awakening

nothing. noun. something that is nonexistent.

Jade had promised herself that she would never do it again.

But it's not like she ever kept promises anyways.

She had told herself that she should've discontinued these habits of hers, but the sun was setting and once again she found herself standing on the bridge, staring down at the water.

She closed her eyes, breathing in,

and out.

Before she knew it, she was standing on the railing once again. Her hands, which gripped the silver bars that surrounded the bridge like a protecting gate, were the only things that stood between her and the cold sea.

Maybe today would be the day when she would finally jump.

She gazed down at the glittering blue body below her, watching the sunlight flicker on it, tinting it orange and pink. The waves moved below her, as if dancing. It was beautiful. Squinting, Jade could see tiny fish swimming around underneath, traveling in groups, weaving in and out of the water like ribbons.

It was too lovely. She decided that she would at least wait until the sun had gone down, before ending her life.

For a while, she just listened to the roar of the tide in her ears. She could feel the waves moving. Back, and forth. Back, and forth. She swayed to the rhythm.

Then, a honk. She looked down to see a huge ship passing through. There seemed to be thousands of passengers on board. All of them looked happy, waving hands and pieces of fabric at anybody standing on shore.

What caused their happiness?

As she watched, a single tear fell from her eyes and she saw it fall into the water, joining it and merging into it like one big body. Maybe all of this wouldn't have been happening right now. Maybe she could've avoided it. She wasn't sure what had happened. When she was younger, Jade had played dominoes with her older sister. She remembered lining them all up, and then accidentally knocking one over. The rest of them down the line would tumble over in rapid succession, and she would get upset. However, her sister would always laugh at her foolishness. And she would end up laughing with her.

This was just like dominoes. One flick in the wrong place, and everything toppled over.

A smile slowly came onto her face, but as soon as it was there, it was gone. Jade sat down on the railing, burying her head in her knees and sobbing. Memories like that were long gone. And so was her family. It was the consequence that time brought. Everything--all the joys and brightness of life--eventually ended the same way.

With nothing.

It seemed that after her family vanished, nothing was the only thing Jade ever got.

The sun was barely visible, just peeking over the sea in the distance. The rays turned the horizon line into a deep shade of purple. Jade stood up. She was going to do it.

She closed her eyes.

And breathed in,

and out.

Then she let go.

She expected to fall, to feel excruciating pain as she hit the water, but instead she felt something awfully surprising.

Nothing.

And then, a feeling. A warm hand clutching hers. She opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw were a pair of startling green eyes staring back at her.