It has never been easy to be a teenager. Not in the 1980s, not in the 2000s, and definitely not now. I wish I could tell her why not to do it. I play that night in my head on repeat... over and over and over and over... That night...
I was driving home from having dinner with my parents, yelling at the top of my lungs to the radio as I raced down the highway. My phone rang in my cup holder, pausing my music on the car's stereo.
"Hello?" I answered, still catching my breath from my singing.
"Have you seen ----? She didn't come home tonight..." It was my best friend's mom, our families were very close so this wasn't abnormal to be looking for each other this way.
"Oh, I haven't. I can call her and find out for you, Mrs. Mante." I responded cooly before we said our goodbyes and I quickly switched to calling ----. The phone rang a few times before she picked up.
"Dahlia." Her voice was weak, which was the first signal that began the alarm in my head, "I'm so tired... I just want to be done with all of this. I'm not like you... I'm not strong... I can't..." Her sobs came through the speakers on my car. My ears were flooded with the pained cries of my best friend.
"----, where are you...? I'll come get you... Please, don't do anything stupid..."
My breathing became labored, my heart was in my throat as I pleaded for her to wait for me. She didn't respond, but with her silence, I was able to hear the roar of the river.
"You're at the bridge? Don't do anything, I'm coming, ----. I'm coming... Please, wait for me!" I sped up, knowing I had 5 minutes before I would be at the bridge. That was our bridge. We spent hours there as kids... our safe space.
She began her monologue as I drove, the last words I ever heard of her, "I have always wished to be normal... You made it easier to not be normal, Dahlia... But I just can't do it anymore... You will do so much in life, I can't bear to hold you back any longer..."
"No, no, ----, you have never held me back! You make me strong-"
"Enough! I've seen you choose me over everything! You lost a boyfriend for me, your GPA for me, and you chose the lower-ranking college because of me! It's your time to show everyone what you can do..."
"----, please!" As if on queue, it began to rain as the first tears ran down my cheeks. My throat burned. My heart ached. I could see the bridge in the distance... and her shadowy figure. It was almost disappearing in the heavy rain, but I could see her and I knew that I didn't have long.
"----!" I cried, trying to make it in time.
"I love you, Dahlia." Her last words.
I watched her plummet off the bridge. My screams echoed through the rain as I threw myself out of the car, running to where I had last seen her body.
"----!" I sobbed, "No... No..."
If I had only been faster that night. If I had only been with her instead of my family. She was the last person I ever expected to take their life. She was a bright, loving light in this darkness of being a teenager. I never even knew that she thought of herself that way, much less was suicidal. They found me at the bridge after a few hours... I was soaked through, but I couldn't feel any of it. I wasn't cold. I wasn't tired. I was just... there. Waiting for her to walk back up the bridge and laugh with me. I don't remember how I got home, I just remember waking up the next morning.
I was in complete denial at that moment. I texted her, smiling at my phone, telling her about the terrifying nightmare I had that night... but she never answered. I continued to text her for a long time, refusing to believe what I had seen that night.
Months passed. I began to slowly understand what had happened that night. I slowly stopped texting her, trying to slowly let her soul go to rest. I wish I could say that I was able to move on, but then a week before college... Everything returned.
"Dahlia, have you bought all of your books, yet?" Mom called from down the hallway, half of her body was hanging in the washing machine as she struggled to move the wet clothes into the dryer.
"Yeah, Mom." I called back, sitting on the floor of my room. "I'm going to clean out under my bed, okay?"
"Yeah. Just don't forget to do your laundry! You're lucky you're living at home this semester, you've still got your mama to help you out." She smiled at me as she passed my doorway, "Love you, sweetheart."
"Love you, too, Mom." I smiled at her before sticking my head under my bed to begin pulling out various objects. Shoes, blankets, a few candy wrappers, a shirt that I thought I lost, and- oh. The box. The pink, sparkly, rhinestone-covered box was ---- and my friendship capsule, as we called it. I slowly lifted the lid, smiling at the goofy art projects and pictures that we had placed inside. I glanced over at the lid, noticing something taped to the bottom of it.
I slowly removed the tape and pushed the box away, opening the small sheet of notebook paper slowly. My hands were shaking slightly, I couldn't remember the last time I opened the box-- much less us adding a piece of notebook paper...
A heavy swallow before I began to read.
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Welcome to Your Weeping Willow. I am Akara Shiota and I want you to know that I am so excited to be publishing another work on Wattpad. This story, in particular, is one that I hope to use as a way to encourage those going through a hard time to push on and strive for success. However, because of the basis of this story, it will have many dark themes-- many of which I am advocating against. Such as drinking, suicide, etc. Friendly reminder that I love you all and that there's always help if you need it!
- Akara Shiota <3
w/c - 1076 words
time taken - 1 hr 30 min
PSA - the best friend remains nameless on purpose :)
YOU ARE READING
Your Weeping Willow
Teen Fiction"I have always wished to be normal." Her words rang in my ears as I drove faster in the thundering rain. I had to get there in time. I had to... I had to... I saw her figure as soon as I approached the bridge. Before I could even open my door, I wat...
