This week’s Story Starter teaser is:
The old rope bridge had seen better days — much better days.
Fandango’s Story Starter #259
The Bridge Between
The old rope bridge had seen better days — much better days.
Several wooden planks were missing. Others hung crookedly from fraying ropes, and every breath of wind made the entire structure sway above the ravine.
Anna stopped at the edge.
“No.”
Daniel glanced back at her.
“We don’t have another way across.”
“There is always another way.”
“Not before dark.”
She looked down.
That was a mistake.
Far below them, the river crashed against the rocks, white water disappearing into shadows.
Yesterday, they had survived those rapids.
Today, apparently, the mountain wanted another test.
Anna folded her arms.
“I’ve had enough character-building experiences for one week.”
Daniel laughed.
She didn’t.
He stepped onto the first plank.
The bridge groaned.
“That is not reassuring,” she said.
He took another step.
Then another.
“Don’t look at the whole bridge,” he called back. “Just look at the next plank.”
Easy for him to say.
Anna placed one foot onto the bridge.
The ropes creaked beneath her hands.
One plank.
Then another.
Halfway across, the wind suddenly rushed through the ravine.
The bridge swung violently.
Anna froze.
“I can’t.”
Daniel stopped ahead of her.
“Yes, you can.”
“No, Daniel. I really can’t.”
He didn’t tell her not to be afraid.
He didn’t tell her the bridge was safe.
Because neither would have been true.
Instead, he said something she would remember for the rest of her life.
“You don’t have to stop being afraid. You only have to take one more step.”
Anna stared at him.
Then at the plank in front of her.
One step.
The bridge swayed.
Another.
The ropes groaned.
Another.
Until suddenly her foot touched solid earth.
She stumbled forward, laughing and crying at the same time.
Daniel wrapped his arms around her.
“I knew you could do it.”
Anna looked back across the ravine.
The bridge still looked terrifying.
Nothing about it had changed.
But she had.
And perhaps that was the secret nobody told you about courage.
It wasn’t reaching the other side without fear.
It was discovering that fear had crossed the bridge with you—
but it hadn’t been the one deciding where you went.
With love, coffee, poetry, and stardust,
— Maggie The Afterlove Voice 💫
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