Beyond The Bridge [ONC 2023] // Longlisted

Chapter Twenty-One

A nervous excitement bubbles up in the pit of my stomach as Levi and I move through what we hope will be the final tunnel. The ground is slick under our feet, making it harder for us to stay upright. Levi struggles more than me, his hurt leg almost dragging behind him as we follow the incline.

In the candlelight, I see small beads of sweat forming on his forehead at the effort it takes to continue forward. My head starts to ache, the dull throb returning as the ground sways beneath me, but I know we are close to the end. All I want is to see Mother again, to feel her arms around me. That is worth moving forward despite the pain.

Levi pauses, pressing his body against the wall of the tunnel and taking several long, deep breaths. He looks at me with a slight grimace. Even though he would never admit it, his leg is hurting and we have to stop.

"Let's just stop and rest for a minute," I say, not realising how tired I've become until I stop.

"I won't say no to that." Levi reaches into his satchel and pulls out the inkpot. "Do you want some?"

"No, you have it. I'm alright for now."

"You sure?"

I nod, pressing my back against the damp stone wall. The rocks are cold against my dress, but it helps to cool me down as Levi empties the inkpot in one gulp. With any luck, we'll come out close to the stream and will be able to refill the inkpot as many times as we need before we leave the cave system behind us.

My mouth no longer feels dry, but with all the sweating I'm doing from walking, it won't be long until I'm thirsty. I don't regret letting Levi finish the water. He needs it far more than I do.

"How are you feeling, Gracie?"

"Fine," I lie. Light spots dance in front of my eyes. "You?"

"Excited to get out of here. I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed and eat something other than stale bread and pastry."

"Me too. I've missed carrots and I don't even like them."

Levi laughs, the sound echoing through the tunnel. "Right, I think it's time we finish this, don't you?"

"Most definitely."

He pushes himself off the wall and holds his hand out to me so we can finish our adventure together. I take his hand the butterflies erupting in my stomach. This time I don't try to fight them and just let them fly. We lace our fingers together and continue through the sloping tunnel.

I feel safer with Levi's hand in mine, as though nothing can stop us and that it all might be over soon. There's a secureness in his grip, a reassurance and comfort that I need to keep going until the very end. Levi's presence helps me to forget the pain in my feet or the drumming at the back of my head. We're going to make it out of the cave together.

As we continue to climb through the tunnel, slipping on stones as we go, I think back through everything that has happened. Were it not for the flip of a coin, we never would have set out on our journey however many days ago it was. If the stream hadn't moved into the cave, we never would have fallen in the first place. Yet if we had never fallen, Levi and I wouldn't have had time to rekindle our lost friendship.

I stumble on the rocks, lost in thought, but Levi's grip keeps me steady and I am grateful. He smiles at me in the candlelight. It's the same elfish grin that used to annoy me when we were younger, but in the semi-darkness it causes a small flurry of butterflies in the pit of my stomach. Perhaps the cave has stirred up some emotions that I didn't know were there.

"Maybe we should have carved our names into one of the walls," Levi says. I'm not sure if he's just thinking out loud until he looks at me.

"Why? What would have been the point?"

"A marker to say we were here. If they found it one-hundred years from now, they'd wonder who we were and whether we escaped. Maybe we could have been one of life's unanswered mysteries."

"I'm not sure I want to be one of life's unanswered mysteries, not for getting stuck in a cave at any rate."

"Well, it would have been a fun story to tell. Us being the only people whose names are on these walls." He sighs. "Oh well, I shall have to dedicate a chapter in my memoir to this little adventure."

"Don't you need to have had an interesting life, or at least be someone of note, to write a memoir?"

"I intend to be both, Gracie. Someone of note who has an interesting life. If this little adventure has taught me anything, it's that life doesn't always follow the path you expect it to and that anything can happen. I don't want to waste a moment of it." He squeezes my hand. "What about you? Do you still think you'll be a servant for the rest of your life?"

"Whether I think I will is irrelevant. What has happened these past few days cannot change anything for me, even if I want it to."

Levi looks at me, a slight furrow in his eyebrow. I know it is not the answer he expects, and even if I want it to be something different, I know it can never be. No amount of time spent in the cave will ever change my future. It was decided for me before I was even born and it would take a miracle to change it to something new and exciting. Our time in the tunnels has shown me that life is short and not to miss a second of it, but it still doesn't change the unfortunate truth.

Even if I wanted to follow my heart, to listen to the truth, it tries to scream at me with every step we take towards our final escape and freedom from the depths of the cave. I know I cannot. Once we leave the cave, life must return to normal, for me anyway.

"Not everything is set in stone, Gracie. Life can be surprising in the most unexpected ways."

He squeezes my hand again and the butterflies take off in my stomach.

Yes, yes, it can.

~~~

First Published - March 16th, 2023