Trigger warning: This post may raise issues for readers who have experience with depression or suicide.
By JOSEFA PETE
Driving home. Late in the afternoon. Tired from a day’s work. Staring ahead into the peak hour traffic, barely moving forward. Mindlessly thinking about dinner and seeing my boys.
Then, I saw her.
Dishevelled blonde hair. Pyjamas on. Green polka dot bathrobe catching the breeze. She was walking. In the middle of the road. Against the traffic.
I was filled instantly with dread.
The traffic moved forward.
She kept walking. Slow. Steady. Head hung low. Never looking up.
I reached the intersection of two major crossroads. As I drove through, she kept walking. Slow and steady, against the stream of cars.
I exhaled in disbelief that she survived crossing that intersection without getting hurt.
The drivers in cars around me were furious, raged, annoyed.
Then, as my car crossed the railway line at the end of the crossroad, I saw her again.
She sat down. On the railway tracks. Right in the middle of the intersection.
Top Comments
You're right that its your life, your body. Had a train driver hit that girl that day, think about the consequence I that train driver. Even though not his fault , he would have had to forever live with the idea that it was his train that caused the end of that girls life. He probably would have to leave work and go through counselling for who knows how long. It doesn't just affect that person. I'm glad there was an intervention that day, not just for the young girls sake.
Bless you, Josefa, for your compassion and for acting when others didn't.
Suicide is a topic close to my heart at the moment, I have a close friend who is currently in a psychiatric ward because of his desire to make the pain go away. I am so grateful that he chose not to, and that he has the love and support of his family and friends. However, his case is different to this.
Not everyone has that support, and for you to notice and help a young girl who was alone, and about to publicly surrender her life, is a tribute to everyone who notices and cares about their fellow humans.
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