"Let's do pink! Pink everywhere but like a shimmery pink."
"Or we could do red," Xavier argued.
"Red is really bright," I said.
"So is shimmery pink," he said.
I crossed my arms over my chest, "If we pick red then I want a maroon red."
"Okay, and then we can have like a white to go along with it and-"
My eyes glanced around as I lost focus of what he was saying. I kept looking along it only to be surprised by the sight of a man standing on the edge looking out into the water. I completely froze before I started running towards where he was standing.
"Where are you going?" Xavier yelled.
I kept running until I finally reached the spot where he was standing. "Hey, what are you doing?" I asked out of breath.
He was rocking back and forth, shifting his weight from one leg to another. He looked towards me before looking back at the water.
"You don't want to do that," I said, "it's approximately a 150 foot drop. Please get off."
"N-n-n-no..."
"I assure you that whatever is wrong, can get better. This is not a solution," I yelled, my voice turning shaky either from the loss of air or from the fear that I had of him jumping. My heart was racing to get out of my chest. The wind blew my hair back and I feared that with a gust he would fall forward.
"Please don't do this," I repeated, "get down from there."
"N-n-no!" He repeated.
"Hey can you look at me?" I asked.
He looked back down at me, his hair blowing in his face, as he shook his head.
"Give me your hand," I said reaching out for him.
He didn't reach his hand out instead he fidgeted with the zipper to his jacket.
"It gets better. I promise you. You still have so much to live for and so much to do, it can't be over. So please, give me your hand and come down from there," I said. I looked back from where I came from looking for Xavier but he was on the phone probably calling 911. Once I turned back to look at him his eyebrows had furrowed.
"R-r-really?" The man asked.
"Yes. Really," I said.
He squatted and took hold of my hand as he climbed down, jumping down in front of me.
"What we're you thinking?! The wind could have pushed you! There are large boulders in the water, you could have killed yourself!" I scolded him but he only rocked back and forth as he stared at the floor. "Answer me!"
He jumped in surprise and took a few steps back.
"Can you speak?" I asked reaching out for his chin to push his face up so that he'd look at me.
"N-n-no," he said.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"J-j-j-j..." He started to say his name but it seemed like he just couldn't get the next sounds out.
"Jesus Christ is he okay?" Xavier asked, startling the man even more.
He began rocking back and forth even faster while he fidgeted with his fingers.
"Yeah, he's okay now, just a little startled, did you call 911?" I asked.
"Yeah they're on their way..." Xavier responded.
We waited for a few minutes before we heard the sirens from the ambulance and the fire truck. This only made the man panic more. He covered his ears and sat down on the floor. I had no idea what to do. It seemed like I only frightened him more.
"It's okay, they're only here to help, don't be scared," I said bending down next to him.
"M-mommy," he cried.
"It's okay, she'll be here soon," I said.
The paramedics came wrapping a blanket around him. "Did he hit his head? Or did he fall?"
"No, he just came down from the edge a few minutes ago," I said standing up.
They pulled him up and sat him down in the ambulance.
"What's your name?" They asked him.
He only rocked back and forth while he covered his ears.
"Son, what is your name?"
A woman came running from the other side of the bridge up to us, "He's autistic, he can't talk very much. Oh my God, Justin are you okay?" She wrapped her arms around him and he settled down.
So that explains it.
"Ma'am he was standing on the edge of the bridge. Why would you let him get out of your sight?" A paramedic asked.
"I wasn't watching him, his nurse was watching him. I was at work when got a call that he was over here," she said wiping her tears away.
I took a step back standing next to Xavier. This wasn't my business to get in.
"That young woman over there helped him get off," another paramedic said.
She looked over at me, "Thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me."
I smiled, "It was only the right thing to do."
"We should take him to the hospital, to make sure he's okay."
I looked at Xavier, "Well today was eventful."
"You can say that again," he said.
"Let's get out of here," I said looking over at them one last time. The man who's name was most likely 'Justin', looked up at me before looking down again.
Xavier wrapped his arm around my neck as I wrapped mine around his waist and we walked together towards our car.
"Wait! Please wait!" I heard from behind us.
I turned around and found the woman chasing after us.
"My name's Pattie, I don't know how I could repay you for this. You saved his life," she said.
"There's no need to repay me," I said.
"Here's my card, if you ever need anything don't hesitate to call," she said.
I took her card before I put it in my back pocket, "Thanks."
"Would you like to go to lunch with me tomorrow?" She asked.
"Sure," I said not wanting to be rude.
"Great. So twelve? At Hillstone on Wilshire Boulevard?"
"Sounds good," I said.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," she said.
"Okay," I said before she started walking back to her son.
Xavier and I continued our way to the car in silence. It was crazy to think that I had just saved someone's life. No life is waste; no matter how bad the situation suicide shouldn't be a remedy.
That night, after we ate dinner, and after we had gotten ready for bed, I laid down looking out the window thinking about how fast one's life can change. Justin's face was still present in my brain. His blonde locks that fell over his face, his vibrant worry-filled brown eyes, his pink lips, his perfect jaw, it was all replying in my head over and over again. I hoped for the best for him.
05/08/2016
