Short Stories!

Don't Jump, Please....

It was a cold, damp, frosty, night. I shivered as I walked along the sidewalk towards my destination. I was going to my father's house for the night, (I usually stay with the orphanage because they are least nicer than my dad), because he wanted me to be there for his birthday. All I had to do was take a right on this road, cross the bridge, and get to his house. His delightful scars he leaves me with really do fill me with joy. (That was sarcasm.) As I turn the corner I see a figure standing on the edge of the bridge. It's a tall bridge right over a chasm, so why would the figure do this. The street lamps reflect off the figure and I can see its a boy my age. He is standing straight and looking into the chasm bellow while crying. That's when I realize what is happening. I start to run towards the boy. He hears my shoes aginst the pavement and looks at me with a sideways glance. He looks ready to jump, ready to be over with it all. 

"Don't jump, Please......" I yell at him as I make my way onto the bridge.

It's a very wide and sturdy bridge that goes over the chasm, almost one mile long. The boy is looking at me know, he's sniffling and trying to hold in his tears. He is wearing an oversized black coat, ripped jeans, and filthy shoes. 

"Please leave me alone, its better this way, without me here to bother everyone and screw up everything," He says and turns away from me and towards the chasm. 

His voice was hoarse and choked as if he way trying not to cry. He turned away from me so I couldn't see his tears, but I still heard them. My father is going to kill me if I don't get to his house in the next five minutes, but to save this boys life, I don't care. 

"Don't jump, please........ I can't have you end up like my mother who did the same thing" I say quietly while trying to hold in tears. 

I am almost a few feet away from him now. He is silent before speaking, the silence kills me because this is the same thing my mother did. She jumped because she couldn't bear life, (And my dad) any longer. I felt that maybe by telling him about my mother, he would be able to relate and I could somehow get him off the ledge. 

"Why do you even care so much about me anyway?" He yells at me with anger and tension trapped in his voice, "Do you think that by giving back to the cops that you'll get a reward? New flash! My parents are both dead, they got murdered right in front of me, unless you have a good reason to stay, leave, I can't deal with the pain"

I am standing right next to him know, only two feet between us. His face is angry and confused. Who knew a thirteen-year-old could have so much loss in their life. If he jumps right now, I would be able to at least grab his ankles and pull him to safety.

"I care because every human deserves to live a full and fulfilling life, I will not leave this spot until you step down from there, if you jump, I'll catch your ankles and save you, don't jump, please......" I say softly to him. 

He starts to sob again, "Whats the point of living if there is nothing to live for, both my parents are dead, plus the cops know I ran away from the orphanage" 

"Please, I live mostly at an orphanage as well, I know it can be hard sometimes, and living just doesn't seem worth it, but trust me, please don't jump, it will solve nothing," I say to him. 

He looks at the chasm with tears running down his cheeks. His life must be hard, I mean his parents got murdered right in front of him!! I will talk about his parents if he doesn't come down here soon, people always get emotional over their parents, he especially will. 

"No, just leave me alone to die in peace, It will remove the pain, the hurt, the want, the guilt, the struggle, all of it will disappear when I do!" He shouts at me with his choked voice. 

That's it, I am pulling out the parent card. 

"Is this what your parents would have wanted?" I asked him.

He turns around to face me, he could easily take a step backward and die. I will not let that happen. He starts to cry even harder and sits down on the ledge. He puts his hands on his face and sobs. I place my arm gently on his shoulder. 

"I have an idea, I don't want to go back to my father, and you want to die, how about we band together and get out of the state somehow, and away from everything that's wrong here," I say my voice strained and about to cry. 

He looks at me with hope in his eyes and stops crying. He sniffles and nods his head.

"Sure I'll jump states with you, it will at least get my mind off things, it's not like I have anything better to do anyway, we totally can do this, just two thirteen-year-olds skipping states, totally," He says and I smile.

Then I hear the noise of police cars wailing. The boy looks at me with an unconfident smile. 

"Let's do this," He says quietly as we run towards the other side of the bridge. 

"So," I say as we run as fast as our feet can take us, "Whats your name?"

"Jeremiah Truak," He says with a huff, "Whats yours?"

"Amelia Belair," I say quickly, "Now let's get out of this town"