By the White Bridge, Vol. 2
by Forrest Wineburn
And the days and months did pass, Analise would step upon that bridge and watch through the gloom of the night, praying her Joel would ride out of the mist to her arms. In town, she heard terrible tidings, of war and death, of nightmares rising from the horizon. She dreaded for him, and her parents worried for her. After a year had passed, she began to prepare for his arrival and their family. She taught herself to knit and made friends with several upstanding carpenters. She gave donations to the church, and stayed indoors more. She tied her hair back, and sat dreamily by the window of the cottage, staring at the sky, writing letters, and watching children play in the street.
Another year passed, but she only heard from Joel's letters, which were sparse indeed, perhaps one every few months. Then, she stopped receiving letters, and heard he hd died while on duty, fallen honorably. A few months past, and she received a small message from Joel's father saying he had fallen in a battle on the Aegis. Before he died, Joel sent his father a special note, and told his father to pass it on to Analise. The heartbroken girl tore the packet open, and began to cry. Inside was a sprig of brilliant white grass, with a note: "Dear Analise, please forgive me for the anguish I will have caused you. I will have died, to your memory, but I assure you I am very alive. Do you remember the white bridge? Beneath it, is a little shack, and inside lives an old man. Give this piece of grass to him, and he will explain everything. With love, Joel."
Analise found the old man. Upon glancing at the grass, he began to weep.
"What is wrong, sir?"
The old man replied, "It has been such a long time, dear girl, that I have almost forgotten. This grass is not of Fastheld. It is from beyond the Aegis. However you found this, girl, whoever found this, they are true warriors of the light, and the shadow will not harm them."
"How do you know?" the girl exclaimed.
"I have been there. I have seen the horizon."