The Hatch (3)

We walked on toward the bridge ourselves. The near part of the bridge was in dark shadow and the field on the other side in very bright, blinding sun where the animal had vanished.

Crossing the bridge, I still couldn’t see to the other side. The sun was so bright that everything was lost in glare. As I stepped forward past the edge, I saw that Gonzo had stopped and sat down. My foot came down off the edge of the bridge onto something hard and flat, not grassy or soft like dirt.

I looked down to see if Gonzo was signaling any sort of danger, but he was just sitting and staring ahead. My foot wasn’t visible in the bright light, but I could still feel that hard, flat surface.

One more step didn’t help. Blinding sunlight. So bright that I couldn’t see to go forward. And Gonzo wasn’t budging.

Now standing in that bright light, over the end of the bridge, I felt a kind of drifting away of my thoughts, not thoughts entirely just my own thoughts.

I don’t know how you can think things that aren’t your own thoughts. But that was what I felt. People and things I didn’t know, places and times I hadn’t been. Uncomfortable, even a little panicky. But my curiosity was blazing.

I stepped forward farther into the light. Gonzo rose to follow. A quick glimpse of something shining, but somehow shining black in the midst of the bright glare.

There was a noise behind me. Another person, another dog approaching. I turned to greet them as they started across the bridge. When I turned forward again, I saw the field beyond, still brightly lit but filled with trees and bushes. I could feel the grass and dirt under my feet now.