It was a dark night, not a star in the sky. A man stood on the edge of a bridge, looking down at the rushing water below. He'd been there for 2 hours now, unable to move. It was normally a busy bridge, with cars and people going over it all throughout the day. Tonight though, it was unusually slow. Only a few cars went by, and no pedestrians, but none stopped to check on the man.
The man was Dagon Woodley. His last remaining family had passed away last week, and he came here straight from the funeral. Dagon was never a successful man, he liked to believe his life was the greatest example of Murphy's Law.
As Dagon stood there, an old man approached him. Lost in thought, Dagon didn't notice. The man studied Dagon for a minute, seemingly lost in thought as well, before we spoke. "What are you doing up there young man."
Dagon turned around, startled over the old man's presence. He thought for a moment before replying, "I don't know yet to be honest, just thinking at the moment"
The old man didn't seem to understand his answer as he wore a puzzled expression on his face. "If something is troubling you let's hear it, I've got some time," he said.
Dagon looked back at the water for a moment before stepping down. He turned to the old man and asked, "Would you like to go on a walk, sir? I'm a little hungry actually and wouldn't mind some company."
The old man flashed a smile and replied, "That would be great, lead the way."
The two walked off the bridge, heading to a local diner down the street. Dagon stayed silent for the first few minutes before beginning the conversation.
"I have to thank you, sir. My brother, the last of my family, passed away last week. The funeral was today, and I guess it didn't really hit me until the end of it."
Dagon paused for a moment before continuing, "I've never really had a good life, but I had a great family. I wouldn't be here today without them, they pushed me to be a better man. I never had a reason to live except for them, and they were always there to stop me from ending my life when things got rough. Now that they're gone, I couldn't find a reason to keep going, but I still couldn't jump. I kept thinking that they'd want me to live on, praying that they'd send me a sign. A sign to not give up. I think you're that sign, sir."
No sadness could be seen on Dagon's face, it was a look of relief. The look of a man who finally found an answer he'd always been searching for. Tears welled up in his eyes but they never fell. He silently stared at the dark sky as they walked.
The old man silently walked along with Dagon. He listened carefully to his story, and thought for a few minutes before replying, "The name's Tigori, what's yours, kid?"
"Dagon"
Tigori abruptly burst into laughter, which caught Dagon by surprise. He stopped and gave Tigori a puzzled look while waited for him to finish.
"I'm sorry, Dagon, your name just happened to be the name of the person I'm looking for. I didn't expect you to be the first person I met here, or for it to be in this fashion," Tigori said before chuckling once more.
This only made Dagon more confused, as he waited for Tigori to explain more.
"I guess after all these years I'm still left speechless by the workings of Fate. It's nice to meet you Dagon. From what you've told me, life here doesn't seem to fulfill you, and I think I know why. Fate's plans for you are much bigger than you can imagine. A life as simple as this couldn't possibly suit you, but never mind that for now. How would you like to come with me to a land far away? A place full of adventure you've never heard of. I'm willing to bet this is exactly what you've been looking for, as it's always where you were meant to be."
At this point, Dagon couldn't tell if Tigori was crazy or not. Tigori seemed to be talking to himself mostly until the end. Dagon never really believed in fate, but the old man had a point. It did sound very enticing, and he no longer had anything more to lose, or a reason to stay. "Maybe this is fate," he thought.
After thinking for a moment, Dagon replied, "I don't really have anywhere I want to go anymore, so why not. Although, you'll have to give me more information on the way"
Tigori chuckled at Dagon's reply before saying, "You'll know when you get there,"
Before Dagon could say anything else, everything started to blur. He couldn't make anything out but odd lights. It almost looked like the space movies he remembered watching as a kid, when the ships would go into hyperdrive. His body felt weightless, and empty, as if it wasn't even there. All of this took place in the matter of seconds before everything went dark.