Knights in Versace

TWO | THE TWENTIETH TO JUMP

The girl was more astonished than angry by this point, “This is wrong, in so many ways...”

The boy snickered and said, “Don’t worry, it has a really good night vision mode, so it will capture everything. Even your voice as you plunge to your death will be recorded perfectly, see the custom mic here? Not to mention the lighting behind me... It’s like this is destined!”

‘He couldn’t possibly be this much of a nutjob... He has to be bluffing,’ she assured herself again.

“Oh lady, but I’m not bluffing at all? I’m sad you’d misunderstand me like that, after all we’ve shared tonight. I thought we had a connection!”

The girl was startled, but stubbornly ignored him once more. Her foot, bare, pale from the cold, and filthy from the dirt and the blood, stepped forward-

“I used to live in Japan, highest suicide rate in the world.”

His words made her stop in her tracks. Again. It was inevitable. The absurdity of the situation had her seeking some kind of answer. Whatever that may be, or whoever could give her one, it didn't matter by that point. That, coupled with her instincts that perhaps had found in that stranger a chance to survive, and she couldn’t stop herself from listening.

“Within 5 months I had seen 4 people commit suicide by jumping in front of the incoming trains. Eventually that place got a rather infamous nickname. Shinigami no Ikari, the locals called it.” said the boy, before moving his gaze from the screen to the real thing with an expectant gaze.

The girl paused and blinked, “Anger... of the grim reaper?”

The man's eyes glinted with knowing delight underneath the shadow of the hoodie.

“Wrath would be more apt, but your japanese isn’t bad… Indeed, worthy of our connection. Should we add a 10 percent?” He poked fun at her with a smile. “You see, it was called that because it was the number one suicide spot in Akiba. And I used to spend most of my time there. It was especially nuts at night. Sometimes, when I found myself bored, I would sneak out and go to that wonderful place. I would hide behind one of the pillars and watch, hoping to see another i***t die.”

“When I saw my first suicide I was horrified, but over time I was fascinated by it. I even added a new item to my bucket list!”

With his phone camera rolling, the man inched closer and closer, “You see, I wanted to see at least twenty suicides before I kicked the bucket. And guess what lucky number you are… Well, with our connection, I’m sure you get what I’m saying. I came out for a jog but didn’t expect to see such a gem, especially here in the west, after so long… I was starting to get worried you know?”

“... from the bottom of my heart,” he added after a short pause, “Thank you for existing.”

By then, the man had arrived in front of her. The phone pointing at her face, the sole barrier between the two as he leaned forward, “Now, please,” he waved his hand downward like a welcoming host, “Be my guest.”

The girl shuddered, an unspeakable chill spreading to every nook and cranny of her body. This was the most twisted thing she had ever heard another human say. Her entire existence as a human seemed to be urging her to reject every single word of it.

Shaken to her very core, she looked at him and declared, “You are the most disgusting human being I have ever seen.”

The young man in a hoodie chuckled and replied, “Clearly you haven’t seen that many people, but I’ll take that as a complement. If nothing else, at least in the next few hours I’ll still be breathing, but you won’t even have a coffin to rot in.”

She didn’t know what to say. Nor did the man seem to want to add anything else. He simply gestured towards the edge, again. Then, he stepped back to give the camera space to capture what was about to unfold.

The girl shivered and shook her head. She tried to remove all annoying and unnecessary feelings and attempted the deed once more.

“You know what they say... third time is a charm. Or is it the charm? I always mess that one up somehow.”

The woman yet again ignored the youth and breathed in. As she stood on the railing, she looked down into the deep abyss that was the flowing ink below. She was disappointed that the boy didn’t try to stop her, and even more disappointed at herself for having any expectations in that regard.

He might not be like others, very little so, but he still only cares about himself. In the end, when it came to what's underneath, he was the very same as everyone else...

With that realization, she had finished readying herself. It was just as she jumped, that she heard the man say “She’s so cute though, it’s such a shame…”

This caused the girl to hesitate in her actions, but unfortunately the die had already been cast. The third time was the charm: she had slipped midway again, but this time it was in the wrong direction.

With speed unbecoming of her, she somehow grabbed onto the railing as she fell.

“Help me!” she shouted, as she dangled from the bridge with a single hand, the skin on the palm split and its fingers numb from the cold.

“And that’s that. A shame indeed… ” The man switched off his phone as he expressed his disappointment. He walked to her slowly, each stride painfully shorter than the last.

‘’What are you taking your sweet time for, help me!’’ She lamented. Without the least hurry, the boy walked over to the railing and leaned over. His hood was large and still covered his whole face, so she could barely make out a pair of bright eyes staring back.

‘’Before I help you, humor me this. Do you have anything to live for?’’

Within that moment, it seemed as though time was frozen to a complete standstill. In that broken time, her mind jolted, as if bewitched.

A wave of depression clouded her cognition. She had nothing to live for. She had no one to live for. As this realisation once again dawned upon her, her fingers lost strength, her grip loosened. She understood too that, if she were to survive this ordeal, she would only be alive but she would not live. As hopelessness filled her, she resigned herself to her fate. In fact, she hoped it would all end, and not continue in some painful manner. The moment she let go she was already looking at the gate to the afterlife, regretting the fact that she ever born.