Bridge of Faithfulness

Note: This story contains mentions of suicide and a character death. Please do not read if any of these would be triggers for you. Thanks!

Bridge of Faithfulness

I stir restlessly in my sleep, or at least what passes for sleep nowadays. After a few moments, I am jolted awake from my slumber, feeling slightly disoriented. Then, a familiar feeling that I understood all too well fills my consciousness.

My master once again summons me from far away. I am desperately needed. I can feel the pull of the arcane magic that beckons me back to his world.

I will heed his call, as I always do. Though, it has been awhile since his last summons.

I was beginning to worry, to think I was no longer needed. That I would languish in this place, this foul, cantankerous pit of gloom where I spend most of my so-called 'free time'.

The place where those forgotten dwell in eternal limbo.

I will set out to answer his call. Just as soon as my chains are unbound, that is.

I focus my energy, aligning the proper channels with the ethereal grid. Combined with the summoning magic, it's enough. A few moments later, they glow with unnatural heat, and with a dark burst of energy, they clang to the lifeless ground.

I slowly rise into the air, flexing my atrophied spirit limbs, weak from lack of use. Swiveling my head, I gaze upon the forlorn landscape that has become so familiar to me.

The dark miasma lingers in the stagnant air long after its source has faded away. If I still possessed a mortal nose, it would be full of the stench of death and decay. Nor can I taste the befouled air, which is probably for the best.

But I no longer concern myself with matters of the flesh, since I don't have any these days. I suppose you'd call it a 'perk of the job', of sorts. But, I digress.

I am urgently needed elsewhere. So I will once again prepare myself to make the journey from the world of the beyond, back to the land of the living. Crossing the veil is never easy, nor is it what you would call quick. It does take a decent amount of time, after all.

Time only really matters to the living, though. It gives a sense of urgency and purpose to those still alive, but it becomes somewhat meaningless on this side of the curtain. I think it's been at least a thousand years since I arrived here? Maybe five thousand?

But in his world, only a few years have passed.

Regardless, I will still make time for him. No matter what. I owe him that much. My schedule was empty tonight, anyway.

He would do the same for me. I know it.

Or at least, I hope he would. That singular thought helps sustain me better than food ever did. Nourishment for the soul.

My master summons me.

I am needed.

I still have a purpose, even after my mortality has ended.

I proceed with alacrity to the fields beyond, one of the few places where the crossing can still occur. You might say, where the 'veil' is thinnest. Easiest place to pass through. The destination is not always guaranteed, despite my willpower. Some minute fluctuations in the Ether can't be fully accounted for.

Sometimes I appear right inside my master's house. Sometimes I manifest hundreds of miles away. One time, I accidentally landed on the Moon. What you might refer to as a 'navigational error', I believe. It's hard to say for sure, but such an event is thought to be humorous.

I didn't find it the least bit funny, though. Nor did my master. It took me an extra week to return to my master after that occurrence. He was not too pleased, but he understood.

Fucking Ether! I cursed that day, but not since.

The call echoes more strongly now, in my mind, or the spiritual equivalent, anyway. The closest you could relate it to would be a feeling of gnawing hunger, which I no longer feel the way that living beings do.

It's actually impressive how the magic still works, even at this cosmic distance. It's still able to reach out to me across the vastness of space and time and signal to me that my master requires my presence.

Sensing his urgency, I drift ethereally towards the black gate in the distance. It looms over the empty fields like a dark sentinel guarding a forgotten secret.

In a way, that's precisely what it's doing. It is the conduit and the mechanism that bridges our worlds together, only allowing passage between them under special circumstances.

I cautiously float through the spectral gate, my thoughts focused on my destination, feeling a slight twinge of nervousness as I usually do. As the ancient mechanism groans and glows in activation, I sigh inwardly, hoping that my aim is better this time. I open my third eye as nothingness beckons me into the great and yawning void between existence.

My master needs me. I am on my way.

An unknown amount of time passes as I am pulled through the nether at a headlong pace, my mind racing as swirls of darkness envelop my spirit. Cries and growls of unknown origin, and feelings of malevolent intent fill my soul as I rush forward through the last leg of the journey. I guard my mind against such depravity, as I have learned to do in my time on this side of creation.

I am not alone in the void. Vicious eyes stare back at me menacingly, with unabated lust and hunger, wishing to devour me whole.

I won't let them feast on me. My master is waiting.

Finally, after what seems an eternity, I have arrived at my destination unharmed, and it appears my luck held. I was uncannily accurate this time with my aim.

My master stares back at me in the mirror, a dark reflection of who I used to be in this life. But now, as I linger in the gleaming silver behind the glass, I watch the expression on his face turn from frantic worry into a relieved smirk.

It appears that he's ready for the next part. We've performed this archaic ritual an untold number of times, after all. No hitches, so far.

Hopefully he remembers the time limit.

If I stay in his body too long, it will inadvertently become mine. I do not wish to steal his vessel from him. In doing so, his soul will take my place instead in the afterlife. And I will not allow him to be cursed to dwell in that horrible place.

Unless that's what he really wants.

My master needs me once again. I am here. I am ready to serve.

Why does he go through all this trouble, you might ask?

In life, I was always the more confident one. The extrovert, the life of the party. My voice was the one he always relied on. My inner strength to stand up to the bullies and the naysayers. The boisterous laughter to match his silent tears.

My sudden death hit him quite hard. A freak car accident one night, in the pitch black fog. It was my fault for driving while groggy. I swerved to avoid hitting a deer and ran off the bridge, and into the river. I didn't survive the fifty foot drop into the water.

He was torn up for months afterward. He tried to drown his sorrows in copious amounts of alcohol and drugs. Nothing seemed to take his pain away. I watched sorrowfully from my side, unable to offer much in the way of condolence.

He even tried to join me in the afterlife. My spirit was able to arrive in time to sever the rope hanging from his living room rafter. He was confused at first. I entered the nearest reflective surface and hastily explained to him why it would've been a horrible idea to travel through the veil.

About how much he still had to live for. He reluctantly agreed, then profusely thanked me for saving his life.

Even now, my feelings for him haven't changed. I was his friend. I still am. But I choose now to serve him in this manner.

I will serve. Until I am dismissed, or no longer needed. I hope he doesn't forget me, in the event of that outcome.

As our hands touch on each side of the mirror, I feel the familiar rush of magic as our souls temporarily swap places. With a final blinding flash of green spectral energy, the transference is complete.

I snap my eyes open, expecting to see his face staring back at me. Instead, I only see my confused gaze.

Wait, where did he go?

At first, I thought the ritual may have went wrong. I frantically scan his mind, searching for any misstep or possible problem. After a few moments, I then happen upon it. His final thoughts to me.

"Farewell, my faithful friend. I'm sorry to spring this upon you without warning, but I'm finished with this cruel and uncaring world. So take my body. Use it and experience all the things you missed out on. Please enjoy a second chance at life."

I understood. He felt so weary, so defeated in his heart. He wanted me in the driver's seat of his life, this time for good. He proceeded on to his final resting place, with no intention of returning, handing me the proverbial keys.

As his memories and emotions fill my mind in a mad rush, my face turns crimson with frustration. This was his plan, all along. He always had intended to permanently swap places with me. As if this was a lofty honor he'd suddenly bestowed upon me.

I sighed and grimly nodded, reluctance filling my soul.

If this is truly his desire, then I will see it through, to the end. I will honor his final wishes.

I will be his mouthpiece. I will see the world through his eyes, and hear the symphony of the universe with his ears. I will gaze upon the heavens with renewed awe and wonder. I will laugh at his friend's horrible jokes. I will hug his estranged mother tightly and tell her that I'm sorry and I love her, as he was unable to.

I will do my best to carry on in his place. Though a great sadness now binds my heart, I will not shed any tears. Not yet, anyway. He wouldn't want me to mourn for him.

But I will. In my own way. Later.

I clear my throat, then attempt to speak, being somewhat out of practice. Weak whispers, at first. Then, the words start flowing more smoothly. I turn slowly, taking in the living room. I feel stiff in a stranger's body. But not really a stranger. My friend's body.

Concerns of the flesh are mine again. A curse, and a blessing wrapped into one. I take a deep breath of the sweet smelling air surrounding me. My stomach growls in anticipation of its next meal. My head throbs with a mild headache. I remember something called 'aspirin'. I will take two of them with the next meal.

I suppose it's my living room, now. My house. My body. My life. Restored to me, but not the way I wanted.

But the way I will live now. For him.

My master has summoned me. For the final time.

Now it's my turn to serve. I have always been faithful to him. No exception this time.

I will serve.