by Gabrielle Brenan (age 15)

Introduction
The short story below is based on an image I found on Pinterest. It showed a girl sitting on a railway above a gorge in mountainous scenery. It drew me in, and I wanted to find out how the girl came to be in such a remote place and what drove her to sit so carelessly on the edge of the precipice.

The image spoke of desolation. The young woman was not only by herself but she was in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but the clothes on her back and a rucksack. Who was the girl? And why was she here?

***

It may not have been safe, or advisable, or even well thought out. But in that moment, she did not care. That’s right. She. Didn’t. Care. She had finally snapped.

She stomped out onto the railroad bridge, anger keeping her warm despite the chill air. The planks, although weather-beaten, were sturdy beneath her pounding footfalls. Even that made her ire grow. Unreasonable, she knew, but emotions aren’t always reasonable.

Soon, curiosity urged her to move away from the safe centre, seductively murmuring to look over the edge. Peering over the rustic planks, she glanced into the valley below. And despite her churning mind and resentful spirit, she couldn’t help but gasp.

The chasm was deep and wide, filled with darkness: dark green, deep blue, burnt orange, and everywhere, shadow. Shadows made darker by the hints of the sun’s rare golden rays. It was truly breath-taking.

An indefinite time later, a sharp whistle blew, bringing her violently back into herself. What was that? Had they found her? She jumped up, spinning ‘round quickly. Too quickly. Unbalanced by her heavy knapsack, she stumbled and fell. Instinctively, her arms flew out to grab at the slats of the bridge now above her. But it was too late. And she was falling. Flying through the air. Screaming. Well, they definitely won’t find her now.

***

Her head pounded and her body ached. Where she was, she didn’t know. She couldn’t remember. The memories, like a wet soap bar, slipped away more quickly the harder she tried to hold on. Shadow engulfed her.

***

Voices. That couldn’t be right. Somehow, they were out of place. Didn’t belong here – wherever here was. The low murmuring continued. She cracked her eyes open and immediately wished that she hadn’t. The light was too bright and hurt her aching brain. The rest of her seemed to throb harder. There was so much pain that she couldn’t tell where it was all coming from.

A shadow fell over her blurry vision just as her mind gave up. Perhaps there hadn’t been a shadow at all. The darkness rose and swallowed her whole.