Friday, July 21, 1941. River Mersey.

The waves danced, and the sun was bright. The Grand Opening had arrived. Hundreds of thousands of all ages and backgrounds came to see it with their own eyes.

A little boy came with his family “Wow Dad,” he said, "Do you see how tall it is?”

“It’s not just tall,” his father added. “This is a breakthrough, they spent twenty years building this, this is a crazy invention.”

“Do they have this in London?”

“No my boy, this doesn’t exist in the whole world”

“Why is there such a big arch above the street?” continued the boy.

The father chuckled and looked down at the boy’s curious face “That’s how the bridge stands. Otherwise it would fall. Let’s go get something to eat.”

The main engineer, Tod, was being interviewed by the press about the schedule of the precision.

Tod was dressed in a three-piece suit, with shiny leather shoes.

“First we will hear from Her Majesty the Queen,” said Tod, “then we will cut the ribbon and the thousands of people who came out today will parade across the bridge. The parade will be led by the royal band and officials.”

“Today we have a surprise,” continued Tod. “ The brand new British Rail Train 4000 will ride across the bridge at 145 km/h. This is the first bridge in the world strong enough to have a train ride on it.”

A reporter asked “How much did this bridge cost?” “Three and a half million euro,” replied Tod “the most expensive project ever done in all of Europe”

“That’s it for now” finished Tod, as he rushed off with his team.

Little shops and stands filled the landscape near the bridge. Selling food and goods to all those who wished.

The lemonade stand was the most populated. It had a large handwritten sign above it “The Life of the Town Lemonade". The line stretched long as a young man stood at the front gently pouring each cup.

An older man reached the counter and purchased a cup of lemonade with ice. “Your lemonade is the talk of town, " said the man "look how long the line is. I love your lemonade. I purchase it every time I pass by your stand in downtown Liverpool. Why don’t you scale up your business and purchase a proper store?”

The young man smiled, “I live a simple life, I live alone, this is enough for me.”

Loud trumpet sounds pierced the air, everyone turned towards the big stage. The stage was on the left of the bridge.

In front of the bridge were hundreds of rows of chairs, every chair was full, many people stood on the side. 

The crowd fell silent as the Queen began to speak.

“Many have built bridges, but none have lasted as long as this will. I have personally met with the engineers and I am deeply impressed by the nuanced depth that went into this. This is a bridge of brilliance and its three hundred and sixty one glorious yards will shine England's greatness onto the world.”

“It’s so beautiful to see all the thousands of citizens of England that came out here. Following the ribbon cutting all of you will parade on this bridge, and together we will celebrate the greatest project in history.”

The ribbon was made from an expensive fabric. It stretched across the wide bridge.

Tod cut the ribbon and everyone began to walk across the bridge, many children ran in the front.

Many engineers came from all over the world, they walked slowly as they examined the structure.

“How did they build this?” one engineer from Germany expressed. “This bridge is three hundred feet above the water. Notice the detail, there must be thousands of these small brackets.” 

“They are tens of years ahead of us,” said an engineer from France, “I couldn’t even dream that this would exist in my lifetime,” a six-lane bridge, with lanes for trains. This bridge can hold twenty-two million pounds, that’s ten times the amount any bridge can hold in the world. Tod must be a genius!”

Between the loud crowd one man walked alone, quietly and slowly. It was the young man from the lemonade stand. He looked up and down, examined every detail like he was studying a map for a mission. He rubbed his fingers against the small steel brackets and screws. He tugged on every wire, stared at every bracket. 

Before he knew it he was the last in the large crowd.  He was lost in the bridge.

The other side of the bridge had a twenty-foot-tall stage. The royal band played joyous music as the children sang and danced.

Tod climbed the large staircase and approached the podium. The crowd stood from their seats and clapped strongly. This was the man who did it all. 

“Everyone continue standing,” said Tod as he held a large bell in his hand. “I will ring this bell, and the brand new British Rail Train 4000 will come riding over the bridge. In the train is the royal family, which is riding this train for its very first ride”

The crowd awaited in anticipation. The reporters stood ready with their cameras to get the best shot. Tod reached his hand for the bell, when he realized a big commotion below.

Near the steps to the stage the police were fighting with someone, he pushed them fearlessly and he screamed something no one heard. He passed them all, as they chased him up the stairs to the stage. The police were filled with fear.

It was the young man from the lemonade stand. 

He pushed past Tod, and grabbed the mic.  “Don’t bring the train, I promise you the bridge will fall! It won’t make it more than fifty yards” 

Right then he was tackled by police and dragged off the stage, the scene was over. 

“Sorry for that,” said Tod, “that man is a fool. He wasn’t even born when I started building this bridge, silly him.” The crowd laughed. 

Tod rang the loud bell, and from the other side the train blew its horn as the train moved quickly onto the bridge. The crowd cheered. This was the pride of England.

After two quick seconds the bridge began to sway back and forth. 

“Is that supposed to happen?” asked a boy to his friend.

“Probably, these people don’t make mistakes.” Then he said “On second thought, this is looking very scary”.

People in the crowd began to scream and the bridge began to make loud sounds as it moved right and left like a flag in the wind.

Tod ran off the stage, he shivered like no man has ever shivered.

“How can this be happening!?” he thought. I followed the blueprints perfectly, I studied them for years!”

Then came the loudest sound in the world. 

CRASH!

BOOM! 

The five hundred foot bridge came crashing down, toppling into the water, with the royal family on it. The train didn’t pass the fifty yard line.

Families ran for their life as reporters ran closer to snap another shot. 

The royal doctor was on site. “Take the speed boats directly in to save the royal family. “ he shouted “I’m going to find Tod to see if there’s anything he knows that can help us.” Tod was nowhere to be found.

Within seconds the press attacked the young man who knew the truth before it happened. Hundreds of people were crowding around him.

“What’s your name, and who are you?” screamed the press.

“My name is Berle, and I run a lemonade stand.”