Leaning Forward and Letting Go

Leaning Forward and Letting Go

As I stood on the edge of the bridge, I considered my options. One: Jump. Two: Fall. Three: Walk away. Option two was just false hope so I really only had two options. Jump or walk away. If I jumped, everything would be over. There would be no more fear or sadness or anger, but there would also be no more happiness or joy or hope. If I walked away, I would have to face the torture and hardships of everyday life, and the people who said I couldn't make it, but I would also have the chance to find love and friendship and possibly a new look on life. The breeze pushed my hair off of my shoulders as I looked down into the water. It was a beautiful sight, gazing out into the distance. The seagulls squawked in the wind, sailboats drifted in the waves, the sun and clouds working in perfect harmony to make the day a truly wonderful one. One normally wouldn't think of such a day to be one's last but what difference do a few rays of sunshine and a couple clouds make on a depressed and potentially suicidal person's mindset? I leaned against the railing and took a few deep breaths. Life isn't going to get any easier; in fact, it will only get harder and harder the longer one lives it, so why prolong the inevitable? I looked over the railing again. There's no reason to wait any longer. I can do this. I slowly climbed up onto the railing and sat down, balancing myself. A gust of wind swooshed by me and I almost lost my balance. My heart sped up like a snare drum as a burst of adrenaline shot through my viens. I don't think I can do this. I'm sure there are other solutions to my problems out there, right? Not everyone with depression and anxiety kill themselves, they must get over it somehow. No. No, stop. You can't back out now. All you need to do is lean forward and let go. It's simple. Pretend you're jumping into a pool. I leaned forward and took a deep breath. One of my last I was guessing. The air smelled sweet, like sugar and cinnamon. A pretzel cart was slowly making it's way towards me, but it was alteast a quarter mile away. It would never get close enough in time to realise what I was doing. I closed my eyes, took one more breath, and let go.

I didn't know how to react. One moment everything was perfect; the next, a girl jumped off of the bridge like it was nothing. I couldn't have been more than 20 feet away but I couldn't stop her. I saw her sit on the railing but I thought she was just enjoying the view. Running over to where she fell, I could see the agitated cluster of waves that erupted with her entry. I was in shock. I was yelling, screaming for help. Somebody had to save her, I couldn't let her die. I started to rip off my clothes and prepared to jump in after her but hands grabbed my shoulders and arms and pulled me back. She's gone, there's nothing you can do. That's what they kept telling me. This poor, innocent young girl just jumped off the bridge and all we could do was stand there in awe. The police arrived soon after to question us but I was the only one who saw her jump. I told them that she looked perfectly fine one moment and then she had dissapeared off the bridge the next. All I wanted to do was go home. After that moment, I felt all my happiness drain out of me and I was lost. Nothing could have prepared me for the emptiness that followed. A young girl that I had never seen before in my entire life had just changed the course of my life forever by leaning forward and letting go. Nothing complicated, just simply letting go.

We get many suicide cases in our department because of our close proximity to the Golden Gate Bridge. Just last year, there were over 35 of them; most jumped to the side facing San Fransisco Bay and Alcatraz. When we got the call saying a young girl had just jumped, we were less than suprised. It had been over 3 months since the last jumper and we knew the grace period would end soon enough. It's very sad when the purposeful death of a human being becomes the routine work for others. When we got to the bridge, there was a crowd of people surrounding the assumed jump site. One man had apparently tried to jump in after her but the surrounding crowd had stopped him.

Author's Note

It's not finished, this is just the begining. The police report isn't even close to being done but oh well...

Reviews

[DreamOn2014]

This was a good peace... Thank you for sharing. A very emotional piece.

[Takoda Sorvillo]

Absolutely wonderful! Of course the story not the premise of it... But wonderful nonetheless!

9.9/10

[Stephen]

Brilliant! I really haven't read such a creative piece of art before in my life...but today am really honoured to read this story so I want to give you "$tanding Ovation" for penning down such an inspiring n innovating piece of your artistry.

Your the best writer I have ever seen in my entire life indeed.you speak from the heart so write with the heart. Everything you do just comes right from the depth of your beautiful scented heart.

With the deepest gratitude...I wish you thank for writings n sharing this inspiring story with readers. Thanks. The world really needs such a writer you are. Your talent is appreciable to all readers n heyy...I wish you much luck, "May you get published soon!"

All the best! :)

Keep writing n heyy...Don't stop writing n posting beautiful stuffs. your stuffs have been much inspirational to me. They all inspire me with the fragrances of your scented words.

I hope to read some of your more creative stuffs in a day.