Wonderfalls

So, I spend a lot of time looking for writing prompts that I think I could use to create a great story. I found a great blog on tumblr that has a lot of wonderful writing prompts. (http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/). A lot of them caught my eye, and I thought, "hey, I could make something great out of this", I might take them and turn them into my own, because a lot of them have pictures that go along with them, but I can't take any credit for the ideas.

This first one inspired me, because recently a friend of mine commited suicide. It was in a different way, but I constantly think of what I could have said to him to change his mind if I had gotten the chance talk to him when he made this decision. This story will be a little personal, but I write best on a personal level. So, here it goes.

What would you do  if you saw someone about to jump off of a cliff? What reasons would you give them to live?

Not to far from my house, tucked way back deep in the woods, there is a beautiful clearing with two waterfalls, and a few cliffs overlooking the water. Not many people know it's there, in fact I didn't even know it was there until I went hiking one day to clear my mind. As soon as I saw it, I knew that this was going to be my new escape. it was peaceful, and quiet, away from all the hustle and bustle of daily life, and a great place to die. If that was what anyone would want to do.

I have spent so many days there, I had even named it. "Wonderfalls". Not a very creative name, but there weren't really any words that I could think of to describe it's majestic beauty.

One day, I was sitting at Wonderfalls, just soaking my feet in the water and thinking about my life, and I looked up, and across the pond I saw a girl. She must have been around my age, 16 or 17 maybe. She had no shoes or shirt on, and was staring at the cliff below her with a look of desperation on her face. It concerned me more than anything.

She looked like she was ready to jump, so I screamed "HEY!!". That got her attention,  and she stopped and looked at me.

"STAY RIGHT THERE, AND DON'T DO ANYTHING THAT YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET. I'M COMING OVER," I yelled to her.

She looked back down at the cliff, and looked back at me and took another step forward. I was about to say something else before she decided to jump, but just before I could get the words out of my mouth, she sat down at the edge looking a little defeated. I sighed a sigh of relief and started making my way over to her.

Well, that was stupid. I thought to myself. What are you going to say to her? Maybe she wasn't going to jump. She was probably just enjoying the view like you do all the time. She probably thinks that you're the biggest idiot in the world. I shook off those thoughts, and prepared myself for what could be one of the most important conversations in my life.

"Hi."

She didn't say anything, just stared at me. I noticed that her eyes were all red and puffy, like she had been crying for days. That's not all I noticed. She had bruises on her neck, like fingerprints,  and her torso was also covered in cuts and bruises. I wasn't sure what I thought, but I could only assume the worst.

"Um, how are you?" I asked her, hoping for a reply this time.

"How am I? Well, let's see, I can tell from the look on your face that you see how I'm all beaten and battered up, and you just stopped me from doing something right for once in my life. So I'm doing great, how are you?"

It took me a minute to recover from the bitter sarcasm in her voice.

"You were going to jump weren't you."

"Damn right I was going to jump. And now I'm standing here talking to some stranger. For all I know you're just some creep who's thinking about raping and killing me, and throwing me in the water to hide the evidence. Best place to do it, no one knows this is here. So go ahead, I was planning to die today anyway."

"My name is Jesse, I promise you that I'm not a creep."

Smooth, Jesse, real smooth. Now she's really going to jump, and it's all your fault.

She just looked at me and smiled.

"Why should I trust you?" she asked.

I noticed that the tone in her voice had gone from bitter sarcasm to amusement.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. There's a reason right there."

"My name is Makenzie, Kenz for short. I like you. Most people would have walked away from me after being so snappy. But you're still here. Why is that?"

"You look like you need someone to hear you."

"I'm not so sure you wanna do that," she said, sounding a little unsure of herself.

"Oh, and why wouldn't I? Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, and I'll make that decision. What's your family like?"

"My family? My mother is pregnant with some man that isn't my dad. He's a raging alcoholic that uses me as his punching bag, as you can see. This is what happened after he found out that my mom is pregnant, and it's not his. He used to be the best dad in the world, until my brother died of cancer a few years ago. And now my parents are in the middle of a messy divorce. And while all this is going on, they forgot about me, except for when I'm a punching bag."

I sat there and listened to her, and saw the light in her eyes, and realized that I was probably the best thing that happened to her in a long time.

I must have showed it in my face, because she smiled, and continued.

"Everything used to be great, before cancer took my brother. We had the happiest family. Every weekend we would come camping in these woods. That's how I knew this was here. Every Saturday night, we would hike down here and go swimming in the lake. During those times, it was like nothing else mattered, and nothing was better. Then my brother got sick, and we stopped coming here. I promised him, that after he died, I would make sure our family kept up the tradition, but it didn't quite work like that. My dad started drinking and getting violent, and my mom started seeing other people. I guess that was how they coped with their loss. And I was, and still am stuck in the middle. They never once asked me if I wanted to talk, or how I felt about everything. My mother tried, but I just pushed her away, and she gave up. I miss my brother,  I just want to see him again, and this was my only way."

She had started crying as she was telling me this. I could feel the tears in my eyes too.

I don't know why I did what I did next, but I felt like it was the best thing at that moment. I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her close. She tried to push me away at first, but I pulled her closer and she finally gave in and just let her tears fall.

It seemed like we sat like that forever. And for all that time, all of my problems in life seemed so small and insignificant compared to hers. I knew I needed to save this girl, if I hadn't already.

"I'm so sorry," I said, "I can't imagine the pain that you're going through. I wish that there was something I could do help."

"You already have. You sat here and listened to me cry about my life. No one has done that for me since all of this happened. I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything. But there is something I want you to do. I want you to talk to your mother. You're going through this together, and you should be there for each other. As for your father, get away from him please. I don't want to see you looking like this anymore. You and your mother should go stay somewhere else, and if you don't have anywhere, I can help you out."

"Thank you so much Jesse, I really appreciate everything you've done for me today." She stopped and looked at her watch. "Oh crap! I have to get home before my dad. If I don't, well, let's just say jumping off this cliff would have hurt less. We should meet back here every day at the same time, this can be our spot now."

Then she got up and grabbed her stuff and left.

We did meet back at that same spot, at the same time, every day for the next two months. Then all of the sudden she stopped showing up.

I got really scared. I was afraid that her father got to her before she could get away. For a week I tried calling, texting, and emailing her. I never heard back.

Finally at the end of that week I got and email from her that read:

Hey Jesse,
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to get back to you. There's been a lot going on.
Meet me at Wonderfalls. The same time as usual.
Love, Kenz

The next day, I made sure I got to Wonderfalls at exactly 12:00. The same time as usual.

When I got there, I didn't see Makenzie anywhere. I looked all over for her, but she hadn't gotten there yet. Feeling a little impatient, I decided to sit in the same spot as the first time I saw her. I got up to the edge of the cliff, and bent down to take off my shoes, when something caught my eye.

It was a body, a girl's body, floating face down in the water. I panicked, and started to take off my clothes to jump in the water, and rescue Makenzie.

"JESSE!!!!"

I thought I was dreaming when I heard her voice.

"COME ON IN, THE WATER IS GREAT!" she yelled.

I finished taking off my clothes and jumped in the water.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!!" I yelled at her "You scared the crap out of me. I thought  I lost you."

She looked at me and started laughing.

"I wouldn't do that to you. I'm celebrating. My parents divorce is final. My mom and I moved in with her boyfriend. He's great. He's a doctor. He's going to get me a job at the hospital with him, so I can go to school and become a nurse. And my mom is having a little boy. She's going to name him Jesse, because I told her all about you and how you saved my life that day. She is so thankful that you were here. And so am I, I really am, who knows where I would be without you. Thank you for everything." She paused, then said a little quieter, probably hoping I wouldn't hear, "I love you."

She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me.

"Well, I'm happy to hear all that. It's really great news."

She looked at me, a little disappointed.

"And I love you too. You know, you weren't the only one that was saved that day."