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Vidcund leaned against the railing of the Pleasantview Bridge, feeling the wind drift through his hair and the oversized green T-shirt he was wearing as he looked out at the view of the river.
This was the first time I’ve been to Pleasantview.
And…if I can bring myself to go through with this…my last.
Vidcund looked down, noticing the quick, gushing waves that made up the water inside of the river just under the bridge. He leaned down to untie his left sneaker, before freezing up as he heard a voice beside him.
“The view is pretty, isn’t it?”
Vidcund turned his head, noticing a tall goth woman with tan skin and hair tied into pigtails walking towards him. Her hands were folded in front of her as she moved, with her dress making it appear as though she were floating towards him.
“I like to come here to think when I’m feeling stressed,” the woman said, stopping to stand next to him before turning to face the river, “...I used to have a friend who loved painting the view of this place. It’s one of the best in Pleasantview.”
Vidcund nodded, standing back up in order to make proper eye contact with the woman.
“I’m Cassandra, by the way,” the woman said, “May I get your name as well?”
“...Vidcund.”
Cassandra nodded, adjusting her round glasses as she eyed his clothes. Vidcund looked down at his clothes with her, noticing the cartoon alien graphic plastered on his shirt and the gray sweatpants that he slept in the morning before.
“I don’t normally dress like this,” Vidcund said, crossing his arms over his chest, “It's a…special occasion.”
“I’m not judging,” Cassandra said, “It’s a nice shirt. My friend had a similar shirt before he…”
Cassandra frowned as she looked back out at the river.
“Oh, it’s nothing important,” she said, “Tell me about yourself, Vidcund. What brings you to Pleasantview?”
“...Why are you asking me this?”
“Just curious,” Cassandra said, shrugging, “My family knows everyone in Pleasantview, and vice versa. So I can always tell when someone here is new.”
“Oh, I see…”
Vidcund looked back down at the water, listening to the sound of cars zooming past behind him. He covered his nose as the stench of gasoline filled the air, shuddering.
“...I just wanted something different for once,” he said, “I’m from Strangetown, so the view of water and grass is rare.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Strangetown,” Cassandra said, chuckling, “I heard the views of the night sky there are amazing. And that observatory that recently opened up looked stunning.”
“My younger brother actually helped with designing that,” Vidcund responded, “His girlfriend’s an architect.”
“Oh, that’s amazing! Tell him and his girlfriend that they did an amazing job with the design on my behalf, will you?”
“...Sure. I’ll tell him.”
Cassandra doesn’t need to know that I won’t be seeing Lazlo again. I deliberately traveled to Pleasantview specifically for this so that he wouldn’t be able to find me in time to try to stop me.
Speaking of which…I guess I should probably ask her a question? That’s usually how these conversations work, right?
“Do you like astronomy?”
“My parents do. I’m more into archeology, but I do enjoy the beauty of the stars. What about you?”
“Everyone in my family is an astronomer. We used to go on camping trips every summer to get a good look at the stars from different places. My father also tried to organize a trip to Norway so we could see the northern lights together, but…”
He’s dead.
Vidcund sighed as he placed his elbows against the railing of the bridge, resting his head in his hands as he closed his eyes.
HONK. HONK.
Vidcund opened his eyes, turning around to notice rows of cars now stuck in traffic, as well as Cassandra continuing to stare at him with a worried look on her face.
“...My older brother tried to continue what he started with the organization,” Vidcund continued, “But my sister wasn’t interested anymore, and…there were just other things getting in the way.”
“...Do you want to talk more about it?”
“Work, for one. And he had a baby and started dating a man who can’t hold down a job and has behavioral issues, so our vacation funds ended up going to them instead.”
“Sounds rough.”
“And I got fired from my job about two weeks ago, so…the chances of that trip ever happening is probably close to zero.”
This is way too much information to give to a stranger.
“Sorry,” Vidcund said, “My parents always said that I had a problem with oversharing.”
“Oh, I don’t mind. You have a nice-sounding voice.”
“I do?”
“Yeah. So keep talking,”
Huh. Nobody’s ever told me that before.
I should test her theory. If I annoy her enough, she’ll leave and let me continue on with the rest of my plan.
“Alright, then,” Vidcund continued, “What do you know about African violets?”
Cassandra raised an eyebrow, intrigued, as Vidcund began infodumping African violet lore to her. The cars honked and zoomed as clouds passed through the sky, with both of them flying away as the bridge became empty again. Vidcund stopped as he heard the loud rings of a grandfather clock, before eyeing Pleasantview’s suburban area that rested on one end of the bridge.
“...Have you ever considered getting into botany?”
“No. As I said, my whole family consists of astronomers. Entering any other field of science would be hearsay.”
“Maybe you could be the first, then,” Cassandra said, smiling, “Help give your family’s next generation the ability to choose what they want to pursue.”
“It’s far too late for me now. I turn 35 this year. Trying to change career paths at this point in life is essentially asking for eternal unemployment.”
“...That’s what my friend said too.”
Vidcund looked over Cassandra as he clamped his mouth shut.
“...Two of my friends killed themselves in this exact location,” Cassandra said, “One of them wanted to reunite with his wife who died in a fire that almost destroyed their home. The other couldn’t handle her work life and her family life falling apart at the same time.”
Cassandra shuddered as she looked down.
“She wanted to become a pottery artist,” Cassandra said, “But her parents didn’t approve, so she went into politics instead. She wasn’t good at it, but she invested a lot of time into it to the point where she would go days without seeing her family.”
“Oh, that sounds awful.”
“It was. And at the end, she got fired and discovered her husband cheating on her with their maid on the same day.”
Vidcund winced, frowning as he glanced over at the other side of the bridge.
“I wonder if I could’ve saved her,” Cassandra said, adjusting her glasses again as her voice broke, “If I had just answered her call while I was at work, or read the email she sent me in time…”
Cassandra wiped at her face with her sleeve.
“I apologize,” she said, “I’m not normally this hysterical.”
“I don’t mind it. I don’t have the right to judge.”
Cassandra chuckled as she crossed her arms, her mascara dripping down her face.
“Both of them did it in the morning,” she said, “So every morning, I stop by the bridge to make sure nobody’s lingering suspiciously near the edge.”
“You don’t have a job?”
“My new job starts Sunday, so I have time to check things out in town before then.”
“Oh. That must be exciting.”
“It is,” Cassandra said, nodding, “I’m finally taking the steps to pursue my dream job as an archeologist. I’m a little nervous, but…I’m glad I won’t have to deal with nepo baby claims anymore.”
“At least your father was actually successful enough for people to think you could leech off of his name.”
Cassandra and Vidcund shared a laugh as Vidcund looked back over the edge, feeling surprisingly calm.
…Why did I come here again?
“Say,” Cassandra said, “I know this place that has really good coffee. Why don’t we talk more over-”
Cassandra was interrupted by the screeching of tires. The two of them turned as they noticed a colorfully painted van zooming down the bridge, stopping directly in front of the two. The door to the driver’s seat opened itself as Lazlo stepped out, wearing sunglasses over his eyes and holding a note in his left hand.
“Vidcund!”
Vidcund flinched as Lazlo stormed towards them, waving Vidcund’s note in the air as water streamed down his face. Vidcund paused as Lazlo then stood in front of him, sniffling before he suddenly wrapped Vidcund into a tight hug.
“...Should I go?” Cassandra asked, “This looks personal.”
Vidcund shrugged before watching Cassandra pull a small, black notebook out of her pocket, scribbling something down before handing it over to Vidcund.
“Call me when you get home.”
Cassandra walked off as Vidcund held the number in his hands, attempting to put it in his pocket before realizing that nothing he was wearing had any.
Fuck. All of the days to not wear the suit…
Vidcund looked back down at Lazlo as he listened to him say something completely incomprehensible, before breaking out into another sob.
“You scared the fuck out of us with that note!”
Oh, right. That was what I was here for.
“It’s…alright…” Vidcund stuttered, patting Lazlo on the back, “I wasn’t able to go through with it.”
“Good!” Lazlo said, pulling away and placing his hands on Vidcund’s shoulders, “And listen, we can figure everything else out, okay? I can cover your part of the rent until you get a new job. Plenty of other astronomy jobs out there.”
“...And if I don’t get an astronomy job?”
“Well, that’s fine! You literally almost killed yourself. Pascal might have an issue with it, but I don’t give a fuck if you want to study plants instead of stars.”
“...Thanks.”
“Yeah, man! Again, not really our biggest issue right now. We’ll figure something else out, alright?”
Lazlo gave Vidcund a firm pat on the shoulder before dragging him towards the van.
“...This place is nice as hell, actually,” Lazlo said, looking over at the bridge, “And that woman was hot. You think Pascal would mind if we stayed a couple of days here?”
“Well, it takes three days to get back.”
“Right. Maybe we can just make a quick stop? I haven’t eaten proper food in the last three days.”
“Neither have I.”
Lazlo chuckled to himself as he revved up the van’s engine. Vidcund looked back at Pleasantview, noticing Cassandra watching them from the end of the bridge. She raised her hand up, waving at them, before stepping out of view as the van moved forward.
Maybe one day, the two of us can meet again.
…Hopefully I live long enough to see when that’ll be.