He slowly crossed the narrow bridge. It was a painful journey to be sure, both physically and emotionally. Leaving the little comfort of what he knew. He could no longer see the start of the bridge; the life he left behind. People say being so poor and living in such cramped conditions isn't much of a life, but he felt just as alive as anybody, thank you very much.
His mind wondered. Dreamed. Why didn't anyone ever come back? It wasn't that uncomfortable. Their needs were met. And it was certain to be a bridge to death. A walkway between realities. Why else would nobody ever come back? Paradise? But could any paradise be stronger than oaths and vows and love and kinship? So why was He doing it now? Why did his brothers before him?
Slowly the other side came into view. The feeling was like his conscience waking from a dream. He was gaining a focus he hadn't known he lost with his rhythmic journey.
He was immediately showered in bright light. The noises once pleasant to his ears were unbelievably loud. Soon, he was being held by a woman he had never truly met but had grown up with anyway. His mother was smiling at him. Talking.
"Those thirty weeks must have seemed like thirty years little one. You and brothers are the joy of my life."
Then he awoke. No, he wasn't being born and his twins weren't joining him on his journey. But his conscienceness was awakening anyway. This time his father was there to greet him. The man he had never met, but recognized from old pictures.
"Dad?"
"Yes, my son." He spoke softly, like a sage from an old karate movie. "It is I who abandoned your pregnant mother despite my promises to return. With my wealth here I can pay for the sea not to flood the land. I can pay for the hurricanes not too form. I can pay for the volcanos not to explode. And now that you've joined us, we can save even more lives. Make more orphans happy. Bring more criminals to justice..."
"Mother misses you. I promised I'd return."
"You can't take it with you, you are willing to live with so much suffering on your hands?"
"But I'll tell them. It will be a net profit for humanity."
"No... they won't believe you, you'll just be part of the conspiracy to them. Stay."
He turned to leave. But he wasn't sure. His dad was right...
He'd be the hero. And his Mom would suffer for it.