15 minutes later

Snowflakes danced down the skies, added themselves to the blanket of snow covering the landscape. The city’s sound had gotten faint behind the two of them, peaceful silence only interrupted by soles against snow. The cold temperature had caused the sky to clear a little, a handful of stars and the round shaped moon observing the world underneath the horizon.

Ekant saw his own breath. The hood of his jacket was pulled over his head to prevent the snow from freezing his hair again. His hands were dug deep into his pockets, like they were trying to escape from the cold outside world. He had finished his cup of coffee a couple of minutes ago, and the gentle warmth which had manifested on his palms had faded soon after.

They had reached the edge of the city, an area where the only sign of life was the street-lamps sparing some light from above.

Ekant knew this street. It had been there forever, worn down by cars which had driven over it even decades before he was even born. But after a new highway had been build not far away, it had more or less lost its purpose. Now all that remained was an empty track of asphalt.

Quite a coincidence, Ekant thought. I intended to head here anyways.

But he had decided earlier that he would focus on what was about to unfold right now before taking the leap. Might as well see what life had left to offer… see if there was still something left which could spark some interest.

Mouna had realized Ekant falling back, his gaze still fixed downwards. She had noticed the lack of movement in his walking, like he only repeated patterns saved up in his head. Hands in pockets, hood pulled over head. He was trying to hide away from nature, maybe something even bigger than that.

Hiding from the winter wasn’t something Mouna planned on doing anytime soon. She had kept her hood off on purpose, enjoyed the snowflakes dance close to her face and, sometimes, even landing on it. It was a little cold, sure, but she preferred feeling a little cold over not feeling anything at all.

She took a look around, saw the pine trees covered in clear ice. The fresh, chilly air filled her lungs with a sense of being alive. The soft glow of the street lamps gently guided the way towards their destination. The bridge – which was their destiny – could already be seen, now around a hundred metres ahead of them.

She took another glance backwards. Ekant’s movement hadn’t changed… not even a little. It was like he was trying to keep every possible risk out of it, just focusing on getting from A to B.

Maybe, she thought, I can try to get him out of his comfort zone at least a little. He sure looks like he needs it.

She sighed, slowed down a little. His hands were still hidden away in his pockets, so she needed to alter her original plan a little. Once she got a chance, she grabbed Ekant’s left wrist with her right hand, said, “We’re almost there. You look like you’re about to fall asleep while walking.”

Mouna noted Ekant turn his head in surprise, added before he could really react, “Let’s step it up a bit.”

And she started running.

Ekant, who had visibly gotten caught off guard, was now running to keep up with the sudden change of pace. He was forced to take a look around himself not to fall over, noticed the bridge right in front of him. They indeed had gone exactly where he had planned on heading earlier.

The bridge, which presented itself in front of them, connected two mountains and enabled the street to keep going straight. The heavy construct – which mostly consisted out of wood and stone – had carried millions of cars in the past. It was more or less a wonder this things was still standing, especially if you knew the other thing the bridge was known for. They sure tried their best to not let anything about it get to public. It was supposed to keep people from doing it for attention. But Ekant didn’t want to get any attention anyways... so that was just another reason for him to do it here.

Now tables had turned, though. His plans had to be delayed for a bit. It gave him an odd feeling – being here with someone else – but he remembered to think about what he had decided for himself earlier.

Just focus on the moment.

And so he focused on the now, which mostly consisted of attempting to not fall over. His hands were both outside of his pockets now, assisting his movements as they dashed over the bridge. But besides all the hectic, besides all the chaos which running brought with it, he couldn’t help but notice something else:

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

A soft warmth had appeared where Mouna’s hand had gripped his wrist.

Mouna didn’t seem to mind the snow inside of her hair, which struck him as kind of weird. Why would anyone want that kind of thing if it could be prevented? Why allow discomfort if it could be locked away?

After they had reached the middle of the worn down bridge, they stopped running. Ekant panted clouds of smoke as he tried to regain his breath. His and Mouna’s eyes met. She appeared to smile even brighter than before.

“You sound like a chain smoker. What’s the matter?” she asked.

Ekant, who now leaned against the railing of the bridge, cleared his throat, then responded, “You could have at least warned me.” He was tempted to meet Mouna’s face with a harsh glance, but his facial expression lightened instead.

This was the moment in time he realized that her hand still held onto his wrist. It was almost like the warmth of the coffee-cup had returned but… different.

“Have you been here before? You didn’t even look at your surroundings while walking up here,” she said.

“Yea…” He took a quick glance over the railing, down towards the dark. There was around 20 metres until the bottom, which was deep enough.

22 metres, to be precise. He had checked it online a while ago.

Mouna took a glance over the railing as well, saw the lights of the city scenery in the distance. “It’s the most pretty at night. You know, this bridge has always been a place of peace for me... of hope. I get out here to think sometimes. I don’t know... the view just carries something special for me.”

Ekant thought about Mouna’s words. She seemed to be telling the truth, yet he couldn’t quite figure out what exactly she meant. This place caused different emotions for him. Ekant could only see the deep, dark pit below, lingering with tempting allure. He felt the cold air, which he couldn’t escape even though he had covered himself from it.

He also felt the sad melancholy of the night fogging up his head like a deep hazardous cloud.

But then Mouna continued.

She talked about the details of the landscape and city, the buildings and cars, the moon and the stars. Her hand let go of Ekant’s wrist, and she started pointing towards objects and spots in the distance. Her words carried a source of energy which he couldn’t quite figure, something he couldn’t quite understand. It seemed like she could see things he couldn’t see, feel things he couldn’t feel.

The pull of the pit was still too strong.

But then, something inside of her words sparked a glint of hope inside of him. Maybe it was the new point of view? Maybe a specific phrase or viewpoint? He didn’t know.

And as Mouna asked him to raise his gaze from the dark pit below, and focus it on the scenery which he had overlooked instead, he was finally able to see what had remained hidden from him all this time.

He was able to see the lights blending into the scenery of the city.

He was able to see the beauty of the snow’s dance, the wind’s howl, the night’s darkness.

He was finally able to feel the snow below, the moon high above, and everything in between.

The clouds had parted to reveal a horizon crowded with stars, an ocean of lights too far away to reach, but just close enough to view upon their beauty.

And together with the clouds in the skies, the clouds inside of his soul started to part as well.

Ekant pulled the hood off his head, the currents of weather now no longer numbed by him hiding from them, and took in what it meant to really be alive.

And he didn’t even look back down the pit which had dominated his field of vision earlier.

Somehow, it had lost its charm.

The relief it had promised earlier had vanished.

Mouna, who had noticed Ekant finally lift his gaze, said, “So you're finally able to see this spot for real, huh?”

Ekant hesitated to find the words he wanted to say, but Mouna continued before he could form any sentence. “Glad I’ve been able to share this with you. Hope that helped you get your shit together a li’l.”

She stepped back from the railing.

“It’s getting late. I need to head home now,” she said. “See ya.”

As Ekant realized the warmth of the female’s grip had disappeared, he was afraid for a second.

Yet, even though the touch had faded and his wrist had gone cold again, the other emotions he had just felt remained.

And the dark cloud was still gone.

He spun around as he heard the sounds of shoes against snow slowly decreasing in volume. And as he saw Mouna walking off into the distance, he knew he couldn’t just let her leave.

“Wait…”

The sound of footsteps went silent.

“Can I uhm… have your number?”

“Finally,” she responded.

She turned around.

“Thought you’d never ask...”

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