Tying the Knot
Tying the Knot
A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down into the swift water twenty feet below. The man’s hands were behind his back, the wrists bound with a cord. A rope closely encircled his neck. It was attached to a stout cross-timber above his neck. The thought of him, standing there, helpless, did not enter his mind that morning. His tuxedo was torn at the shoulder and his collar stained, bister from his bloody nose hours before. “This was supposed to be the best day of my life.” He thought, watching the water crash into the bridges heavy beams beneath him.
Noah’s heart raced the as his eyes opened that morning, an excited grin stretched across his boyish face. He thought about how his feyonce would look in a few short hours when she would walk down the aisle toward him. Noah quickly got out of bed, he was determined to get breakfast and begin getting ready in a timely matter.
The hours leading up to the ceremony seemed like a lifetime, but it had finally arrived. Family and friends sat in the pews, waiting for Meg to emerge from the double enormous doors in the back of the chapel. People looked around and whispered when the music began to play. The doors cracked open and everyone stopped their chatter to see the bride. Much to their dismay, there was no one to be seen except the boys holding the handles of the tall wooden hatches. Noah’s jaw dropped and every eye in the room turned to him. After a few minutes of torturing silence, Noah moved toward to entryway where Meg should have been standing.
“Does anyone know what’s going on?” Shouted an irritated voice from the front row. It was Noah’s mother who soon followed after her son. She went straight to the room where Meg got ready to find Noah, sitting on a wooden chair near the mirror. He had a crumpled piece of paper in his hands and her heart dropped at the sight of his first teer.
“I have to find her mom.” Noah told his mother through a choking voice. “Something’s wrong. She’s really scared but she didn’t say why.” He dropped the letter and ran outside, leaving his mother to deal with the muddled congregation in the next room.
Noah sprinted out of the church straight to his car and sped out of the parking lot. He was determined to find Meg. He went to his house to see if she had left anything that could help him. As Noah shot through the door, his phone rang from the kitchen. He quickly picked it up and answered. “Hello?” He said cautiously. There seemed to be on one at the other end so he decided to hang up. Just before he pushed the end button someone spoke, he could not understand what it was saying. Noah held the phone closer to his ear and tried to decode the muttered words. Suddenly, the mumbling was clear and Noah could hear the familiar voice of a young man. He could not quite make out who it was but he knew who this person was.
“It’s been a long time Noah.” The voice said. At that moment Noah’s eyes widened in shock, he realized who was speaking. “John?” Noah asked. “That’s right buddy. How’s Meg?” He said in a sarcastic tone. “Where is she John, what have you done?” John paused and answered Noah. “She’s with me and she’s fine. The question is, what are you willing to do to get her back?” Noah was speechless. “John, this isn’t funny. Where are you?” He said angrily. “You’ll figure it out soon enough.” John answered and hung up the phone.
John was an old friend of Noah’s. They had been best friends since childhood until their senior year of high school when their friendship suddenly ended. It all took a turn when Noah asked Meg to their winter formal. John was hopelessly in love with her and Noah had no idea of his feelings. After the dance, Meg and Noah started dating and he told John everything about their relationship, not leaving out any details. Noah noticed his friend had been acting weird around them and even when it was just the boys so he decided to ask him what was wrong. Noah was puzzled to find himself on the ground after John answered him with a punch. “I love her Noah!” John screamed at Noah who was still on the ground. Noah slowly got up with a dark bruise across his chiseled cheekbone.
“Meg?” He asked. “Yes, Meg.” John answered. “Why didn’t you say something to me?!” Noah asked angrily. “It doesn’t matter anymore Noah. You guys are happy together.”John walked away and left Noah standing alone and baffled. Ever since that moment, the boys did not talk or spend time together. Their relationship consisted of nothing more than a subtle glance in the school hallways. Meg and Noah stayed together through college when Noah proposed, and the two of them never heard from John after graduation.
After hanging up the phone, Noah drove to the first place that came to his mind, the bridge where he and John used to go in the Summers to hang out. When he arrived, Noah saw his old friend and Meg posted at the beginning of the old bridge. Meg’s hands were tied behind her back and a rope hung around her neck. Her once white dress was ripped, mud covered the bottom and her feet were bare and filthy.
“What are you doing John? This is crazy.” Noah said nervously. “How much do you love her Noah?” John asked as he began to back up on to the bridge. “I watched you take away all my chances of being with her and now I’m returning the favor.” He pushed Meg toward the railing, keeping his eyes on Noah. “John, take me instead of her! She didn’t know any more than I did about your feelings back then.” Noah pleaded. John thought about the proposition for a few seconds and then began cautiously walking Meg toward Noah. John tied Noah’s hand behind his back and took the scratchy old rope off of Meg to put around his Noah’s neck. He guided Noah to the same spot where he had pushed Meg. “Get up on the rail.” John commanded. Noah obeyed and placed his shaking foot on the first rung followed by the other.
“This was supposed to be the best day of my life” He thought. Noah looked at Meg, her eyes dripping black tears, ruining her perfectly done makeup. John did not see Noah looking over to Meg as he wrapped the rope on the bridge railing. He looked up before he finished the knot and glanced at Meg. John’s face turned red with anger, when he saw her crying in fear for Noah. He felt rage shoot over every part of his body and his heart pounded through his fingertips. All John could think about was how his Meg’s eyes were locked on the man standing before him. The man whose life was in his hands. All he had to was give him a little push.
Noah felt two hands press on his back and he closed his eyes for the fall. John and Meg watched as his limp body plunged toward the water. Meg screamed and John was breathless because of what he had just done. “I killed him.” John said under his breath, his eyes focused on the dusty boards under his feet. He could not bear to look at Meg, who was sobbing on the ground end the end of the bridge. Both of them were startled by a voice from behind Meg. “Maybe you should tie the knot next time.”
Standards:
Writing 6- I wrote in a timely matter so I did not have to stress over this piece. I did not wait til the last minute to get this done although it look me longer than I expected. It was difficult for me to write this because the beginning was already given and I had to go from there. I enjoyed how challenging it was to write.
Language 1- I used proper English and grammar to create the dialouge when my characters spoke. I have never had to write a story with very much dialouge so this was difficult for me and
Language 2- I utilized good capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing this fiction. I used all three of these in both the writing and in the speaking.
