet her parents for their annual family vacation. For the last three years, Janiyah wasn't able to come due to having a full time job and being a full time student. Her mom always told her it was fine and that college students are always busy, but Janiyah knew how upset she was each year. This time she did everything in her power to be able to stay the full two weeks at the resort. Ladybug emerges from behind the sofa.

"Ahh, there you are. Alright, chubs, mama has to go away for a while, but aunt Becky will be here to check up on you, okay?" Ladybug responds with a chirp and a horn honks outside. Janiyah hoists her bags over her shoulder, oblivious to what's ahead.

"Hi, honey, did you bring everything you need? Toothbrush? Chargers? Bathing suit?" Janiyah's mom Katrina always had to make a checklist for her when she was young, she also made Janiyah keep forget-me-not's in her room because she truly believed those flowers helped with memory.

"Yes, yes, and yes." She gets herself situated for the long car ride with a pillow and a blanket. "Don't forget to wake me-"

"When we get to the Magenta Bridge." They all say in unison.

"Do you think we forgot!" Janiyah's dad chuckles. She sits back and starts to reminisce about all the fun they had on these trips. How she used to dread going in middle school because it wasn't 'cool' to hang out with your parents at that age. The only thing Janiyah would look forward to was the Magenta Bridge. The structure towered over a paved road where a train used to run and was painted a peculiar color. It hung hundreds of feet above one of the most dangerous rivers in all of Northern America. The waters rushing in from the sea and being corralled into a small river caused it to swirl and howl under the bridge. Some say there's a big concrete room with treasure under the water that creates these deadly whirlpools. She believed that as a child wholeheartedly. Another thing keeping Janiyah sane during those years was a friend she had met at the resort whose family frequented at the same time. She had a hard time recalling his name because they stopped coming after the kids entered high school.

Janiyah's eyes became heavy trying to remember the boy's name and the swaying car put her to sleep.

"Honey, wake up, honey." Katrina poked Janiyah's cheek softly, "We're here." She rubbed her eyes and saw the resort.

"Wait, why are we here already, why didn't you wake me up for the bridge?" Janiyah slowly got out of the car.

"See, I told you we should've woken her up." Jay said

"Sorry, honey, you looked like you needed the rest so I let you sleep the whole way. We'll see it on the way back." Janiyah can't stay mad at her mom. She had Janiyah when she and Jay were very young, but they tried their best to be good parents. For a long while, Janiyah thought her name was 'honey,' that's what Katrina had called her since she's named after her grandmother. Janiyah winces at the thought of her grandma, the woman who dropped Katrina like a sack of rotten potatoes when she found out she was pregnant at 17. Katrina thought naming their firstborn after her mother would make her want to be in their lives again, but her grandma scoffed and slammed the door in their faces physically and metaphorically. Janiyah never met her grandma, she's only seen pictures and heard her mom talk to her on the phone and those conversations were few and far between. Nonetheless, they're here in the resort and Janiyah is ready to relax and think of nothing but mojitos by the pool.

"Wow, they really updated this place." Janiyah set down her bags and went to unload the groceries.

"They finished this a couple years ago." Jay answered.