Over the edge

The clouds were dark and foreboding. The air was light and chilly. A slight breeze was rustling all the leaves below. He walks, slowly, away from the door. He could see the whole city around him. The ever bustling city. He swivels on his heels to look around. Everywhere he looked it was just the same.

The lights were just coming on as he slowly walked towards the edge. The skyline was dark and edgy until one by one by the soft glow of lights from far away drove the darkness away. He leaned forward on the wall, the only thing keeping him from the ground. The streets were filled with people who seemed like ants racing about. Cars stacked on the road meticulously leaving no space between them. The cacophony was unbearable; the honking, the sound of footsteps, cellphones ringing, people talking. It created a very claustrophobic environment.

He removes his shoes and starts to take off his clothes. He folds his clothes and stacks them on top of his shoes. He takes off his watch and places it neatly beside his belongings. He takes a deep breath and climbs onto the ledge.

Her feet were killing her. Her shoes were not made for running so, she stops to take them off. She was out of breath and her hands were shaking. She resumes to run and leaving her shoes on the sidewalk. Her long black hair flowing in the wind as she ran with purpose. Her face was contorted with pain and misery. Her mascara had run a long way down her face.

She saw a small crowd looking towards the roof of the building. They were pointing at a small dark figure right on the top of the building. Fighting her tears, she made her way through the crowd towards the door. Once inside, she found that the elevator wasn’t working. She bolted to the fire escape without a moment’s hesitation just hoping that it wasn’t too late.

He was looking down on the crowd with equal curiosity. The clouds had cleared out and made way for the moon. It was full and larger than ever before. The moonlight struck his body giving it a silhouette in the dark starry night. He takes a moment to admire all that the world has to offer him because he knows that the moment the pain ends is near. He slowly starts rocking in his place, from his heel to his toes. He closes his eyes and spreads his arms as he realises that this is the end.

The door bursts wide open and she runs onto the roof. He stops moving and opens his eyes. He turns around and sees her standing there. Barefoot and breathless, she struggled to speak as he stood there watching her from the ledge. She tries to compose herself but the tears start flowing again.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t do this!”

He places his finger on his lips and asks her to stay quiet. His face had a sad magnanimous smile. He just stood there watching her cry, saying nothing. Just smiling.

He then starts to hum softly, to himself. Gradually the humming grew loud enough to be legible. She stopped crying. He was humming one of her favourite songs, a song she used to listen to when she used to be down. The humming then turned to singing.

His voice was low. The pain was evident on his voice. Strained and battered, his voice might have been but it was effortless.

“Don’t feel bad for me
I want you to know
Deep in the cell of my heart
I really want to go”

She fell to her knees. The wind had picked up and brought with it the severity of the long winter ahead. Her hair was being swept away violently by the wind but she didn’t care. Her eyes were transfixed on him. She couldn’t say a word. Silent tears kept flowing.

“There is another world
There is a better world
Well, there must be
Well, there must be…”

She wipes the tears from her face. She looks at him, struggling to speak. She finally composes herself.

“I love you”

“…Well, there must be
Well…
Bye”

He rocks back and commences his descent. Arms spread out and eyes wide open. He couldn’t hear much, as the air was getting louder with each moment that passed. He thought he heard a muffled scream from the roof. He watched the moon as it kept going further away from him. His mind was blank and he didn’t have any nostalgic trip through his memory. He just kept watching the night sky.

The bright white moonlight was abruptly cut short with absolute darkness.

Image Courtesy: Navid Baraty – Intersection | NYC : http://on.be.net/SbAVlY