by William Poe
“Simon!” a voice called out. Someone was at the Riverdell end of the bridge. It was Harris.
“Don’t come any closer,” I called out.
The heel of my shoe slipped off the edge. Reflexively, I wrapped my arms around the beams. The flowing river was dark and inviting. A gust of wind almost took me over. I looked toward Riverdell.
Police cars arrived, flashing their lights. The area became a surreal disco of alarming sights and sounds as people rushed to the scene from inside the recovery center.
“Simon!” Harris called again. He took a step onto the bridge. “Talk to me.”
What was there to talk about?
Harris took two more steps onto the bridge.
A tugboat approached, bellowing its foghorn. The captain must have wondered what was going on. Once the boat passed, the water became blacker than ever—like death itself.
The bridge began to rattle.
Harris called out again. I couldn’t see him, but his voice sounded close.
“Vivian is here. So are Connie and Derek. Can you see Thad? He’s standing with me.”
I didn’t want to look.
“Let them love you, Simon.”
Which was worse: death below or death inside? Love? That was the word Harris used.
The bridge began to vibrate. A train was definitely approaching. I struggled to keep my heels in place and tightened my grip on the beams. A horn sounded like the last call of an avenging angel—the final blast of Gabriel’s horn.
The locomotive heading my way, with its Cyclops eye, seemed like a devouring monster. The shaking made my heels slip, and my feet dangled from the bridge.
Harris arrived beside me.
Would he risk death to save me? The train entered from the west and roared onto the bridge. The vibrations nearly shook us loose.
“I’m sorry,” I said loudly, to be heard above the roar of the boxcars passing just a few inches from our backs.
A Doppler melody played out as the last car sped into the distance. Harris pulled me toward him. Over his shoulder, I saw figures moving onto the bridge. Harris released me into Connie’s arms. “Brother.” She sobbed, burying her face in my chest.
“We better get off this bridge,” Harris cautioned.
Vivian was there, unable to walk without Thad’s support. Through a shield of tears, I watched my mother approach, arm in arm, with my lover.
Only then was I sure I could try living this life one more time.
About the author
WILLIAM POE was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland. William earned a bachelor’s degree in art at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Simple Simon (ISBN-10: 1477624996) tells the story of Simon Powell, who is in rehab wrestling with loss of faith after ten years of membership in a fringe religious movement, the Unification Church, founded by the self-proclaimed messiah, Sun Myung Moon. Simon Says (ISBN-10: 0615559573) recounts Simon's rise in the Hollywood film industry to his ultimate defeat by substance abuse. In Simon’s Mansion (ISBN: 9781729078433), unresolved dangers from Simon’s dealings as a motion picture distributor threaten his lover, Thad, and bring new challenge to Simon's aspirations. Simple Simon, Simon Says, and Simon’s Mansion complement each other and may be read in any order.
