“Stop!” I heard someone yell, but I ignored them. I heard footsteps moving quickly towards me, though it was barely audible over the rain which mixed with the salty tears flowing freely from my eyes. The man’s voice sounded again, closer this time, and I turned my head slightly, but the wind blew my hair into my face, obscuring my view of the stranger.

“Stay away from me!” I yelled, fearful that he would hurt me, just as everyone else in my life had. The wind shifted directions, blowing my hair away from my face, giving me a better view of the man. From what I could see through the near-darkness, he looked to be tall and lean, and his waist-length dark hair was swirling about him as violently as my own long black hair. By the light of the streetlamp that was a few feet away, his eyes looked black, almost darker than black if that was even possible. He had stopped as I soon as I could see him, and he was only a few feet away and was still inching closer.

“You don’t want to do this,” he said, barely audible over the sound of the storm.

“And who are you to say what I do or don’t want to do?!” I yelled, letting myself drop a little farther over the side of the rail of the bridge. The water below looked so inviting…if only I could just end it…

“I know this isn’t the answer you’re looking for,” he said. The man was now within arm’s reach. If only he would just reach out and…no. I shook my head and looked back to the waters below. No one could help me now. Only death could make it all stop…could make all the pain go away. I suddenly felt a slight pressure through the arm warmer around my wrist, and I quickly pulled my arm out of his grasp, but the motion caused me to lose my footing on the slick steel ledge, and as I fell, the arm that still held the railing twisted, and I screamed as pain lanced down my arm, forcing me to release my hold on the railing. I would have preferred to let go when I was ready, but had I waited that long, the man probably would’ve found a way to talk me out of it. I twisted around as I fell, and the last thing I saw was the man’s panicked face as he reached over the railing for me. I was afraid he would fall over too, but then I hit the water, causing me to experience physical pain that matched the intensity of my emotional pain, driving all thoughts from my mind, and then the water closed over me, and I closed my eyes as the storm dragged me to the bottom of the sea.