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What it’s like to live under a bridge.

Living under a bridge can be rough. It’s dirty, muggy, and this often results in the troll being grumpy. The troll has good reason to be grumpy though. Not only are its living conditions disgusting, but also it gets to hear the footsteps of those above him all day long. All day…clunk thump; people walk by without noticing the grumpy old troll under the bridge. The troll didn’t used to be so grumpy. He was born into a nice family, but he was a fidgety troll. Therefore, his family began to dislike him and identify him as being “bad” and sometimes “useless”. The troll grew tired of this name calling, as he matured and began to discover whom he was. He found in school that he was pretty smart, and also very creative. He liked to run wild and be free of the associated ties that came with being a part of his family. Although his family thought he was grumpy and therefore unsocial, he was very social. At school he had a lot of friends and tons of people loved him. As the troll’s friendships expanded, he realized how under appreciated he was within his family. That is why he left. To find a new home, a new niche where he could become his own person without the burdens of his family and their stereotypical ways. When he finally found a place to live, it was under a bridge. It may not have seemed like the most ideal home at the time, but it was his own, and that was more than he could have ever asked for. Under this bridge, he was able to pursue his passions and be free of the chains of his family. But his family decided after a while they wanted to see him, out of their own selfish desires. They were willing to ruin his happiness for their selfish need to see him. They “missed” him, which didn’t make any sense because they never acted this way towards him. When they came to find the troll, they refused to enter his home under the bridge. It was their way of refusing to accept the troll’s new identity. They called down from the top of the bridge and asked him how he was doing, but they refused to look at him. They didn’t want to see he had changed and grown into the person he desired. After that day, they refused to leave the troll alone. The troll’s parents would send the trolls siblings to cross the bridge over and over again. First the troll’s sister would cross the bridge. They were close in age and she was considered an angelic troll. She did well in school and pursued many other activities. Although he was older than her, she was often more successful. She enjoyed bragging about her successes, and was viewed as the ideal child of the family. Every time she would cross the bridge, she would do or say something to the troll that acknowledged her superiority over him. This made the troll mad and angry. Even worse, it hurt the troll’s feelings. His entire life all he had ever wanted was a close relationship with his sister. However, his stereotype within his family gave his sister no desire to be his friend. She lost all interest in him when she realized she was all around “better” than him. It was a very sad situation, and at this point it was best for the troll to ignore her all together in order to live contently. The troll’s younger brother would come visit him under the bridge too. He was different. He knew the troll’s many flaws, but accepted him. He even went as far as to visit the troll in his habitat, and was very impressed. The one downside to leaving home for the troll was he missed his brother’s acceptance and companionship. The troll’s mother and father weren’t so bad except they refused to ever see the troll in a positive light. So, when the troll’s family refused to leave him alone, he felt helpless. There was no other way of escaping his role in the world except by leaving it. Step by step, he climbed up the steep face of the ditch under the bridge. With his right hand, he gripped the edge of the bridge and heaved himself onto the shackled wooden planks. Standing at the edge, he peered over the bridge. He yanked a vine off the bridge and tied it securely around his neck. He cried, but there was no stopping him. His last words were “this world is cruel, and until people learn to accept that people CAN change, I don’t want to be a part of it.” He stepped off the bridge, lost all ability to breathe, and his faced turned purple. That is what will happen to the troll who lived under the bridge.