Beneath the Bridge

                An inspirational story about a troubled and deformed Mexican American boy who befriends a homeless African American man who makes his home beneath a fictitious abandoned bridge.  For years, there are rumors, sightings and legendary stories about a giant mythical creature that lurks beneath this historic bridge.  Is he real? ... a myth?  .....or legend?   ...... stay tuned!

                                                   (Excerpt)

                                 CHAPTER SEVEN

             The top of the Bridge was equally impressive to Luis, maybe because it too was humongous, or maybe it was the simple fact that its wide lanes were empty giving the illusion that it was bigger than it really was.  Maybe it was both.  Who really knew why it took him the better part of two minutes to even move as he stared down the highway as it disappeared into blackness.  He just stood and stared as though he was trying to make up his mind whether to explore, or not to explore.

          While his attention was still fixated on the long faded yellow centerline, Luis’ imagination began to take charge as he pictured himself in a fast drag racer pulling a wheelie and disappearing beyond the finish line.  The mile of open and empty highway was something he had never seen before.  It was like he was the last person left on earth and the highway and bridge was his very own private property to do with as he choose.  More at ease and with his trusty stick tapping the ground, he made it his goal to hike out to the middle of the bridge for no other reason than to spit or urinate into the deep ravine.  After all, it was now his bridge and he was the king.  Nearly a half mile later, Luis reached his goal after crisscrossing the road several times just to peep over both sides.  Once he found his sweet spot, the one space he felt most comfortable, he looked towards both ends of the highway and saw nothing but darkness as the moon momentarily ducked behind a cloud.  For some unexplained reason, Luis no longer felt afraid of the darkness.  He felt on top of the world and knew that he had a great advantage point.  Nothing could sneak up on him from either direction without first being seen.  He stepped onto the sidewalk and looked over the concrete railing.  It was still dark, for the moon was still hiding behind the clouds preventing him from seeing the bottom of the ravine.  But he kept his eyes fixed below for he knew at any minute the water, just like a mirror, would reflect the full rays of the moon.

            During his wait for the light show, Luis folded his arms onto the railing and rested his chin.  The brief inactivity gave him time to reflect on his day.  He couldn’t think of any other time in his life when he had such a traumatic day.  He felt all of the kids at his school hated him.  They would not play with him and often ridiculed him for being different.  Strangers would frown and whisper around him.  He had no friends.  He began believing perhaps those gang-bangers were right about him having AIDS.  Maybe he was going to die in a few short months anyway.  Maybe it was the real reason his classmates avoided him.  Maybe it was why he was beaten.  And, maybe it was the reason his parents no longer loved him and wished he were never born.  These thoughts and feelings filled his mind when the moonlight finally broke through the clouds, bounced off the water and almost threw him into a hypnotic state.  His tears again began to stream down his face.  He wanted to stop crying as he wiped his face with the palm of his hand, but he found that the release of tears partially relieved his pain.  The more he thought about his life, the more depressed he became.

            Before he realized what was happening, Luis found himself balancing his small frail body onto the railing.  He had never thought of suicide before but at this point, he felt he had nothing to live for.  Everybody hated him.  He was ugly and terribly disfigured by a condition not curable or repairable by any medical procedure.  He inched forward but the image of Nick popped in his head.  He had suddenly remembered the very friendly man at the doctor’s office.  His face was also disfigured but he managed to find something to laugh about.  He had some reason to be happy and the ability to look at the brighter things of life.  He didn’t let his face prevent him from enjoying life nor did he allow stares of cruel people to alter how he really saw himself.  Even Freddie by many people’s account was worst off than he was.  Aside from the makeshift shelter beneath the bridge, Freddie didn’t have a home with a warm bed, or decent and always available food to eat.  Nor did Freddie have family or even a mother and father to hug him when things became a little unbearable. As the wind blew through his hair, Luis began to realize that he had very much to live for and became concerned that his parents were probably worried about him.  He smiled and looked down once more at the dangerous rocks and small stream beneath him and thought how lucky he was not to have jumped.  He was surprised how easily he had climbed up onto the railing as he carefully spun around to get down onto the street.  Suddenly out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind flared up causing him to lose his balance.  His back instinctively arched while his arms vigorously rotated in a desperate attempt to regain his balance but the awful sinking in his stomach and rapid thump of his heart told him it was too late.  He let out an ear-piercing scream as his feet gave way causing his body to fall backwards into the darkness........

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