Broken Hearted

Once again it is time for the quarterly Story Time Blog Hop. Today, you get a free story from me and several other authors who are participating. I hope you like the story and use the links at the end to visit the other blogs for more tales.

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Trolgar listened as one set of footsteps ran off the bridge back towards town. He didn’t think that was the way young Piotr had planned this to go. The moon was full, the river higher than normal after the recent rains. He’d set this up with Trolgar earlier in the day, trying for a perfect romantic setting in which to present his proposal.

Trolgar climbed over the side of the bridge to find the young man staring into the river. His girlfriend, Marissa, was nowhere to be seen.

“I guess it didn’t go as planned?” Trolgar said.

“She said ‘no’.” The pain in Piotr’s voice made Trolgar wince in sympathy. “She doesn’t want to be my wife.”

“I’m sorry. I know you love her. Maybe the time is wrong and sometime later ….”

Piotr climbed on the railing of the bridge. “Bye, Trolgar.” He stepped off the railing.

Trolgar’s hand shot out, catching Piotr by the calf. The young man flipped, hanging upside-down over the river.

“Let me go! I don’t want to live.”

“I know things don’t look too rosy right now, but drowning yourself is not the answer.”

“Why not? Marissa was my one true love. I’ll never find another like her. Life without her isn’t worth living ….” Piotr kept going with his lamentations.

Trolgar looked over the railing as the young man ranted. An idea came to him upon seeing the level of the river.

He climbed over the railing, still holding Piotr by the calf. He squatted as low as he could go, holding to the railing with his other hand. He thought he could stretch just far enough.

He dunked Piotr’s head in the river, holding him there a few seconds until Piotr started thrashing in the water, before pulling him back up.

Piotr coughed and sputtered as Trolgar climbed back over the railing.

Piotr gasped. “What’s wrong with you? Are you trying to kill me?”

“No. I’m just trying to get you to come to your senses.”

“Would you put me down? Please?”

“No more being stupid?”

“No more being stupid.”

Trolgar let go and Piotr tumbled to the bridge. Trolgar offered a hand to pull him up. Piotr accepted.

“What do I do now?”

“Seems to me you can go get her back. Or let her go if she doesn’t want to come back. Then go find someone else if she doesn’t. Or be by yourself the rest of your life. You decide.”

“I guess you’re right. It sounds so simple when you put it like that.”

“It is simple. Go home. Get some sleep. You can come at the problem again in the morning.”

“I’ll do that. Thank you Trolgar. You’re a good friend.”

“Any time. Now go on. I need to get some sleep.”

He watched Piotr trudge back to the town, then retreated to his cot inside his shack next to the bridge.

Trolgar lay awake long into the night, thinking about the one he had to let go.

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Be sure to visit the other authors participating i the Blog Hop for more stories:

Existential Conundrum by T. R. Neff
Harvest by Barbara Lund
The Big Red Eye by Gina Fabio
How I lost Tom by Katharina Gerlach
Broken Hearted by James Husum <– you are here