He could remember how it started or how it came to still be like most
things they just happened and yet for the bear as he sat there watched
he knew this was different , different because like them he remembered
having dreams too ..
In what some might mistake as mammoth effort for one who sat so long
the bear did something he had not done in a long while and stood up.
His joints ached and creaked and trembled and felt hard but eventually
he stood and when he did , he saw that the world had changed and that
indeed much of what had been filled with other things had now vanished
like so much else.
Taking his first tentative step and with each one building more
assurdness the Bear walked slowly over to the edge of his space and
looked down towards the line that had gathered and that dreaded white
carriage. He could see that like all other times not much had changed…
Carefully making his way down the side and over a strange looking hump
that he hadnt remembered seeing before it wasn't too long before the
bear found himself at that most preilous of places that unlike the
rest of the places was still very much there. He had never liked this
place even when he used to come here before and he especially did not
like it now that he saw there was another shape standing across the
rope bridge before him.
BAAAA … came the sound
Or at least he thought it should for before him stood what looked like
a sheep , not as he was on two legs but on four as most sheep do ,
however unlike most sheep this one did not appear to be very noisy ,
in fact as he stepped onto the bridge the sheep or thing that
resmebled a sheep did not say a word or should I say a Baa at all.
The bear thinking to greet the sheep thing or at least give growl to
warn it suddenly found himself feeling more tired than he had when hed
set off some moments ago , his joints though still very much sore
didn't feel so bad now he had made some ways to travel but still he
could still the growing weariness that had suddenly become very
apparent.
When he turned to look back at the bridge the sheep or sheep shaped
thing was no longer there .
No.. he gave a low growl
He was certain that whatever it was had been there unless …
It then with a start the bear had realised that for what seemed as
long as he could remember the bottle that was normally in his paw was
no longer there .
Not quite so sure about anything any more the very confused bear saw
that indeed things seemed to be disappearing faster then he imagined
and so he thought it better to wait just to be certain he did not
disappear too.
And so he stood and waited , and as he waited his joints no longer
felt quite so good as theyd done and in fact almost as tired as the
rest of him . He looked down to where he imagined his bottle should be
and then around but as usual it was far too dark too see anything ….
It was then he heard that unusual sound again and slowly it dawned on
him why he had come..
I must get across that bridge he thought to himself and as he did so
and turned his attention from bottle to the bridge he saw that indeed
it was still empty so he made his way across..
NEW
Not used to the rope bridge much less the small gusts that caught him
as he methodically stumbled forward proved to be a little
disorientating for the bear as he tried to keep his bearing.
The music had however stopped or gone much silent and by the time the
bear had made it halfway across he noticed something he hadnt noticed
before which indeed apper to be some sort of small white wooden
building with a spinning thing that spun different colours.
It sat perched before him on small thin plateau that seemed to
separate the two halves of the bridge and through it , for it had no
door , just a tunnel he could just make out where the otherside of the
bridge began.
As he got closer it also became apparent that the building while still
in one piece also had many of them missing which , even as he stood
there , where occassionaly getting blow away by the swirlings gusts
above him down below into the darkness.
More curious than he could remember being in some time the bear walked
over to the preciep and stood outside the entrance and the little
white fence that surrounded it to peer over the edge..
It was then just as he was about to bend over he felt something hard
knock him on the head and realised with a start it hurt ..
Growling the bear stepped back and noticed that what hurt also had
something to say to him..
DO NOT..
Puzzled the bear stepped back to give himself a better look and doing
so noticed that the rest of words had disappeared..
They must of got blown off like the other pieces he thought
thoughtfully as he bent his head so as to avoid knocking off any more
and looked over ..
As far as his eye could see there was darkness spanned the length of
what was or seemed like such a small distance from where he had been
standing some moments ago, he looked again and soon found that
although it was still dark something felt different .
And all awhile the bears thoughts kept getting caught by the passing
pergsus gusts of untamed dancing winds as they dipped and twirled
below to the depths within.
From somewhere the bear remembered again what he came to do and in
doing so turned away from the captivating images that even with is
back turned where still riding their invisible chariots down into the
depths..
Walking much stiffer now since he had been held fast by his
fascination that bear made laboured efforts over to the side of the
entrance or rather where the tunnel had been and noticed it was no
longer there and instead in its place stood nursery blue door with
much like the rest of the building looked the worse for wear .
Something faint the could have been flowers along with chalkish white
drawings making obscence hand gestures lay obscured against behind the
backdrop of the flaking faded blue paint and infront of him to the
left the door knob..
It wasn't brass or wooden but it was round and quite smooth .
Admittedly smooth things did not make the bear feel comfortable , like
ice cream he thought to himself as he stood with his head bowed down
and his one eye unblinking they are hard to hold onto..
And so as the bear approached he took careful measured steps under
what seemed to be getting lighter or somehow altered darkness.. that
is to say in fact
That although it was still dark there were lights from across the way
where he had been looking down which had now lit up, and like distant
or lost christmas tree lights where now twinkling out to each other.
The bear of course did not notice this because he wanted to let the
door know like with ice cream there was no escaping and just to make
sure the bear let what he considered to be a low imposing growl,
before approaching it
But the door did not seem impressed , in fact it never even uttered a
word or at least in any language the bear could understand it just
BAAA at him
Minutes passed and the bear waited paw poised and read to touch the
door with as much quickness as you could expect from a one eyed bear
but every time he did was just about to paw it quickly it BAAA him
again and again
BAAA
BAAAAAAA
BBBBAAAAAAAA
Longer and louder each time
Was the door laughing at him thought the bear ?
Yes it must be that but then another thought tried to cross his
overstuffed mind until , like nearly every thought he had, it fell out
and disappeared into the blue grass….
