"What'll it be this time Emily?"
After a few days of resting and lying around with Yoongi, he decided it was time to face something else. I had refused, saying that I needed more time. Of course, he didn't listen to me. There weren't many more things I needed to face, but there was one in particular I kept coming back to.
"The bridge."
"What bridge?"
"There's this little bridge a few minutes away from here, and I have bad memories there."
"What happened?"
"I'll tell you when we get there."
We left soon after I said that. We walked there, since it was only about ten minutes from my house. Today was cloudy, just like the day it happened. It's obviously not the worse thing to happen to me, but it still haunts me daily. I stop once we reach the small, rusty bridge. It's right behind the elementary I went to, but we were never allowed to go near it. The teachers were afraid something bad would happen, which is exactly what happened to me.
"Explain," Yoongi said once he realized we were here.
"Well, when I was eight years old, I decided to walk home one day. I came back here where this bridge is, but I ran into the bullies of my school. I had heard they hung out near the bridge, but I figured it was a lie. Well, since I was a small child, and these kids were significantly bigger then me, they taunted me and called me names. It didn't bother me, which made them mad. They then picked me up, and threatened to throw me in the river below. It wasn't the deepest river ever, but I didn't know how to swim. I told them that as a way to get out of it, but they didn't listen. They threw me in the river at full force, and all I can remember is not being able to breathe. I knew I had to hold my breath, but that was it. And since I had my book bag on, it weighed me down. I thought for sure I was going to die. Luckily, before I actually drowned, someone reached in and grabbed my hand. They pulled me up and helped me breathe. That was how I became friends with Kenzie."
I smiled to myself, thinking about how we met. It wasn't the most convenient way, but it worked. She had saved me from dying, and yet she tried to kill me too. It's funny how that type of thing works.
"Hello? Earth to Emily?
"What?"
"I had asked if you were afraid of water because of that."
"Oh yeah. I am."
I let go of his hand and walked over near the edge of the bridge. I sat down, letting my feet swing on the edge. The water is more shallow now then it was back then. If I fell in now, I could most likely get out. Yoongi sat down beside me, but I honestly didn't know what to say. The feelings were very overwhelming.
"Yoongi, do I have to say something out loud? Can I say it in my mind instead?"
He looked from me to the water, lost in thought. I just couldn't think of anything to say out loud. I felt that I could say everything in my mind.
"I suppose you can. As long as you move on from it, then that's fine."
I nodded my head slightly, and then I closed my eyes. As soon as my vision went black, I was able to picture what had happened perfectly.
"Did you really think you'd be able to get past here without running into us," asked one of the boys.
"I-I didn't know you guys were back here."
"I'm pretty sure everyone knows that."
I tried to walk past them and ignore what they said, but ultimately failed. The three boys blocked my path, and there was no way I could go around them.
"So, what should we do with her," one of them muttered.
The leader of them glanced towards the river, and looked back at the other two boys. They all nodded their heads in unison and smirked. They turned their attention back to me, and proceeded to walk towards me. I put my hands up to protect myself, but there was no point in it. They picked me up from under the arms, and brought me near the edge of the bridge. I tried to move out of there grasp, but they were holding on tightly.
"Please stop! I can't swim!"
"Then that just makes it better," said the leader.
All three of them threw me in harshly. Before I knew it, I was floating in the cold liquid. With my backpack still on, I began to float farther down. I could only hold my breath for so long. I felt myself getting farther and farther away from everyone.
But this time, instead of having someone save me, I saved myself. I took off my backpack, and I started to swim to the surface. Once I could see the bridge, I knew I was almost there. I kept swimming until my head popped up from the water. I took a deep breath and composed myself. I looked up, and the boys were gone. The only person that was up there was a girl with glasses and a flower patterned dress, sporting a short brown bob. She smiled shyly.
And so did I.
I opened my eyes, and the late afternoon light was slightly blinding. I don't know how long I was like that, but it didn't matter. I am finally able to move on from that terrible experience, and now I can finally cross the bridge again. I looked over at Yoongi, who was still staring at the water, trying to put himself where I had been.
"I'm done now."
He immediately looked at me and smiled. "You sure?"
"Yep."
"Well how did you move on from it?"
"I saved myself this time."
