Beyond The Bridge [ONC 2023] // Longlisted

Chapter Four

Levi takes the lead, marching across the grass as though he has a final destination in mind. I follow a little further behind him. I keep to the very edge of the bank, my stockings spotted from the water that sprays up as the flowing water crashes against the rocks. The sun follows us, shining brightly as we trudge across the field. The sounds of nature fill the silence between us.

Neither of us feels the need to speak very much and instead we listen to the water beside us. A calming feeling washes over me, a sense of freedom that I haven't felt in a long time. There have been very few moments over the years where I have been able to do something for myself and, more often than not, I would just sit on the bridge for a few minutes and enjoy the quiet.

This trip allows me some more time to myself — Levi is just along for the journey and I am grateful that he doesn't feel the need to speak half as much as usually does.

We follow the stream, Levi continuing to march ahead as I just enjoy the walk towards the woods. I'm not as concerned about reaching the end of the stream as Levi appears to be, and I don't expect the two of us to reach the end by the time we have to turn back.

"You are walking so slowly!" Levi says. He turns around and continues to walk backwards, tripping over his own feet.

"I'm just trying to savour the moment." I shrug. "You're the one who is walking with so much purpose. In all the years I've known you, I don't think I have ever seen you so interested in something."

"This is an adventure, Grace. It's supposed to be exciting."

"If you say so."

I cannot help but wonder if Levi decided upon this trip for his own benefit rather than mine, which he used as the pretence of following the stream. Part of me wonders if he somehow managed to rig the coin flip so that it would end the right way up and we could venture out along the stream for the day. Except, Levi has had more opportunities to venture beyond the fields than I have.

There is little doubt in my mind that he has ventured into the woods before for some sort of adventure. He has more chances to venture beyond his house than I do, more options to explore the surrounding land. I have spent most of my life confined to the fields around our cottage, rarely venturing beyond the bridge unless it's for a brief trip to the village.

The sun burns above us. Small beads of sweat form on my forehead and even Levi slows down his pace a little more. A small breeze darts around us, whipping up the small strands of hair around my face and tugging more strands from the plait down my back. Despite Mother's warnings about the woods, I longed to be able to hide in the shadows of the trees.

"I wonder if anyone has found the blankets rolled up in my bed yet," Levi says, no doubt thinking out loud.

"Why did you do that, anyway? Surely you could have come up with an excuse. You are the one who told me what to say to Mother."

Levi stops and allows me to catch up with him. "It is far funnier to imagine the servants' reaction to several blankets than to try to come up with an excuse. That and Mother wouldn't have let me go regardless of the story I presented."

"Why ever not?"

"She doesn't trust me." He shrugs. "Neither does Father when I think about it. It's why I cannot be in charge of my own future or decide on my own friends. Were it down to me, I would still be joining on the bridge rather than listening to Father discuss the running of his confectionary company or sitting around with the people they deem appropriate for me to befriend. All they talk about is themselves."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "And you don't?"

"You wound me sometimes, Grace." He laughs, staying by my side as the two of us follow the stream to the edge of the woods. "Can we not talk about Mother and Father any longer? This is supposed to be an adventure, just the two of us. I don't want talks of parents or unpleasant company to get in the way of that."

"Very well."

We stop in front of the trees, standing in the shade created by the large branches just above our heads. Small birds hop around in the branches. I turn and look back across the field we had crossed, the small bridge nothing but a dot in the distance. From where we stand, the cottage has all but disappeared in the distance, and I wonder if Mother knows I lied to her. I have never been very good at lying.

Behind me, the trees loom. Their large branches tangle above us, stretching on until I am unsure which branch belongs to which tree. With the thick canopy of branches and leaves, the sunlight is all but extinguished from view. It is a far more formidable place close up than it had been from a distance. Perhaps Mother has been right in her warnings and that I should heed them. After all, anything can lie in the dark.

"Don't tell me you want to back out," Levi says, as though reading my mind.

"It just doesn't look like a very inviting place."

"They are just trees, Grace. The only danger we're in is one of the branches dropping on our heads, and the breeze is weak today. We shall be fine."

"And what if there is someone lurking in the trees? Mother always says that there are unsavoury characters nearby, both on the journey to the village and in the woods. We are hardly in a position to defend ourselves."

Levi laughs, his cheeks turning red. "Your mother's stories are just that. Stories. There is nothing hiding in the woods except the end of our adventure. Now, are we going to get on with it or are you going to continue being a worrywart?"

"A what?" I stare at him blankly.

"Just come on. If anything happens, I'll protect you."

He grabs my hand, his way of offering protection. I know Levi is about as helpful in an emergency as an ant, but I let him pull me into the woods and we continue on our journey to the end of the river, the sunlight disappearing around us.

~~~

Runaway Fiancés by authorelizasolares

In historical Spain, two strangers manage to escape engagements they don't want. Pretending to be married gives him purpose and her protection. But it won't be enough to evade their powerful fathers for long.

First Published - March 2nd, 2023