Waffle's Short Story Collection

The Girl On the Roof

My footsteps echoed through the empty stairwell at a rhythmic pace similar to the dull beating of my heartbeat. I expected it to be thumping with anxiety however it was a steady and tranquil beat that steadied my breathing as I opened the door to the rooftop. The afternoon sky was a bright blue and the sun smiled upon me with its gentle rays of warmth as a pleasant breeze embraced me from behind. I smiled as I took a deep breath and slipped off my shoes but my eyes caught sight of a girl with bright blue hair standing off the edge of the rooftop. Beside her were her shoes with a note tucked beneath them, a familiar sight.

"Hey!" I shouted involuntarily, "Don't do it!"

I was unsure of why I shouted out to her and being entirely honest I was rather upset that someone else had gotten here before me. It mattered not to me what this girl did since our fates were both the same yet something within forced me to make a desperate attempt at saving her.

"You know people like me aren't all that uncommon," her voice was but a whisper yet it carried like a shout in the silence following my shout. "We think that we have a chance at things then they go and tell us we never did or that they never actually wanted to be with us."

I let my anger take control as I yelled out my frustrations to the girl who had shared her woes despite me never asking for them, "Are you kidding me?! You got here before me over a stupid date? You're upset because you can't have what you wanted or that it didn't work out the way you hoped?"

I watched as tears began to escape her eyes while she silently nodded. "What else am I supposed to do?"

"You're lucky they haven't been taken from you!" I relented as the image of a figure whose face I could no longer remember smirked back at me while they walked away underneath an umbrella that should have been shared with me.

"Yeah, you're right," she wiped the tears away from her eyes and pulled herself back over the railing, "thank you." I could watch in silence as she disappeared into the stairwell with myself following shortly afterwards.

"Alright today's the day!" I thought as I set my note underneath my shoes and began to climb over the rail yet I was once more interrupted, this time by the faint sound of crying coming from behind the stairwell. "Don't go over there."

I let my curiosity get the better of myself and found a girl I recognized in the classroom next to mine. She was short and stubby in a class full of cheerleaders and student athletes, and from the smeared ink on the back of her uniform's blouse I could already guess what was happening to her. Despite my reasons for being on the roof being the exact same as hers I still found myself calling out to her. "You know it's not safe to sit there right?"

"I can't fit in no matter how I try," she sobbed, "they keep bullying me and I can't take it anymore! No one accepts me!"

"You're pretty idiotic you know. Who cares what they think about you, you're still loved at home and there's always someone waiting for you with open arms, isn't there?" I sighed as the cacophony of screaming and the slamming of doors echoed through my mind.

"I guess I am pretty stupid," she giggled before giving me a quick hug, "I'm pretty hungry so I think I'll head home."

For nearly two weeks I always found myself interrupted by another girl with a new set of woes. An honor student who could no longer stand the pressure of her family. An orchestra student who had no talent for her instrument but still wanted to play. A lonely girl who had lost all of her friends because she drove them away in the aftermath of a misunderstanding. A girl was left by herself after being covered in bruises for being friends with one of the popular boys. A girl who had been removed from her club and alienated for being attracted to women. A girl who had been taken advantage of by her friends and took the fall for them when she was innocent. I lost count of how many worries and problems I had listened to during my trips to the rooftop from the various girls that appeared before me. Yet here I was still unable to complete my final act as a human being and with no one who would listen to my tale before I disappeared. Without a single way to release all the pain I had accumulated through my short life on this god forsaken earth.

Yet for the first time I found a girl wearing a turquoise jacket with the same problems as me. Even without her telling me I could tell by her emotionless expression and eyes devoid of life that this was someone I could not turn away.

"I just want it to stop," her voice was dry and monotone, cutting through me like the knife that had run over our wrists at some point or another.

For the first time since I had made my trips to the roof I broke down into tears and screamed something that even I did not believe in the slightest, "Please don't do it! Please!"

"I guess it's not my day," she sighed and took pity on me as she disappeared from my sight with the soft click of the door closing behind her.

Today I stood on the roof alone with my shoes off. With a grateful sigh I climbed over the railing and took in my last deep breath of the radiant sunshine that smiled at my departure. The wind encouraged me to fall into its embrace and let it guide me to eternal rest. This girl with bright blue hair, who stood short and stubby, took off her turquoise jacket and folded it neatly beside her shoes. Finally I could be free.

"Please don't jump!"