Saviour

Stranger On The Bridge

It was late evening when Jeffrey Dean Morgan was driving his motorcycle home from filming. The sun was just beginning to set and the sky was a beautiful mix of orange and pink. As his bike roared across a large bridge just outside of town something caught his attention in the corner of his eye, making him do a double take. When he realised what it was he slammed on the brakes, his bike skidding to a stop and he kicked down the stand as he turned off the engine. Practically leaping from his bike he hurried towards the edge of the bridge.

"Ma'am? Are- are you okay?" He asked as he approached the young woman who was perched on the outside of the railing, her hands barely holding on.

"No..." came a quiet cry. He could see the silent sobs wracking her body as she cried and the sight damn near broke his heart in two. What could have happened to make this woman feel so awful that she was contemplating sailing head first off a bridge into the dark watery abyss below?

"Do you wanna climb back over the railing?" He suggested hopefully as he inched a little closer.

"No..." came another sob.

"Okay... that's okay. You don't have to. You wanna talk about what's upsetting you?" He asked and she just shook her head.

"Please just keep driving" she begged, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I can't do that" he sighed as he stepped a little closer again. She was almost within arms reach now. "C'mon... how about you climb back over here. You don't wanna do this".

"You don't know what I want. You don't know me. I want to die" she sobbed.

"You're right. I don't know you. But I'd like to know you. And I can't do that if you jump. Please..." he begged.

"I can't do it any more" she cried.

"Can't do what?" He asked, determined to keep her talking as he inched closer still.

"Live with this pain".

"Please let me help you".

"You can't".

"Why not?" He asked.

"I'm too broken"

"I don't believe that".

"I have nothing to live for anymore. I have no one" the young woman cried.

"You have me... I'm here right now. I'm here, begging you not to do this" he told her sincerely.

"We don't even know eachother. Why do you care?"

"Because in this world, people don't care enough about eachother. I believe in caring for everyone. When someone is down, you give them a hand and you pick them up off the ground. Kindness costs nothing, unfortunately a lot of people seem to have forgotten that. I'm Jeff by the way".

"Ally" she replied quietly to the man she still hadn't actually looked at. She knew that if she did, it would make it a lot harder to say no to his request.

"Pleasure to meet you Ally. Now what do you say... you wanna climb back over now?" He asked.

"I don't know... I just... I can't... it hurts so much-" she cried as tears fell slowly down her face and she struggled to breathe properly as her emotions overwhelmed her.

Seizing the opportunity Jeffrey took one last step forward and grasped her forearm in his large hand. "Please... I don't want you to do this" he told her, and it was as if his words and actions opened up a flood gate. Her tears streamed down her face as she choked out sobs, her hands loosening their grip on the railing. Without a second thought Jeffrey wrapped one arm around her waist and the other across the top of her chest as he held her to himself keeping her from falling off the bridge. "Just breathe Ally" he whispered gently. "Take deep breaths Sweetheart. Everything is gonna be okay" he reassured her, his voice deep and soothing.