THE COLOUR OF LOVE (Wattpadprize14)Completed

Chapter 17 - A Bridge to Nowhere

The flat line on the monitor suddenly jumped into life, and a line of peaks could clearly be seen.  Cole gasped for air and the paramedics assisted his breathing.  The ambulance pulled up to the hospital emergency doors; his heart beat was erratic but strong. His pulse was sluggish but his lips were no longer blue.

Cole was unaware of the commotion going on around him, as he stood in front of a bridge that arched over a gently flowing river.  He could not see what was on the other side, as the height of the bridge obscured his view.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he stepped cautiously onto the narrow bridge.  It appeared stable enough to carry his weight. He walked slowly, one step at a time, listening for any sounds of weakness.

When he got to the top of the arch, he looked to see what was on the other side.

‘Nothing, I don’t understand, there is absolutely nothing to see. This bridge just ends in the middle of nowhere. Nothing, nothing at all, just emptiness,’ he said to himself.

Cole turned round and looked back at the way he had come. He was shocked to see that there was nothing on that side either.  He was standing on a bridge that led to nowhere and came from nowhere!  His heart pounded violently in his chest. He was struck by a sudden, overwhelming sense of fear like a lightning bolt.  ‘Where am I?’ he thought. 

‘What the hell am I supposed to do now?’ His thoughts seemed to echo loudly around him, as if they were bouncing off the empty space, back at him.

Staring into the vacuum, Cole felt confused and very distressed. He had no idea where he should go from here. Unexpectedly, he heard a woman’s voice behind him and spun round to face her.

Cherrie was not the type of person that spoke to complete strangers, but in this instance, it felt like the right thing to do.  “Hello,” she called out to the stranger in front of her.

He turned quickly to face her, and although she’d never really seen his face clearly before, except for the deep blue of his eyes, she just knew it was him; the man from her dreams that she’d been meeting so often now.

The look on his face concerned her. She could not tell if he was angry, confused or upset to see her.

She walked slowly towards him, sensing that maybe this time their meeting was not one that he appeared to be looking forward to.  He had always been so friendly in the past.  What could possibly have happened to change that?

Cherrie was just a couple of feet away from him when he put up his hand to stop her from coming any closer.

Taken aback she stopped. “What’s wrong?” she asked, thinking that perhaps there was something or someone dangerous behind him.

“There is something so familiar about you, something I don’t understand.  I’m not even sure I want to ……”  He looked at her with such a painful, confused expression. 

His eyes seemed empty; dark, red smudges shadowed underneath. His cheeks appeared hollow and his lips had a blue tinge.  His shoulders were slumped over as if he had a hunched back.

This was not the man she remembered.  Her heart went out to him and she closed the distance between them without hesitation.  He did not look well, and she felt the strongest urge to help him.

Cherrie, gently wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close to her. At first he seemed distant and cold, but slowly he surrendered to her touch.

His arms instinctively went round her waist, and he clung to her like a drowning man would cling to a floating log.

She could not help noticing how cold and lifeless he felt. She could not even feel his heart beating.