"There's a time when everything falls apart… and it feels like time heals nothing."
Sora muttered to herself, her voice barely a whisper:
"I'm tired… the only thing I still had was André, my best friend, my protector… But I'm tired of my life."
On the rooftop of the university, the cold wind hit her face. Every glance, every laugh behind her, every shove… it all seemed to crush her. The bullying never ended. Not a single day passed without pain.
Sora screamed, a cry that came more from her soul than from her throat:
"DAMN IT!!! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, YOU BASTARDS?!"
She thought bitterly: Is it because of my name? Sora Astralis Aurielle… a girl's name, I know that. But you don't understand anything… not at all.
The edge of the rooftop trembled under her feet. A chill ran down her spine. Deep in her heart, one final thought:
"André… I don't want to be a burden to you. You deserve to be happy… Goodbye, my friend. Thank you for everything."
And with arms wide open, Sora let herself fall, embracing the pain and the silence of the world…
---
Two hours earlier…
The sun was beginning to dip toward the horizon, painting the campus in shades of orange and fading blue. André was chatting with a classmate, though his mind wasn't entirely there. A strange uneasiness gnawed at him, a chill creeping up his spine.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that made his heart race: Sora slowly climbing the stairs to the rooftop, his posture hesitant, his body almost bent under an invisible weight.
"What… Sora's going to the rooftop? But… what is he doing?" André thought, his voice swallowed by the silence of the late afternoon.
He quickly excused himself from his classmate:
— "Sorry, I have to take care of something…" he said, not revealing the storm inside.
André followed Sora at a distance, quietly watching every step. Sora murmured something to himself, words André couldn't quite hear, but they hurt just to imagine.
"Talking to himself… is he really okay?" — André's heart pounded faster, heavier with each moment.
Finally, when Sora reached the edge of the rooftop, the cold wind whipped through his hair and clothes, as if the whole world were trying to stop what was about to happen. Sora gazed at the horizon, took a deep breath, and in a desperate impulse, threw himself into the void, arms spread as if to embrace the sky.
— "No… Sora!" André shouted, panic taking hold.
Without thinking, without hesitation, André ran to the edge and jumped after his friend. In the air, their arms locked together, hands clasped. Time itself seemed to stretch. They fell as one — a fall that was both tragedy and unbreakable friendship.
The sky was clear, with only a few clouds, and a gentle breeze carried the leaves that drifted slowly across the vast green field. A lone tree stood tall, and a single flower petal detached from its branch, landing softly on André's face.
He awoke with a start at the touch of the petal. His heart raced. Looking around, confused, he still remembered the fall they had taken. Where was he? What had happened? And above all… where was Sora?