He can clearly remember what happened the night they met. The night he met his angel. The one who saved his pathetic life. He was not talking about this life. He was talking about his previous life.

He was 17 and dying. He was poisoned when he was 15 which damaged his lungs and kidneys. This made him endure a life full of pain and suffering.

Unable to bear all the pain, he decided to kill himself on his 17th birthday. He sneakily left without his guards and went to a cliff just outside the city. It was dark and raining when he reached his destination. He closed his eyes and reminisced about the happy scenes in his life. .

He always asked himself why. Why does it have to be him? What did he do wrong?

He remembered his loving mother and understanding father. He remembered his childhood full of love and laughter. He remembered the relief in his parent’s eyes when they saw him open his eyes after his coma when he was 9. He remembered their heartbreaking cries when he was poisoned. Then he remembered his mother’s sad eyes full of sympathy. He remembered his father’s angry screams at the doctor, asking them to fix him.

His parents tried to do everything for him. They talked to every prominent doctor in the world and tried searching for a solution, for a way to keep him alive. Yet, they all said one thing. The same thing over and over.

It was too complicated. That the damage had spread to his lungs and intestines, and only a miracle can save him.

Both his mother and father tried to ease his pain. They pampered him and gave him everything he wanted. They tried to make him happy. Make him laugh. They wanted him to forget the pain.

But his parents didn’t understand that it wasn’t just about the pain. It was about fatigue and hopelessness, watching the two most important people in his life succumb to sadness every day. It was about watching them feign happiness and excitement. It was about watching himself slowly dwindle like a star slowly losing its brightness.

He clenched his jaw and cried. That was the first time he has cried in years.

He didn’t shed a tear when he heard he only had a few years to live. He also didn’t cry when he watched his parents break down in front of him. No. He pretended to be strong. He looked at them with a smile every day.

But he is crying now. He knows that his family will be better off without him. Why prolong the inevitable? He will die soon anyway, so why should he let his parents suffer with him longer? He felt dejected, hopeless. He felt useless.

He opens his eyes and stares at the dark abyss in front of him. Then he looks up at the sky and says his final goodbye. Tonight will be the end of his misery. Tonight will be the night of his death. Or so he thought…

“You know, if you are looking for a sign to die, then this is it. Go ahead. Jump! I will send you off.” He turned his head when he heard a soft small voice not far away from him.

“You… What are you doing here?”

The lady in front of him didn’t give an answer. She was just looking at him as if trying to read his thoughts. Then she slowly walked to the cliff and stood beside him.

He looked at the girl just a foot away from him. He can clearly see her features now that she is closer. She is about 14 or 15. A beauty with her cherry lips and gray eyes. He also noticed her holding a bottle of wine.

“I lost my mother 2 months ago.” She said as she broke her gaze and looked down the cliff. “Today, my father brought another woman at home and said that he will marry her next month.” She continued, “Then he introduced me to a girl my age and said she is my younger sister.”

“I felt sad.” The girl said as she fixed her eyes at him. “I wanted to kill myself. Then I remembered my feelings when I lost my mother. I don’t want someone to feel that way because of me.”

“You know, if you kill yourself, you will only die once. But the person left behind, the person who truly loves you will die a thousand times over when they think of you and ask themselves why over and over . ” She shrugged and then gulped another mouthful of wine.” Suicide will never end the chances of your life getting worse, but it will eliminate the chances of it getting any better.” She turned around and started walking without waiting for his response.

“What if you already know that it won’t get better?” He muttered.

She stopped walking and looked at him again. “Then get a gun and blow your brains out. This cliff will not kill you.” She chuckled and waved her hands as she continued walking away.

“Wait! What is your name?” He asked.

“Surnamed Jiang… Jiang Yue.”

Edited by Alaedja