Help was her first thought. She needed help. Just this morning the sunlight had filtered through the window, playing against her eyelids.
Now, she clung to the edge of a mountain, the rocks biting into her hands. When sheā€™d had the thought in her brain this morning to go on a hike, she had not expected to be fighting for her life.
Well, actually sheā€™d gone on this hike because sheā€™d thought it might cure her of this seasonal depression she’d found herself in. Nothing like a dose of happy hormones from exercise and a breathtaking view to put the sadness away. She should have never left bed today. She should have stayed warm, tucked under her covers where even though she could not feel motivated to take on the day at least sheā€™d have been safe.
“Help!” The chill of the wind made the tears that slid from her eyes on their own accord painfully cold.
There was no one coming.
A pigeon landed by her foot. She didn’t breathe for a full minute, terrified that the additional weight would have her ledge crumbling. But it seemed to hold both of them. She’d read that pigeons were one of the most intelligent birds.
“Will you help me? Go get help.”
It turned its head to the side as if it was considering her. Its feathers are an iridescent purple in the sunlight. And when it cooed at her she felt like it was reassuring her. Like her mom used to do when she was a little girl. Soothing sounds as she stroked hands over her small back.
‘Everything is going to be alright.ā€™
She’d been out here for nearly an hour now, and she was already going crazy, talking to a bird. She shooed it away. A panic of cooing and fluttering of wings from the startled bird as it left and she sighed.
Alone again. She was always alone. It was her own fault she pushed everyone away, even the damn bird.
Then, the ledge gave way, and she slid down the face of the cliff.