☆𝓑𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓢𝓴𝔂☆

The boy at the edge of the world didn't notice the sun dipping beneath the horizon. He didn't care for the way the sky shifted to a bruised shade of purple, or how the first stars dared to shimmer. Michael Hayes was too busy staring down at the rushing waters far below, the roaring river swallowing everything in its path.
He tightened his grip on the guardrail of the old steel bridge, his knuckles turning white. No one would miss him, he told himself. Not his teachers, who glanced over him like he was just another face in the crowd. Not his parents, who were too busy with their own failures to notice their son sinking. And certainly not his classmates, who never cared enough to even learn his name.
The weight of his loneliness pressed against his chest, a heavy, unyielding force that threatened to crush him. He closed his eyes, letting the roar of the river drown out the thoughts that screamed in his head.
But just as he took a shaky step forward, a voice shattered the silence.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Michael's eyes snapped open. He turned his head slowly, the world seeming to tilt beneath him. A boy stood at the other end of the bridge, his dark hair tousled by the wind. He was panting, like he'd run a mile just to get there, his wide brown eyes filled with something Michael couldn't place.
"I-I saw you walking out here," the boy said, his voice uneven but steady enough to carry across the space between them. "I don't know what's going on, but, don't. Please don't."
"Why do you care?" Michael asked, his voice hoarse.
The boy hesitated, taking a tentative step closer. "Because I've been there," he said quietly. "And if someone hadn't stopped me, I wouldn't be here right now."
For the first time in what felt like forever, Michael's heart stirred-not with hope, but with curiosity.
"Who are you?" he whispered.
The boy smiled faintly, his expression soft but determined. "I'm Kai. And I think you and I have more in common than you realize."