Always Gets Better

Part I

It was a foggy night in Paris, the city of love, and a lonely girl stood at the top of the Eiffel Tower. She brushed a loose strand of brown hair off her face as she looked at her surroundings and sighed at the sight of all the happy couples, completely in love. The girl had travelled to Paris in the hope of finding true love, but after four long years she still hadn't found the man her heart desired and by now she had grown tired of waiting. She was alone. Always alone. She didn't have any friends at the library where she worked, and her family all lived far away. They had contacted her twice in those four years away from home. The first time was a few weeks after she had settled in, asking how she had found Paris so far; the second, notifying her that her parents had divorced and were now both leading separate lives. Neither appeared to want anything to do with her. She had tried to contact them numerous times after that day, but they never replied.

And now, here she was. Standing on one of the most iconic buildings in the world, the building that millions think of when love and romance are mentioned, and yet she was the most alone she had ever been in her life. How ironic. As she admired the amazing view set out before her, she realised how small and insignificant she was compared to the rest of the world. How if she were to simply cease to exist, nobody would really care. The library would just hire another person, and her family... Well, they never took any notice of her anyway. They wouldn't even know that she was gone until they were told by the officials, and even then they mightn't even remember her at all. Another wave of sadness came over her as she realised that she had no place in the world, that no-one in her life would truly miss her.

As she stood, contemplating all of this, she unconsciously moved closer to the edge of the tower, looking down at the ground so very far below. If someone fell from that height, they surely couldn't survive. Her thoughts flickered to death. Maybe that was the best thing for her. She had nothing to live for, and no-one to mourn her, so why not? A strange calmness came over her as she realised that death was what she wanted. What she craved. She smiled to herself as she stepped right up to the railing, pushing through the crowd of people. She was ready for this.

The girl tilted her head back to look up at the night sky one last time, shivering slightly. The fog had lifted and she was finally able to see the moon and the stars, twinkling and shining, a beautiful contrast to the dark sky. Maybe when she died, she would become a star. She didn't really believe in life after death, but it was nice to imagine that she would belong somewhere and make others happy. Yes, she decided, she would become a star and light some other person's way through all their rough times, just as the stars had done for her. Finally she would be able to do something worthwhile, to give back to society.

She slowly stood by the railing, ready to climb over and jump. Her heart began to race as she anticipated her fall. She was about to swing her leg over when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Slightly annoyed by this delay, she turned to see a concerned looking man. He was average height, only a couple centimetres taller than her, with short blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes that filled with care as he began to speak; stumbling over words until he gave up on French and just spoke in English.

"Come look at the stars."