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It was fall and the night was chilly, especially with the cool sea wind coming up and onto the bridge. There were a few scattered streetlights on the bridge, with no people and no cars anywhere. It was basically deserted, since it was nearly two in the morning.
It was the perfect spot. For what? To jump.
She walked for a few hours, leaving her jacket behind, it was chilly but that wouldn’t matter for long.
The stars looked beautiful that night. So beautiful. A bittersweet smile made its way onto her paling lips.
Still no amount of stars that she wished on saved her. It could never- no- would never. She gave up on that years ago.
As she did the cranes.
And the wishing bones.
And the dandelions.
The bridge was near, as the cold breeze made the air even chillier. The cold air pricked her as she breathed in, and small puffs of warm smoke made her lips warmer for only a second when she breathed out.
The sound of crashing waves made her calmer. It solidified her. She was here, and she was finally going to do it.
She was gonna be free.
There would be no one to stop her. And even if there was, it would be all the more reason to get it done quicker, to jump, to let go of everything and everyone.
To be free of the world that set out to make each day more miserable and dreary than the last.
To end it all herself, to not give whatever cruel god there was out there the right to naturally take her life away.
So she stepped over the bars, one foot after the other, and held onto the bars, carefully twisting herself to face the horizon.
First she looked out to the sea. It was dark, waves tumbling and crashing over one another. The one thing making the water less dark was the moon. So big, and bright, and full, shedding light onto the fighting waves. It would be freezing, no doubt.
It would be familiar, but so different from everything she ever knew.
It was dangerous, it would drag her under, it would end it all. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath of the salty water.
She opened her eyes again and looked at the sky. There were stars, so many stars.
With a few tears in her eyes she let go.
Or at least she tried.
But before she could she heard a voice call out.
“Live.”
The voice was so soft, so familiar, barely making it to her ears, but it did. And suddenly it was the only word that echoed around in her mind.
She turned around, and she saw a lady that looked so familiar to her, but she didn’t know why.
She was taller than her by a few inches, but still pretty short. With understanding brown eyes that had wrinkles that showed she had smiled and laughed like nothing mattered throughout her life. Gray and white hair, short with waves and curls.
The lady reached out her small wrinkled hands.
She was so close to doing it. She didn’t know why she couldn’t bring herself to not let go of the railing, to not drop into the sea as soon as she heard that one word.
But she didn’t.
She took the old lady’s wrinkled hands, going back to the other side of the railing and onto the bridge.
The old lady silently took off her coat, and gave it to her.
The old lady then continued to walk. But when she turned around to thank the old lady, the old lady was suddenly not there anymore.
But that one word made her decide, yes she would live.
And live she did.
She grew old, never getting rid of the coat, and she smiled and laughed like she never thought she would be able to.
One day, she went back to that bridge, old and frail, with the old lady’s coat wrapped around her keeping her warm on that chilly night.
She noticed a little girl with long brown waves and curls on the ledge looking out to sea without a coat.
And all she could say was one word:
“Live.”