by Ken Dean

Tilde could feel the heat from the burning wreckage and even though she was totally wasted, realized this wasn't a safe place for her to be. She tried to move, to get away, but all she got for her effort was an excruciating pain between her shoulder blades that sucked the air from her lungs. Once able to breathe again, she realized that she couldn't move anything from her abdomen down. She coughed twice and tasted blood in her mouth.

Dear God…don't let me die here!

The road was dark in this area except for the flickering of the burning Jeep. How long would it be until it explodes, she thought?

What was that? She heard a strange, rhythmic sound from the roadway. Tok…tok…tok. There was a soft illumination on the roadway getting brighter as the sound became louder. Suddenly there was a tall, shining man walking in her direction from the road.

"Help me!" she did her best to scream, but all that emerged from her throat was a croak. The beautiful, shining man had reached her side and was kneeling down beside her.

“Oh, Tilde — what have you done to yourself?”

He reached down and put his hand on her forehead. There was a sudden shock that pulsed through her body, and then a feeling of total peace like a heroin high. She realized she could now move all parts of her body and the metallic, bloody taste had left her mouth.

He suddenly thrust out his hand towards the flaming wreckage. Tilde saw the Jeep lift up as if by a giant's hand and fly a hundred meters into an empty field nearby. It promptly exploded. Tilde winced from the sound and vibration. She looked back to the shining face above her.
“Thank you, sir. I'd be dead if it weren't for you.”

Just then she heard sirens and saw flashing lights coming down the road.

“Tilde, there are people coming to help you, although I'm sure you'll be fine now. Please go with them and take care in the future.”

Upon saying that, the shining man faded from Tilde's sight.

* * *

Jason Trudoe stood on the railing of the New River Gorge Bridge, trying to get up the nerve to jump. Why had his wife left him for his best friend Tom? It was a betrayal that he couldn't fathom, but that didn't stop the hurt from piercing to the very core of his being.

He had cherished and loved her the way he thought a husband should, only to be called a loser as Becky walked out the door with her suitcase. She stepped into Tom's waiting car. He should have killed them both right then, but he hadn't had the guts.

As it was, he’d be surprised if he was able to actually step off the bridge to a certain death below. From this height it would be quick, about like jumping off the Eiffel Tower. Traffic was next to nothing at two o'clock in the morning, so at least he wouldn't be disturbed.

He thought he heard something off in the distance, like a woodpecker attacking a tree, but at a much slower rhythm.

Okay Jason — just do it.
He stepped off the bridge. Within seconds the air was rushing up so fast he could barely breathe. There was no way to see the river and rocks below — it was too dark.

Why am I doing this? ran though his panicked mind. He didn't want to — something suddenly was pulling him up by the armpits, stopping his descent and bringing him back up to the bridge.

He found himself standing in front of the person who had saved him. But this was a very unusual person. The stranger stood at least a foot taller than his own six foot frame, and he was glowing with a soft illumination that lit up the entire bridge.

Jason was speechless. He had gone from utter despair, to outright panic, and then to miraculous salvation. All he could manage was, “Uhh…Thanks.”

“It's okay, Jason. You weren't supposed to die this way.”

Jason was beginning to get some of his nerve back. Being suddenly saved from sure death brought him slamming back, at least partway, to reality. But he still had the awful despair deep in his being about what had happened between him and his wife, and it still felt just as unbearable.
The tall man could read his thoughts; he saw the anguish in Jason's soul. He reached over to Jason and hugged him, even as awkward as that was with his height.

Jason felt all the anguish, the unbearable pain, leaving his mind. A flood of quiet, comfortable peace came over him. The tall man let go of him and backed away.

“Jason, you need to let go of what has happened. If your wife wants to come back, she will. If not, just start your life in a different direction. It's nothing to waste and destroy your life over. Hopefully what I've given you will give enough peace to try to settle things down in your soul.”

“Yes — thanks. I feel much better now,” Jason managed.

“Good; please take care in the future. Remember what I've said.” With that, the tall, shining man began to turn away.

“Wait…Sir! How can you do all this, and why did you save me?”

He stopped, turning to face Jason.

“Some things are meant to happen, some things aren't. I come around to stop the things that shouldn't be, and to give aid and comfort as needed.”

“What's your name?” Jason asked.

“You can call me Michael.” With that, the shining man turned and began walking south towards Fayetteville, his engineer boots making a rhythmic tok…tok…tok on the bridge roadway. He faded quickly from Jason's view as he walked.

*** THE END ***