Ackley Bridge: The Legacy

by ackleybridge

For most of Ackley Bridge, the school bell rang a long time ago. However, that doesn't mean the Bridge has closed its doors. From siblings in need of advice to cultural differences, 'Ackley Bridge: The Legacy' brings together well-known Ackley Bridge characters and focuses on their lives after Ackley Bridge College. A work in progress.

Prologue

A cocktail of spices infused with the bittersweet scent of tamarind paste pervades the air, a shalwar kameez hung over the banister swaying from side to side as a light breeze floats through an open window and cradles the silky fabric. Once upon a time, which seems like eons ago, voices of youths and elders alike stirred up melancholy and marvelment in this humble abode. Dreaded times and optimistic moments also made their fair share of appearances, but all that seems to remain of those once animated days are the décor and aromas. Family photos are confined in frames of embossed wood surrounded by the occasional china or glass ornament. One picture in the centre of the sterile white mantlepiece depicts a young lady with lightly bronzed skin and jet-black hair. She sports a navy-blue jacket with sleeves as puffy as craft pompoms yet - despite her eye-catching attire - her smile appears laboured and dull. There is an inexplicable absence in the photograph that even the faint rays of sunlight fail to make up for. The eeriness of times gone-by yearning to be rekindled inside this four-walled lair and beyond – a longing for the past and present to be recounted in all its glory and grief…