The breeze felt cold on the back of my neck. It tickled my skin, making me shiver. The sky was bleak, and the ground was littered with patches of grey snow. The world seemed so gross. My eyes scanned all the trash that lined the highway. I imagined my lifeless body lying among the trash, as my eyes watched cars passing, none of them stopping.

No one will miss you. The dark creature emerged from my head, resting on my shoulder. I sighed and looked at it. Its eyes were red, and they glowed with the evil curse that lived inside the creature. Its eyes burned my heart, making it ache, filling it with sadness.

I looked down at the ground. The highway had been transformed in to a large meadow. Beautiful yellow flowers sprung from the green grass, smiling at me. I smiled back. I wanted to go there, and rest there. It was a place where I could forget my problems. I could forget about the world. I could be forgotten.

Jump. The creature purred in my ear. It was so tempting. I felt my weight slowly lean forward. My body was begging me to fall. It felt as if someone was pushing me, praying for me to leave my safe ledge.

What are you waiting for? The creature growled. It moved across my neck, perching itself on my left shoulder. It glanced at me sideways, it’s red eyes tempting me to jump. I felt my brain becoming soft, as all my worries flew out of my head. I closed my eyes and felt the cold breeze tickle my neck. I felt myself falling, falling…My foot moved an inch forward, slightly leaving it’s safe haven, which caused my body to jolt.

I opened my eyes again. The highway was just a highway. I began to panic. My heartbeat quickened, and my breath caught in my throat. What was I doing? Did I really want to leave?

Yes, the creature hissed. It used its paws to scratch me, and a tear slid down my face. I shook my head and looked up at the sky. The sun had decided to peek its head out, greeting me. Its rays touched me, they hugged me. They told me I was loved.

You can beat this. There are other ways. This isn’t the way. My brain had sparked back to life, the voice of reason, the one who wanted me to live. My heart was broken, it was dark, it asked me to end my life. But my brain- it wanted me to continue. To get help, to take the longer path. And then there was the creature, who only wanted me to feel pain, who strove to make my life hell.

And as I stood on the edge of the bridge, as I stared at the highway below, I felt conflicted. I wanted to fall, to sleep, to end my suffering. But I also wanted to step down, to walk home, to hug my mom.

So I lifted my foot, and I took a step…