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“Oh, come on,” he said, holding his hand out. “You’re being absurd. It’s perfectly safe.”

She shrank back and bit her lip. “It doesn’t look safe.”

He bounced up and down, making the boards beneath his feet creak and groan.

“Perfectly safe, see! Now stop being silly and come on.”

She shook her head. “I don’t like it. There’s a bigger bridge marked on the map, half a mile further up, why don’t we just go and cross there?”

He rolled his eyes. “You really are pathetic, you know that? It’s a perfectly good bridge! Stop wasting my time.”

He reached out and grabbed her hand, trying to drag her onto the bridge.

“No!”

She slipped free of his grasp and staggered backwards. Something behind her gave way, and she fell into a heap on the floor.

“Now look,” he said, sneering down at her. “You’ve gone and got mud on your dress. You’re useless!”

He turned away and stormed off across the bridge.

She hauled herself onto her knees, dragging out the sharp board that had been digging into her back.

“Wait,” she called out, too quietly. The boards gave way with a horrendous moan, and the rope snapped like a whip.

She knelt in the mud, looking at the sign that said “Warning – Weak Bridge.”

© Kari Fay

(Author’s Note: This week the Three Word Wednesday prompt words are Absurd, Groan and Weak.)