"FWLS24" - читать интересную книгу автора (A Future We'd Like to See)

A Future We'd Like To See 1.24 - The Bridge
By Twoflower (Copyright 1993)

UGH. This rock's heavy. Why didn't I pick something
LIGHTER to tie myself to? I mean, I'm not that great a swimmer.
There's no need to use an object heavier than, say, a toaster or
two. But no, I had to pick a boulder. I guess I hadn't counted
in carrying it five blocks to the bridge.

The plan was to throw the rock over the bridge, let the
weight yank me down, splash splash, gurgle gurgle, end of me. I
figured I wouldn't have much trouble, as it was the middle of the
night, and there aren't many motorists in C'atel City at this
time.

Well, the guy sitting on the edge of the bridge wasn't a
motorist. He seemed to just be sitting there, sipping some
coffee, staring off into the night sky.

"Hello there!" I grunted, heaving the boulder down on the
edge of the bridge.

"Oh, hello there. Nice night, isn't it?" he said, sipping
his coffee.

"Yes. Umm. I'm planning on throwing myself off the bridge
to my doom now."

"By all means, go right ahead. Don't mind me one bit," he
said, and took another slurp.

I sat there, staring at the water with the noise of coffee
being poured from a flask as the only sound in a five hundred
foot radius. I couldn't hear the roar of the river, because with
all the pollution poured into it, the river is only partially
liquid. Doesn't make for a good flow.

"Want some coffee?" the man asked politely.

"Err, no. Look, could you turn around? It's a bit hard to
do this with you watching."

"Alright," he shrugged, looking the other way and sipping.

"The drinking noises aren't helping much either, actually."

"Hmmm? Oh, sorry. I'll wait a minute."

The man looked away, examining a neon sign across the river
with unusual interest. I started to push the boulder over, but