Chapter 2: city lights
A few years later.
May was a quiet girl, never speaking to anyone unless needed. It had always been like that ever since she was a child and it didn't plan to change.
At least not until the night on the bridge.
She had gone there to clear her head that night—it had always been the place she went when she needed to be alone. The city lights illuminated the dark night sky and May wondered how something could be so beautiful.
That was when she heard it, footsteps on the bridge. Usually, no one would be there—it was too late for anyone to be there anyway—so she turned around to see who it was. It seemed like a boy, but she couldn't quite tell since he had a hood covering his head. She chose to look away and mind her own business.
It wasn't until he stopped a few feet beside her that he spoke. "How beautiful," the boy mumbled, "those city lights over there." May nodded at the stranger's words.
"I wonder," he continued, his voice barely audible, "how they managed to make something so beautiful." She continued to listen to his words without saying anything. Even though he was a stranger, it was nice to look at the view with someone else.
He sounds like a kid, May thought at some point. Just like me. "It is pretty," she said quietly once the boy had stopped talking. "Prettier than it should be."
They were quiet, none of them daring to say a word and break their silence. They were comfortable like that, staring at the view of the city before them with admiration in their eyes.
It was past midnight when May finally decided to leave the bridge and the city behind, along with the boy. She gave him a small nod—though he didn't notice, too mesmerized by the view—and turned around to walk away. When she turned around to look at the view one last time, she saw something she thought she'd never witness.
It was the boy, and he was climbing onto the railing of the bridge. Her eyes widened and she ran towards him.
Just as he was about to let himself fall into the waters reflecting the view of the city, May grabbed his wrist and pulled the boy back, making both of them fall back.
She rolled over and sat up, breathing heavily. "Are you crazy?!" she yelled, not caring if anyone heard her. "Do you want to die?!"
"Yes."
It was silent as the boy sat up, his black hood falling and revealing his beaten up face and blue hair. "I've always wanted to die in front of something beautiful," he said, looking May in the eyes. He was so serious, it scared her. "Today was my chance. You took it from me."
May sighed. "You don't have to die," she said to the stranger. "There are other ways to fix a problem."
"None of them will bring her back." The boy looked away and back at the city. "I just wanted to see her once again, before I close my eyes forever."
What's he going on about? She stood up and walked towards him, holding her hand out for him to take. "Suicide isn't the answer to everything," she said softly, as if she were talking to a child. He turned towards her and stared at her hand.
"How would you know?" he asked. She smiled.
"Because I've tried. Trust me, it won't work."
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As much as May wanted to forget about that night, she couldn't help but let her thoughts wander back to it. She remembered the way the boy had looked at her, his eyes void of any emotion. It was like staring at the dead—it brought back memories she didn't want to relive.
She thought that, that would be the last time she would ever see him. She was positive that after that night, he had already taken the chance and killed himself—but oh, was she wrong.
As she turned the corner into an alleyway, someone had bumped into her shoulder, causing her to stumble back. The person stopped walking and stared at May. His eyes slightly widened and the girl immediately recognized him.
"S-Sorry," he said, keeping his head low. He turned around and started walking away when May followed and called after him.
"Wait," she said, grabbing onto his arm. She was surprised to see him, but happy that he hadn't gone on with his plan. The boy turned around.
"What?" he asked, pulling his hood down. There was no use for him to hide his identity anymore now that she had recognized him.
May offered him a small smile. "Follow me."
+++
She never thought she'd end up sitting outside of a convenience store eating ramen with a stranger. In fact, she never thought she'd do it with anyone.
May watched the boy eat it slowly, his eyes wandering around. "Thanks," he said with a small smile. "People don't usually do things for… well, for me."
"I just wanted to know if you were okay," May said. "You are okay, right?"
The boy's smile slowly turned into a grin. "I am everything but okay," he said. He looked down at his cup or ramen and sighed. "But I appreciate you asking."
May frowned. She'd been through many things and she knew he wasn't okay, but she didn't expect him to be so honest about it. "What's your name?" she asked, setting her cup of coffee on the ground beside her.
"Why?" he asked. "I don't give my name out to strangers. Plus, it's not like we'll meet again after this, so there's no point."
"I'd like to think we will meet again," she said with a small smile. "It'd be nice, to see that you haven't given up yet." He looked at her with glossy eyes. She held her hand out, "I'm May," she said.
He stared at her hand, hesitant to take it. He sighed again, "Jiu," he said. May's smile grew.
The two sat in silence, he ate his ramen and she drank her coffee. It wasn't as awkward as Jiu had thought it would be, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either.
"Why did you stop me?" he suddenly asked, staring straight ahead. He knew that if he looked her in the eyes and said those words, he would say something he didn't want her to know. "Why did you have to turn around and stop me?"
May didn't have an exact answer to his question. "It was the most that I could to at the moment," she said quietly. "I couldn't just watch you jump off that bridge, even if you are a stranger to me."
"Everyone watches," Jiu said, "and no one does anything." He finally turned towards her and looked at her. "That's how it's always been—you watch, but you never do anything about it because you don't care. And yet, you stopped me—how could you possibly care about someone you had just met?"
"Would you have stopped me if I were going to jump?" May asked.
"You can't die before me," he said with a small laugh. "You don't look like the kind of person that would have the guts to jump."
She watched him laugh and smile before his face became serious again. What a beautiful smile, she thought, staring at him. Suddenly, she had an idea.
"Will you let me help you?" she asked, crossing her legs on the pavement.
"With what?" Jiu spat. He didn't need help, he was sure of that. Why would she help him anyway—what could she help him with anyway?
"I want to help you live," she said.
Jiu was quiet. She can't help me live. She can't change my mind. She's just a stranger. He can't let her do something that even he can't do.
But despite his thoughts, he couldn't help but sigh and say, "Okay," in a quiet voice. He watched her look away with a smile on her face.
She couldn't possibly change his mind, could she?
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
dyphaegrayi
dyphaegrayi to cry is to be sad.
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