Gary darted from one sheltered spot to another through the narrow alleys on his way to the bus stop, trying to avoid the heavy rain hammering down overhead. Life hadn't been going well lately and it seemed like the weather just wanted to make it worse. It was bad enough he had to work so late all the time, but whenever he went home the only human interaction he had was with an irate neighbour, who'd somehow gotten it into his head that Gary was both a homosexual, spying on him as a child, and even believed that he was spreading rumours about his daughter.
He stopped in his tracks, "Is this the day?" he thought to himself, "Is this the day my soul is finally broken?" His body, numbed by an overwhelming sense of apathy, seemed to just drift of it's own accord up the flights of stairs to the top floor of the nearby multi-storey car park. Before he knew it he found himself at the top and started to slowly climb the safety barrier until he was perched on the edge looking down at the street below. The downpour washed the tears of his face as he raised his head to the sky. "A whole universe of wonders out there and you can't even muster up a single friend?" He screamed at the sky with all his might, years of frustration and sadness funnelled one fantastic outburst that rippled through the damp night air just for a moment. He waited but the universe didn't answer and lowering his head "I'm so lonely, who's going to miss me anyway?" he conceded in a whisper. For a few minutes after this he just sat there, trying to control his breathing and attempting to push the negative thoughts out of his mind.
"I... I d-don't want to b-be alone ei-either." A shaky voice spluttered clumsily behind him. Had someone been watching him? Had they just heard everything he'd said? Shocked and embarrassed, he turned suddenly to find the source of the voice, and in the intervening motion lost his balance. Time slowed down for Gary as his body instinctively sent adrenalin rocketing through his blood vessels and, as he fell backwards, he saw the face of his mysterious watcher, a young girl who's expression was slowly turning from sadness to panic and concern. He'd never seen a look that concerned directed at him and in that moment, when finally faced with the inevitability of his demise, he knew that he didn't want to die. He began to spin as he plummeted toward the granite paving stones below and clenched his eyes tightly shut.