The girl stands in grey morning light, her feet perched at the crumbling cliff edge. Below her, waves smash against jagged rocks, granite shards rising like decaying teeth from the foaming sea. At her back are fear and despair, and his words, urging her on.
She tries to distract herself with the details around her. The roar of the ocean. The gusting wind ripping at the bracken. The small, white flowers growing at her feet. The loud, too-fast thump of her heart. Only it’s impossible to focus; she can’t seem to fix anything in her mind.
Nothing can compete with his voice – all his ugly words bearing down on her. Do it, he says. What are you waiting for?
The ledge shifts beneath her toes. A fragment of earth crumbles and falls, vanishing into the swirling water far below. Carried on the wind, a bird cry rises high and mournful. She lifts her gaze and sees a gull turn in the sky above. Free.
Do it now. His voice is louder, closer. Goosebumps rise as if his words curl through the air and graze the back of her neck. What are you waiting for?
There is no escape. Nowhere else to go.
She closes her eyes and unfurls her arms, stretching them wide as if she too has wings to rise and join the bird hovering above. With a final breath, she launches out into the void. Fall or fly – she no longer cares…
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