Bridge

“Save her. Free her. And then, you can return.”

Was the last I heard of that echoing chamber of gold and white, and the next thing I knew I was back on Earth, my feet planted on the cold hard ground.

I frowned, confused as to who her was. But I took hold of my surroundings and saw a back of a girl. And she was standing on the edge of a bridge. Behind the railings. Panic coursed through me and I ran, “Hey!” I shouted and grabbed her shoulder. But it passed through.

My hand passed through her flesh. I looked down and saw that a leg had been eaten by the metal railing. I passed through objects. Another panic surged upward, turned into a scream. But it died when I saw the girl tip forward.

Is this the her? How am I suppose to even save her if I can’t touch her! But the girl, as though pulled back by someone (certainly not me) stilled but the heavy rise and fall of her chest.

I looked around. No one cared. No one seemed to care a girl was going to jump over the bridge! I peered on the ledge. The gray metallic water rippled as though greeting an old friend. Would I fly or drop if I fall? Would I drown?

But I didn’t get an answer as the girl flung herself off the railings. I screamed and followed her into the water.

My sight turned dark but I didn’t feel the water against me. I didn’t feel cold. I didn’t feel wet. I felt like floating instead. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I could clearly see the river’s bottom, washed in a dark green color.

I swished around like a lost fish, until I saw the girl, sinking deeper. She clawed at the water, regret and panic in her eyes. I swam towards her, reaching to her hand, but it passed through. Irritation started to bite like an annoying mosquito. The Powers Above have really made this much harder, didn’t they?

My eyes scoured through the river, time was running and I need to save this girl. This girl who caused the car accident, that left me in a coma, that the Greater Beings Above have told me to save in exchange of a waking life on Earth.