With a breath as soft as the final note of a song, Kiki glanced down at the river a few hundred feet below her. I'm ready, she thought, I have to do this for me. I have to hide the pain from the heavy crusade of hits. To run from the never ending pain of life. 

Then, with one last burst of adrenaline, she jumped. 

1 Mississippi. Do you remember what it felt like when you had to stand up and say something about yourself in front of the class?

3 Mississippi. Do you remember the feeling you had when you saw your first crush?

5 Mississippi. She looked lovingly at the water rushing to greet her. 

7 Mississippi. She knew what she wanted. 

9 Mississippi.  As silent as the night surrounding her, she plunged on. 

10 Mississippi. It was too quiet. As if the night were holding its breath to wait for the splash.

Then, SPLASH. She plunged into the water, and woke with a start. She glanced about her room, fearing the reality of the torture that was her life. The piercing scream trailed from up stairs. She got up and dressed in her tattered clothes. 

Without any food, she left the house. 

Then, she saw the bridge. 

Saw the escape of a brutal past, present and future.

Saw the better choice, this had to be the better choice. 

For who would possibly care that she, the outcast, the laughingstock, was about to die. 

Who would care that she, the dark girl in the back of the class, the miserable nobody, was finally going to find happiness. 

Who would care?

She silently said to herself;

"Everyday feels the same,

like i'm going insane,

trying to stay in this game,

No one knows,

what I dare not show,

And no matter where I go,

You are there,

showing you don't care

Making me break,

But I'm not that weak,

because my pain won't turn into misery,

everytime you hit me,

I won't fall,

you won't have it all,

don't tell me it's ok,

youre such a fake,

Don't know what path to take,

and no one knows,

what you dare not show,

and there I am,

showing I care,

Standing in the background,

Left all alone

With nothing to own."

Smelt the briskness of the early Georgia spring morning. There was a twinge of salt in the moist air. 

Without a glimpse back, she got up on the ledge. 

And jumped. 

The last thing she saw was the joyous sight of freedom. An odd freedom for an odd girl that lived an odd life. A final end of the nightmares, of the beatings, of the hatred. A final end of her life. 

 

                                    ***

The young boy stood, with silent tears streaming down his face. 

He vowed, as he held her cold hand, that he would follow his older sister, so they both could be free. 

But, he didn't make it. He lay on the floor, the blood gushing, as his drunken father raised the bat once more. "It's your fault. It's all your fault." And then, the bat rushed forward.

The boys last thought was, at least now, I'll be with my mother and sister.