[ WP ] Walking along a bridge of petrified wood , following another .

The bow was gripped in his hand, rough and uneven on his soft skin. He stood on the bluff, crouched low between the branches. Below, on the petrified bridge, a woman ambled across in a ragged white dress. 
 
 The four natural logs criss-crossed over each other unevenly, solid as rocks as they spanned the gap over the swirling river that flowed down the mountain. The old men in the village said the bridge had been there since the beginning of time, when stone trees from the heavenly gardens of Solum had fallen onto the land. 
 
 The woman liked to go there to think. Or at least, she used to. Now, the boy had observed, she just went there to escape, to get away from what she had done. He had followed her there many times, always hiding in the foliage, watching her. 
 
 His hands shaking, the boy descended the hill as quietly as he could. A single arrow was tucked in his right hand, while the bow was gripped in his left. His breath was ragged, fearful. He did not want to do this, but he had to. Too many times her experiments had gone wrong. Too many times others had had to pay with their lives for her mistakes. He could not let it happen again. 
 
 As he grew closer, he could hear her. Muttering, swearing, cursing. He did not like to see her like this; confused, angry, regretful. Deep down, she was a good woman. Deep down, she cared. But she was too dangerous. He could not let her hurt anyone else again. 
 
 He put one foot on the edge of the bridge, and then another. The water toiled below, echoing up the ravine sides in a steady crash. Fighting back tears, he raised his bow and fumbled to nock his arrow. His lips quivered, his eyes watered. He took a deep breath, and then another. His back and shoulders tensed as he pulled the string taut. 
 
 `` I'm sorry, Mama,'' he spluttered, his voice thick with tears. 
 
 He released the string, and the arrow shot forward. 
 
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 *Thanks for reading. Check out my other stuff at /r/penofigilix/! * 
 
 

