The Bridge Where We Met

A Queer Romance

Photo by my best friend Meg Saluga

"Do you remember?" a woman said to me. I had never seen her before in my life, and if I had, I would have recalled. She had brilliant red hair and soft blue eyes that reflected the river. Her pale skin, tinted pink by the sun, matched the sky.

"What?" I said, my black hair blowing into my face.

"When we met." She turned to me and smiled. Eyes twinkling, yet sadness lurked within. Her hair curled around her, caught in the wind, making her almost ethereal.

"I don't understand."

"Right now," she said. "Or was it then, do you think?" She stepped towards me and if I had any good sense, I would have backed away, but I didn't. "Walk with me?"

I nodded and didn't pull away when she slipped her hand into mine. Her gaze pierced my soul, a frown pursed on her lips. Maybe I was in a daze, maybe I knew, even then, that I would love her.

The walnut bridge crossed the river on green criss-crosses, a sturdy bridge that took my hesitant steps. My heart tickled my red-twinged ears. The woman, her yellow dress flowing out around her, hummed. The sunset caught on the water, orbs of light cast by streetlights danced on the waves.

"How do you think memories work?" she said.

"Something happens and a snapshot of it gets stored in your mind," I said.

"Memories are just dreams caught by time," she said.

"Like they're stuck?"

She squeezed my hand and looked back towards me, a sly smile on her lips. "But what if they could be unstuck?"

I didn't understand what she meant, but I followed her anyway. "How would you do it?"

She walked backwards and grabbed both of my hands in hers. Her eyes sparkled. "That's the magic of it."

My chest lightened, my whole body vibrating. "But what happens then? What's the magic?"

"You can go anywhere, be anyone. Be with anyone."

"That's not possible, though."

She smiled, but her eyes drooped slightly. She let go of my hands and faced the sunset. The light bathed her skin and ignited her freckles. My eyes refused to blink, trying to hold on to her.

"That's why it's magic," she whispered.

" What's your name?"

"Elysia," she said. "I'm glad to have known you, Adelaide."

My chest ached. I opened my mouth to ask her how she knew my name when I realized the question was foolish. "You know me."

"Yes."

"Why does this feel like goodbye?" I laughed, but my stomach curled in on itself.

"Don't worry." She walked up to me with a dying smile on her lips. Her eyes glistened. She slowly wrapped her arms around me. She held on for almost too long, and yet when she pulled away, it felt like it wasn’t long enough. I couldn’t catch my breath. "You'll meet me again."

She smiled radiantly, more brilliant than the sun and just as warm. I thought a tear ran down her cheek before she ran away.

#

I went to that bridge countless times that summer with a hesitant wish that I would see her again. I had begun to give up on running into her again until one rainy evening I found her. She held a clear umbrella in the moonlight. Her red hair like a beacon under the streetlight. I stepped up to her, and she smirked.

"So we meet again," I said. My skin skittered with electricity and I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"And so my dream comes true once more," she said. "Shall we walk?"

The tip taps of rain on our umbrellas sprinkled over our footsteps.

"Don't you just love the rain?" Elysia said.

"It feels lonely," I said.

"Good thing you found me, then." She smiled, infectious, beautiful.

"Do you live near here?" I asked.

"For a time," she said. "Do you want to know something no one ever asks a stranger?"

"What?" I stopped, and she strolled past me, and leaned in close.

"What's your deepest, darkest secret, Adelaide?"

"A secret?" I said.

"What won't you share with anyone?" Her eyes searched my face.

I bit my lip and stared into her blue eyes, nearly black in the lighting. Even then she had caught me, as the waves crashed below our whispered voices.

"Sometimes I wish that I didn't exist," I said. The wind whistled, hair blew across our faces, red and black, and I twisted away from her.

Her hand touched my shoulder. I looked back at her, a sad smile on her face.

"It's funny, because I always wish for you to exist."

I laughed, chuckled until I couldn't breathe, and Elysia looked half concerned and half mortified.

"Are you hitting on me?" I said.

Then she smiled, her lips pulling up in the cutest way and punctuated with a dimple. "That's one way of looking at it."

"What's the other way, then?"

She tilted her umbrella back until she let the rain slip past. She blinked and smiled as water sprinkled her hair and face.

"The truth," she said.

Her clothes were quickly getting soaked. I stepped up and put my umbrella over the both of us.

"You ruined it," she frowned with twinkling eyes.

"You'll get sick."

"Ha!" She closed her umbrella. "I got what I wanted. Walk with me?" She nestled under my umbrella and we walked, meandering through topics like breadcrumbs on a lake. I don't know how long we talked that night, but by the time I reached home, the sun had already peeked its head out.

#

"What did you dream about last night?" Elysia said over the sound of lapping waves. We sat with our legs dangling off the edge of the bridge. Our knees touched, hers pale, mine russet. Her hand sat in my lap, entwined with mine. She always wanted to be holding my hand, as if I would float away like a balloon if she didn't hold on.

"I dreamed about being swept away by a current."

"That sounds frightening," she said.

"It was peaceful."

She bonked her head into mine. "How could that be peaceful!"

I smiled and nuzzled my head into hers in return. "I didn't have to think, I just floated. It was nice."

She sighed and left her head leaned against mine. "Ask me what I dreamed about?"

"Is that why you asked me? You just want to talk about-"

"Ask me."

"What did you dream about?"

"You." She giggled. I joined in and we lost ourselves in chuckles.

"You're such a flirt."

"You're so worth flirting with."

I turned to look at her brilliant blue eyes and teasing smile. My hand curled around the wood edge while my other one tightened on hers. Her eyes flicked down to our held hands and then up to my lips. Electricity tickled my spine.

She leaned in. I moved, pulled by a magnetic force, lips against lips. She tasted like strawberries and summer, the scent of sunscreen swirling around us. I traced her soft jawline with my fingers and she cupped my cheek with hers. Our lips pressed against each other tentatively, pulling away, only to be pulled back in. Our soft kisses went into eternity until the sound of footsteps behind us broke us apart into red-twinged faces.

After the person walking their dog passed, we broke out into giggles, turning our faces towards each other and pressing our foreheads together. Our laughter turned to kisses again. Soft, sweet, and almost innocent.

It remains the most perfect day of my life.

#

"It's nice to see you," Elysia said. Her red hair, flaring in the wind, had a stray piece dangling onto her shoulder. She looked beautiful, as always.

The sky hung brilliantly overhead, painting the river blue. I reached out and took Elysia's hand, who gasped. I swung her hand with mine and we began our trek down the bridge.

"Aren't you nervous?" she asked.

"Should I be?" I said.

"We've just met," she said with pink ears.

I laughed, and she stared at me. I frowned. "I don't know how many times we've run into each other now, but I'm not nervous around you anymore."

Elysia stopped and stared at our entwined hands. "It's only been twice," she whispered.

"It's definitely been more than that," I said.

"I wished to meet someone like you, but what you said can't possibly be true."

"What did I say?" I asked.

"That we're moving backwards." She pulled away from me.

"Like memories?" I asked.

"Memories?"

"Like memories that aren't trapped by time?"

Then she chuckled and crouched and covered her hands. "This doesn't make sense."

I kneeled down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched. I pulled away like I'd been wounded.

"I wished for you," her voice caught. I reached over and cupped her cheek. She uncovered her face, her cheeks were wet.

I embraced her. I didn't know what was happening, but seeing those tears broke something in me. She yelped as we fell down onto the bridge.

Her hair sprawled around her like a sun, her gaze caught on mine, almost in a trance. What a magnetizing sight.

"If it's true, then I can do this," Elysia said. She grabbed me by my collar and pulled me down into a kiss. I gasped against her lips, and then I kissed her back, nervously passionate. Everything made sense as our breaths mixed and then I pulled away, both of us panting.

"The next time you see me, ask me about time travel."

"What?" I laughed.

"I believe in it. I'll start to believe you."

"Believe in what?"

"That our time is limited." She pulled me to standing and then brought us into a run. Her hair rippled out behind her, shimmering like fire. I laughed as the wind whipped against my skin, the sun beaming down on us.

She pulled me down to the riverbank where sand had collected. Then, laughing wildly, she tried to pull me into the water. She splashed into the soft current, her sundress turning from salmon to maroon.

"No!" I giggled.

I accepted my fate and collapsed against her, my shorts getting splashed.

"Listen to me," she pressed her forehead against mine. "You must woo me."

"Woo you?"

"Yeah, otherwise I won't get the rest of my time with you."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"It's backwards. I'm telling you, the bridge tricked me."

"Elysia, you always say the strangest things, but this is by far the weirdest."

"You only get two more days with me. Make them count."

After that, we played in the water and chatted until sunset.

I laid in bed that night thinking about what Elysia had said. About the bridge and wishes and I couldn't sleep. When sleep finally caught me, I dreamed of her.

#

The next time I saw Elysia, she stood differently. Her elbows rested on the railing, staring out at the pink sky, her body pressed in against the bridge almost like she needed support.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and she startled.

"Oh, it's you again," she smiled, folding her fingers together and then unfolding them. She did this a couple of times before I reached out and placed my hand in hers. She almost looked surprised. I bit my lip but didn’t let go.

I squeezed her hand, and she smiled back at me. I pulled her after me, but she stayed quiet.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"How can you be so confident?" she asked.

I twisted around to look at her. "Me? Confident?"

She nodded and blushed.

"You're the one who's always confident." I grinned.

"I barely say anything, and when I do, I just say nonsense."

"You're not making sense," I said. "I love everything you say."

"Do you think magic is real?" she sputtered.

"Sure. Maybe."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"You've switched topics," I said. I pulled her to look at the lapping waves as the dusk lighting crashed against it.

"See, I said I say nonsense," Elysia said. "But it makes more sense than you think." She peered up at me, her eyes reflecting the blue of her dress. Her lips soft and pink, and I wanted to press mine against hers, but she seemed so tentative that I held back. "They say this bridge is magic."

"How so?" I said, lost in tracing her beautiful face with my eyes. Her freckled covered nose, her arching eyes, her flushed cheeks.

"They say that any wish you make on this bridge will come true."

"Oh really?"

"But it comes with a catch," she said. "None of your wishes will happen in the way you'd expect."

"Like a genie?"

She nodded and bit her lip. "I'm still waiting to figure out what the catch is."

"You made a wish?"

"Mmhmm."

"What was it?"

"You should make a wish," she said.

I smirked. "No need, I've already got you."

Her mouth opened, and she turned redder than she already was. "Are you hitting on me?"

"Yes?"

She laughed and hugged me. Our eyes met, and I leaned down to kiss her, but she turned away. "I'm not ready for that."

I nodded, but confusion wrung around in my brain. The next time we meet, mention time travel. It sounded crazy. I didn’t believe it, but fear curled in my heart.

“Do you believe in time travel?”

Elysia giggled and smiled. “Like memories outside of time?”

“Yeah…” I said. “What if we’re outside of time?”

“I don’t understand,” she frowned.

“It’s nothing,” I said.

She looked at me, concerned, and then ran a hand through her hair. She nodded.

We chatted for a while before going our separate ways. A prickle of unease stuck in my mind. Back then, I knew something was off, but I couldn't define it.

#

The next time I saw her, she looked at me strangely. Her eyes traveled across me, then she startled and looked away. Her fingers clutched the railing and heat tinged her ears.

"Elysia?" I said.

She stiffened and turned towards me. "Do I know you?"

I laughed and then all the strange things she said crossed my mind. You only get two more times with me. Had her words really been true? Woo me.

"What do you think dreams are?" I said, my stomach clenching.

Her fingers slipped off the railing, and she turned towards me. "What are they?"

"Memories with freedom."

She laughed. "That's an interesting perspective."

"If I could control my memories, I would dream of you," I stuttered. My mind raced, trying to figure out the hollowness in my chest.

"What does that even mean?" she smiled. "Is it a pickup line?"

"I think so?"

She chuckled. "I didn't think this would work so quickly."

"What?"

"My wish."

"What did you wish for?"

"To find the love of my life," she said.

"Is that a pickup line?"

"Obviously." She put her hands behind her back and leaned forward.

"You're better at this than me," I smiled.

I took her hand, and we walked silently down the bridge. She hummed, and I looked at her. For the first time, I really saw her. The freedom in her eyes, the strength of her smile, the warmth of her cheeks as she turned to look at me.

"What?"

"You're beautiful."

She giggled.

"I want this to last forever."

"Me too."

But something was wrong. I could feel it. "Why did you say you didn't know me?"

"Because we just met."

I stopped and stared at her. "I've known you this whole summer."

"But the summer has just begun," she said.

I didn't know what to say. "You're messing with me."

"I'm not, what's wrong... wait, I don't even know your name."

"It's Adelaide."

"That's a pretty name."

"If this is the first time you're seeing me, then..." this is the last time I'm going to see you. I couldn't finish the sentence. She tilted her head slightly, and I frowned. "It's nothing."

My throat thickened like I couldn’t swallow. I bit my lip hard, willing the moisture in my eyes to stay put.

“What’s wrong?” Elysia said.

I couldn’t waste this day. I couldn’t let her go. “It’s really nothing,” I said, but my voice cracked. How could I fix this? How could I make this moment stretch on forever?

She smiled sadly and traced her pale arm with her fingers. “Okay.”

I cherished my day with her. I talked about everything I could. I made her stay until she said her family would get worried. When she turned to leave, my heart pounded in my throat. I opened my mouth to call out, but I couldn’t. My body moved. I ran after her.

"What is it?" Elysia’s eyes searched my face.

I couldn't let her go. I had to tell her. Even if she thought I was crazy. "I love you."

Her eyes widened and then drooped. "Thank you."

"What is it?"

"I needed someone like you, but somehow it doesn't feel real."

"It is. It will work out somehow," I said, clenching my fists.

"Goodbye Adelaide," she smiled radiantly. One last smile, one last heartbeat with her, and then she left me standing there on the bridge where we met.

#

I went back to that bridge countless times and never found Elysia again. She had disappeared as surely as the sun would set before the moon. I often thought about the first words she spoke to me. Do you remember when we met? Was it now or then, do you think? Back then, she knew, as I did, that she would never see me again. The thought broke my already broken heart.

I didn't have the answer, only that I hated and loved that bridge. Its walnut railing, the green crisscrossing supports, the way it overlooked the gleaming river under a brilliant sky. The memory of the bridge entwined with my memories of Elysia. Tantalizing, beautiful.

One day I stood on the bridge alone, a tear streaked down my face. Autumn had nearly come and gone without one instance of seeing her. My breath formed a cloud in the air as I leaned over the railing.

"Just let me see her one last time," I whispered to the bridge. "You grant wishes, right? Well, that's mine. Just one last time."

I waited on the bridge for hours, praying like a madman that my elusive wish would be granted. But I never heard her joyous laugh, saw her sunset hair, kissed her strawberry lips. I started to run back home, my footsteps rattling the bridge, when someone called my name. I turned back and saw red hair whipping in the breeze.

"Elysia?"

My body vibrated, and my lips broke out into a grin as a tear dripped to the ground.

I heard laughter echoing down the bridge.

She pounced on me and we landed on the cold ground. She laid on my chest and giggled until she couldn't breathe. I hugged her as tightly as I could, feeling her body vibrate with laughter.

"It's you!"

"It's me!"

I cupped her cheek. "Do you remember me?"

"Do you remember me?"

We both laughed. I kissed her forehead, and she kissed mine. "I love you," I said.

"I love you too," she said. "We figured it out."

"What, my sunshine?"

"We dreamt outside of time. Our memories got all mixed up."

I hugged her, accepting her strangeness and the odd situation. I wouldn't let her go. I had her back after all these months, and we both remembered each other. We stayed on the bridge until a police officer kicked us off. That day I brought her home to my house where we giggled all night long, sometimes best friends, and sometimes lovers.

When she had to leave, I cried my eyes out.

“What’s wrong?” she traced my cheek where a tear had fallen.

“This is the last time I’ll see you.” I croaked.

“No, of course not. It’ll be okay.”

“But I said,” my voice cracked. “I said I wanted to see you one last time.”

Her eyelids drooped, but she smiled. "There's always a twist," she said. "We'll make it work somehow. Meet me on the bridge tomorrow."

I held on tight to her hands until she slipped them from mine, planted a kiss on my forehead, and slipped out of my life forever.

The next day I went to the bridge, my heart pounding all the while, sweat collecting in my gloves. I made it halfway down the bridge and waited. She was late. Or maybe she was lost in another time. I trembled, unsure from the cold or my nerves, maybe both.

Fog hovered in the air, making it so the bridge disappeared not far from where I stood. I leaned over the railing and listened to the sound of crashing waves. I opened my mouth to make a wish. Maybe I could convince the bridge to listen to me one more time. I couldn’t cry anymore. I could only slow my breathing to keep the panic from setting in.

Footsteps rattled down the bridge. I turned to look when living sunshine ran into me. I hugged her, burying my head in her scent of strawberries. My Elysia, my sunshine. Her berry lips pressed against mine, and I kissed her cheeks and forehead. Giggles filled up the fog and I couldn’t breathe from my chest, bursting with joy.

The twist turned out to be that it wouldn't be the last time I saw her.