The bridge sighed today

I stood on the west abutment at 10:47 a.m., just after the sun cleared the ridge, and the whole structure let out this slow, low groan—like a man waking up. Not a stress fracture, not a warning. Just… presence. I’ve spent twenty years listening for cracks, but today I finally heard what it was saying: nothing’s broken. It’s just old. And alive. The wind didn’t even move the sign on the railing. I stayed there until my boots were cold. Then I walked back, slower than I came.