The frigid, salty breeze carried the girl's long caramel tresses away from her body. Her heart-shaped face stung in the twisting air from her drenching tears. She was clutching a shred of paper to her chest, crinkling it, from what seemed like a past life.
She listened as hard as she could, hearing a vehicle somewhere off in the distance. She smiled forlornly, getting up from the ground and brushing the dust off her backside, preparing herself for the consequences of her decision. She then turned and walked towards the edge of the crag, nearing its jagged drop.
"Well, this is it," she sighed to herself, with one last fleeting look around her at the towering evergreens surrounding the small, isolated grassland, seeing her turquoise bicycle leaning up against a tall tree stump.
The sheer, rough plunge down the cliff had to have been at least one hundred feet. She loomed dangerously close to the lip of the overhang. One wrong move and she would be plummeting to the serrated, uneven rocks below.
The vehicle came to a sluggish halt and the engine was quieted. The left door opened noisily, and out stepped him. Him, who was her brother's most trusted friend. Him, who was four years older than her fifteen years. Him, whom she adored.
He brushed his dark, thick locks out of his face. His mysterious pools matched the shade of chocolate that adorned his hair. The casual and friendly gleam decorated them as they locked on her. "What are you doing?" he questioned curiously, a soft smile dancing across his lips. "Why did you ask me to meet you here?"
"I have to tell you something," she answered. Her tongue tasted strange between her lips, as if it hadn't graced her mouth all throughout her existence. She swallowed roughly, trying in vain to swallow the lump in her throat in doing so. "I'm not sure how to say it, and it is a bit shocking to even myself." She took an unconscious step toward him, but noticed and stepped back. Her words were monotone, her tone somewhat numb.
His smile wavered a bit as he approached her. "And what would this be? What's wrong?" he inquired, confused. The space between them vanished slowly as he continued his steps. He was only feet from her. She smiled another grievous smile and said, "I am sorry if this poses as any inconvenience to you, and please don't blame yourself. I know that it cannot be possible."
She looked to him, glanced down, and turned toward the open sea. His suave façade was immediately replaced with alarm.
"What are you doing!?" he shouted, paralyzed, his eyes wide with horror. She let her forest green eyes, blurred with freshly shed tears, linger on him for a moment longer before she beamed, cried, "I love you!" and cast herself over the edge of the cliff.
She dropped, the spiked stones rushing towards her with unbelievable speed. She felt a piercing stab, and then oblivion.
He stood, shock filling his system, as he began to shake uncontrollably. He stumbled toward where she last stood, believing that his eyes, his ears, everything was deceiving him. Refusing to believe that she just…
"No…" he whispered, sinking to his knees on the cliff's edge. "No…" he repeated. His eyes filled with the same liquid he had seen in hers just moments ago, but it was not the same. These were tears of grief, not relief.
"No," he voiced once more. "No, it's not fair. It's not fair!" he said, getting progressively louder. "No! It's not fair!" He started sobbing, shaking uncontrollably, as he hugged himself, this terror finally becoming a reality for him. He was just supposed to talk with her… Her, who was only four years younger than he. Her, who was the sister of his closest acquaintance. Her, who dropped a small scrap that said one word on it: Forever. Her, who was gone.
"I…… I love you too!"