"What's the largest population country in the world? Can anyone answer this question?"
One of the students in the class responded..."Ma'am, it's India."
"Correct. Sit down."
Meanwhile, Mary just sat there, constantly tapping her pencil against her notebook, completely zoned out. Her teacher was busy writing the next question on the board, but Mary wasn't even seeing it. Just another regular day, you know? She let out a sigh and glanced at the clock, waiting for the bell to ring...
"Almost over," she murmured, burying her face in her arms.
Suddenly, the classroom doors practically flew open in the middle of the lecture. Another teacher rushed in, sweating from head to toe...
"Mary, you've got an urgent call from your brother's school."
Mary's eyes widened, her heart beat dropped... She practically tore her bag off the hook and ran straight out of the classroom...
She burst into the school office and snatched up the phone...
"Hello?"
It was a woman's voice, she was sounding really frightened over the phone... "Mary, this is Mrs. Dotty, Michael's teacher. Your brother's on the rooftop. He's threatening to jump off."
Mary didn't hear another word. She just dropped the phone and ran out of the school's office... Her legs were moving before her brain even caught up. Luckily, her school wasn't far from Michael's school. She sprinted down the street, everything else was blurry, her mind couldn't focus...
She could see the school in the distance... A crowd of teachers and students was outside, all looking up. Mary's chest felt like it was in a container, but she didn't slow down. She got to the gate, jumped over it, and flew through the hallways, pushing past anyone in her way...
Then she got to the rooftop of the school...
Michael was standing right at the edge, his head faced downwards...
The teachers were just kind of hanging back, whispering, while some kids just stared, frozen...
Mary's throat went completely dry. "Michael!"
He flinched, then turned around. His eyes got huge and widened the moment he saw her coming...
"Sis? What are you doing here?"
Mary slowly walked closer. "Mrs. Dotty called me."
His eyes just went dark. He turned back to the edge. "You shouldn't be here. I don't want you to see this."
Mary swallowed hard, cleaning the sweat from her face... "Michael, please listen to me. Don't do this. Come back."
He gripped his arms even tighter. "I can't."
Mary took another step. "Yes, you can. Just take my hand. We'll go home. We'll talk. Please."
He shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "You don't understand. No one does."
Mary's hands clenched into fists as she swallowed hard again... "Then make me understand! Tell me why you're doing this."
Michael let out this huge, shaky breath while still maintaining his balance. "I'm just so tired, Mary. I can't do this anymore. Every day is the same. They push me, they laugh, they call me names. I try to be strong, but I'm not. I just want it to stop."
Mary's eyes started to get watery. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell Mom and Dad?"
He gave out a bittersweet laugh. "Mom and Dad? They're always working. They never have time. And you... You're busy too. I didn't want to bother you."
Mary shook her head. "You're not a bother, Michael. You're my brother. You're the most important person in my life."
His shoulders started to tremble. "I just... I don't want to feel like this anymore."
Mary took another step closer... "Then let me help you."
He looked at her, his eyes just full of pain and agony. "It's too late."
Mary's breath hitched instantly. "No, it's not."
Michael turned back to the edge of the rooftop.
Mary's heart was just pounding extremely fast. "Think about Mom and Dad, Michael. You always said you didn't want to see them sad. You always said you wanted to make them proud. Was that all a lie?"
His lips started to tremble. "It's not a lie. But I can't take this anymore. I don't want to be here."
Mary's vision blurred with tears. "Then stay for me."
Michael's hands clenched. He took another step, right to the very edge. "I'm sorry."
Mary saw it happen, almost in slow motion. His foot slipped. His body tipped forward in a matter of seconds...
She didn't even think. She just ran without looking back and threw herself forward without any care for her safety, and shoved him back.
The last thing she saw was Michael's eyes, wide with shock, as she went over the rooftop...
The air whistled past her ears. The sky became blurry as the wind passed her face...
Pain.
Then... nothing.
Everything just went dark.