SHORT STORY: Along the Bridge

The adventure. photo by Glorypearl Dy

Across the Bridge

Out of curiosity and fun, five naked boys balance on a handrail of the bridge while a jeepney passes. Inside the vehicle, a woman’s legs tremble at the sight of those. For a quick moment, she became aware of the revolt in her heart.


The jeepney promptly overtakes the mischievous laughter of the boys as it heads on to Sandawa.

“Kids these days,” the woman tells the rest of passengers about the scene as she pointed at the stunt the kids were playing at. Even if she did not look at any person in particular, she makes her voice loud enough to solicit a response.

The older man, adjacent to her, nods in approval making him look as if he concurred. However, he is busily anxious about something else as he endlessly checks on his 3310’s clock and thinks that time was running out for his last chance to land a job. The rest of the passengers look away acting as if they cared less and were simply anticipating for the vehicle to arrive to their specific destinations.

“It is technology’s fault you know,” the woman continues to comment. She tries to speak loud enough for everyone to hear. “Television gives all these kids dangerous ideas,” she adds while she slides to the end of the jeepney, gripping the handle enough to secure her poise. The woman is hardly around fifty as traces of wrinkles are still starting to stalk on the edges of her eyes. But the flab on her abdomen tells stories of bearing children and her trembling legs reveals a weak spine.

The vehicle turns right to refill at a gasoline station allowing the woman last sight of the kids as they jumped off the river one by one. The woman feels her heart skip at sight of the exhibition. She could not control the sudden rush of blood even if she quickly avoided view of the daring displays.

Seeing those kids being too comfortable with their impulsive actions made her blame society. Her mind fumes with complains on the lack of practices on safety standards. She thought that mothers should take care of their children and that the local government should do something to assure that all the kids in the area are cared for.

The older man transfers to another location near the end of the jeep where the woman is seating.  His regular height allows him mobility to walk inside the jeepney in elegance.  As he grips at the handle, his fingers show strength enhanced by callus. The mud caught on his fingernails confirms that he had worked in many labor services. He smiles at the livid woman but even the youthful gesture does not hide the lines on his cheeks. He had been making all efforts to prove his skills to a prospective employer for the past eight weeks. He checks the time again and, this time, he is sure to be late. He sighs with the thought that he would definitely disappoint his wife as soon as he reaches home after arriving late in the scheduled job interview.

“Jumping off the bridge is not allowed in this town anymore”, the old man said in order to initiate a conversation with the woman as he tries to shift his mind off his job interview. While he was trying to start a conversation, he notices that the jeepney has halted far longer than it should. The delay makes the man even more anxious, while the woman continues to worry about the safety of the children.

The woman approves at the old man’s comment and replies that the government should arrest those boys and put them on a rehabilitation center. “During my time, boys and girls read books rather than play stupid games. We ride bikes but that was it. We do not jump on bridges!” the woman passionately said.

The two people continue their conversation as if they were acquaintances from long ago.

“My mother would chase me with a sangot after seeing me climb a tree during that time,” the old man tries to make a remark to acknowledge the woman’s statement.

The woman nods to agree while rummaging her purse for some extra coins. As soon as she was about to complete her fare, she sees the jeepney driver running hysterically towards her direction.

The driver’s face is sculpted with horror as he reaches the vehicle where the woman and old man sat side by side. He frantically informs that a boy had been found dead floating on the river with no clothes on. Blood around his head area and his crown has showed a recent history of trauma. His body was covered with a crowd of mud, river weeds and trashes.

The woman clasps her hands in shock.  She thought that she knew it would happen. Images of her children stream in her mind. For once, the woman is the only person inside the jeepney who is not able to utter a word. The rest of the people comment to agree with the woman’s earlier opinion. They now confirm that television is indeed a bad influence to kids and that it is the indirect reason for the boys’ sad fate.

The others express how sorry they were for the kid but secretly thought that the woman might have preempted the accident. The old man, on the other hand, goes out of the vehicle to chat with the driver in order to dig more information.

“Was it one of the boys jumping from the bridge, earlier?”

“Yes,” the driver answered. “No one really expected one of them to hit a rock.”

“Well, it was expected to happen with the low tide around. The boy was ought to hit something. We were just talking about it inside”, the old man said. They continue to chat.

Minutes after, the horror of the event gradually subsides as the rush sprints into the passengers who are mostly in a hurry. More people quickly arrive to take the remaining extra space inside the jeepney. The people inside continue to share insights about the incident.

After exhausting their emotions on the distressing news, the passengers call the driver to go on with the route. At this indication, the old man tries to enter the vehicle but realizes that someone else has taken his seat and the rest of the spaces are already occupied.  The people merely look at the old man like one of the many strangers as they continue to talk about the accident.

Already unable to find a seat, the old man decides to simply balance at the entrance stand while his hands tries to put full strength and confidence on the side handles. He tries to mimic a konduktor as he pulls-off the stunt that is almost as daring as the one the dead boy pulled off before his sad fate. The man sighs. The jeepney runs.


konduktor: a colloquial term in the Philippines referring to a boy who collects fare in a jeepney.
Sangot: a type of blade used for tilling or taking out unwanted grass.