The Bridge Near the Coffee Shop

The rain pounded against the asphalt so loudly that Josie was curious whether her conversation would go smoothly. They might not be able to hear each other over the sound of it. She drove her vehicle up to the Coffee-Boy cafe. The parking was limited: three spaces in front of the shop. Two cars occupied the parking spaces on each end, so she was forced to parallel park between them. It was tight, but she made it into the spot. From the backseat of her vehicle, she retrieved her umbrella and unfolded it as she exited her vehicle. She noted to herself how fortunate it was that she remembered to place it in her car today. For weeks she had told herself to start bringing it with her, but her being such a forgetful person, she continuously left it at home.

Josie pulled out her phone and glanced over the single text Eric had sent her. The two of them hadn’t spoken much since the breakup, and the message he sent was his first in weeks. She knew what it said, and what he meant by it, but Josie always double-checked things, even those that she was certain of. The text simply asked her to meet him at the spot of their first date. It was phrased nicely, and as polite as Eric ever was. What puzzled Josie was the message’s formality. “Would you meet me at the place we went for our first date? I’ll be there for a long while. Please stop by. Any time between six and nine would be fine. I just want to see you.” Eric was the kind of man to say “please” and other things of proper etiquette, but he was a casual man who said casual things. When he talked, he was silly and nonsensical in an attempt to make you laugh. What she received did not sound like him at all. 

On their first date, Eric had driven her to the small cafe and the two of them conversed while they sipped their drinks. Josie chose a very light and sugary beverage, while Eric stuck to an Americano. They talked for hours that day. It was a truly blissful and enjoyable moment. Still, Josie knew Eric wouldn’t be waiting for her at the Coffee-Boy cafe. He would be at the bridge. The bridge she had referred to since then as “the bridge where she fell in love.” It was only the first date, but she had such a wonderful time looking with Eric over the waters that she couldn’t help herself from calling it just that: love. The combination of both the scenery and his witticisms caused the start of a burning and passionate relationship.

Eric had leaned over the rail of the bridge for hours that day, thinking of what had happened in his recent history. He refreshed his memory again and again of the things he knew were real, and that had always been real. After taking a trip to the Middle East to take part in an archaeological dig, his life was completely altered. Many people’s lives were now completely different, but he was the only one aware of this.

Eric stared out over all that lied before him. He looked at every tree and patch of grass within his eyesight and did his best to imprint the moment in his memory forever. Eric looked over the water beneath him and zoned out as he studied the patterns the water made as the rain pounded against its surface. He did not have an umbrella, but that did not seem to matter. As Josie approached, the rain lessened to the point where Josie no longer required her umbrella. She closed it as she neared Eric.

“I knew you’d come.” His statement made it sound as if her arrival was one of the few certainties in life.

“Really? I didn’t.” Josie leaned one arm against the rail of the bridge and faced toward him. He continued to stare off into the water, directing his attention away from her.

“How have you been?” he said.

“Fine. A bit shocked that you called me up. You hadn’t crossed my mind much since we broke up.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“What?” 

“The breakup.”

“You regret it?”

“No.” Eric shook his head lightly and inhaled deeply before he spoke again. “But I never meant to hurt you.”

“Hurt me? It was fine. Just a breakup. Nothing I hadn’t experienced before.”

“I know. But that’s not how it use to be.” Eric moved his arm higher on the rail, and the long sleeve of his coat fell down his arm. It revealed numerous tattoos covering the backside of his hand and his wrist. There were long lines of words with a bright red font in a language Josie did not know, but seemed similar to Arabic, and which coiled around each of his fingers. Near the writing were illustrations of red and blue creatures prancing upon the surface of his hand.

“What is that?” The tattoos distracted Josie more than any of Eric’s peculiar behavior.

“It’s the cause of it all. It’s what changed everything.” Eric still didn’t look in Josie’s direction. “Ever since I found that one artifact, I’ve had so much power that I never wanted to have.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you know that you came here without an umbrella? I don’t know what you were thinking, but you didn’t bring one.” Josie only held up her umbrella in response. “That didn’t exist until a few minutes ago. I didn’t want to see you get wet and cold, so I changed everything so that you were smart enough to bring one.”

“Are you okay?” Josie asked. She reached forward and put one hand on his arm. He pulled away and hid the illustrated hand from her view. Eric pulled the sleeve of his coat back over it. 

“No. I shouldn’t have this ability. No one should. There are no limits to what I can do. What if by chance I wanted you back? Or maybe I wanted some celebrity? Or if I wanted to rule the world? There’s nothing to stop me from acting on a whim and changing the fabric of nature.” Eric’s brow was furrowed as he thought over and over about all that he could do.

“Look, Eric. I’m not sure what’s causing you to act like this, but you’re putting pressure on yourself for no reason. What you’re saying is fantasy, and you seem to be out of it right now. Why don’t we head down to Coffee-Boy and have a drink like the old times?” He began to chuckle when she said that. It soon escalated into full and hearty laughter, and the sound echoed under the bridge. 

“The ‘old times?’” he said. “Those weren’t the old times. The old times were long walks around town, where you unloaded all of your emotional trauma onto my shoulders. I just nodded along, not knowing how to respond. That coffee shop idea, that was just my ideal scenario. That’s what I wanted to happen, so I made it.”

There was a pause as Eric took several deep breaths to calm himself.

Josie was silent. She wondered how he had developed such a strange idea in his mind and what had prompted it.

“Did you wonder,” he asked, “why it isn’t raining on the bridge?” She looked past him to where the bridge ended. The rain still poured harshly against the ground, while where they stood the weather was barely a light drizzle.

“I don’t predict the weather,” she said.

“I do. I do anything I want now, but anytime I act I’m overwhelmed with fear of the repercussions. It’s all the butterfly effect. Anything I change will bite me in the ass later. I change my life, and suddenly I’m not me anymore. I’m someone who looks like me with a completely different outlook on life. I’ve had different experiences, and therefore I am a different person. I can’t keep doing this.” Josie did not understand what he meant by this, and said nothing as the thoughts in Eric’s mind clashed with each other. The pounding of the rain against the water below was the only sound that could be heard.

Eric lifted his foot and put it on the rail. With his right arm, he pulled on a pillar of the bridge and used it for balance. Eric stood on the edge, one step away from a fatal dive. Josie reached out and grabbed his pant leg tight.

“What are you doing?” she said with panic in her voice. 

“There’s only one way I can end this. To escape. To stop any more changes.” 

“Eric, please.” Eric turned and stared into her eyes. They were the eyes he had known for so long, and that he had for so long adored. Their bright blue gems comforted him in this stressful time. But something was different. He blinked and studied them again. They were the same bright blue they had always been, but who possessed them had changed. The Josie he knew was no longer there. She was replaced by the woman standing before him now.

“Jesus.” He shook his head slightly. “You’re hardly even her anymore.”

“Eric, I don’t know what’s happening with you but we—” 

“Your aunt killed herself a long time ago. It sent your family into a panic. You and your dad went to therapy for months. He stopped being a good father then. Even after he had stopped attending, you kept up with your weekly therapy sessions.”

“Both of my aunts—”

“Are alive and well — I know. When will you realize I’m not psychotic? I have this power to rewrite history, and I’ve changed your life too much because of it. I made your aunt happy again. Made the dopamine flow when it should have, and your father is one of the best men on the face of this planet. I caused that. And now I’ve changed too much.” Eric gazed out at the water so far beneath him. The river current rushed through at deadly speeds, and jagged rocks lied under the bridge. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Are you happy?”

“I’m not happy with you jumping if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Josie, no. Are you happy with your life? The parts that don’t concern me at all? Are you happy with your family, happy with your job, happy overall?” She thought it over for only a short while. Josie was always surrounded by friends and family and felt she had a purpose in this world.

“Yes,” she responded, and she truly meant it.

“That’s all I ever wanted to know.” Eric stepped with one foot out over the abyss and let himself fly through the air to the waters below him. 

As Eric descended through the air, he closed his eyes and did his best to imprint the moment on his memory forever. 

Josie watched the body as it fell, and as it eventually fought against the surface tension of the water. The river rippled outward in all directions before finally settling into its typical pattern. Within seconds, no outsider would have been able to tell the man was ever there.

At the bottom of the stream, Eric’s hand came to life. The animals drawn on the surface of his skin began to glow with a mystic light and move as if they were animated. The writing burned brightly, and an incantation could be heard if one was listening well. In a few moments, the magic had done its work.

Josie watched the raindrop as it fell, and as it eventually fought against the surface tension of the water. The river rippled outward in all directions before finally settling into its typical pattern. Within seconds, no outsider would have been able to tell the droplet was ever there. Josie had trouble remembering why she had come to the old bridge that day, but even this walk without purpose was fine. She never minded exercise, and she would often take walks just for the fun of it. That’s probably what she did. She was out for a walk and thought it would be fun to take in the scenery from the bridge. A drop of water landed upon her face, and Josie noticed the rain was pouring harder now.

Josie was glad she had remembered to bring her umbrella.