April – Cherry blossom and the beginnings of warmer weather.
It was also, the month he was going to kill himself.
...
Pulling the calendar from the wall he ripped away the last half of the month.
It wasn't like he was going to need it anyway.
...
'9th – Quit Part-time Job'
He had been working at the little supermarket in town to try and save as much money as possible ready for… you know. The hours were long but the pay didn't suck too bad and the boss was pretty nice considering.
...
'11th – Quit Dojo'
He knew Master was onto him but he just needed Mihawk not to act on his suspicions for three days and he was fine. It hurt to walk out of the dojo considering the place had been a lifeline to him for so many years, a lifeline he never deserved.
...
'12th – Sell Kendo Gear'
He'd walked in the shop determined to sell his gear on, shinai and all… but he just couldn't do it. The store clerk talked him out of it and somewhere deep down he was glad that he had. Whatever, it wouldn't have been worth that much anyway; Rayleigh could just throw the damn things away afterwards.
..
'13th – Bank'
Withdrawing the money he'd meticulously saved from his job and closing the account was easier than he'd expected leaving him with a stack of notes. Despite being aware of the total amount he knew money wouldn't fix what he'd caused.
.
'14th – Visit Cemetery'
He'd made it to the gates but ended up not able to go any further. How was he supposed to stand there and put a brave face on when he was planning to end everything the day after? There was always lying but he'd never do that, not to them, and so he just turned around and heading back to the house.
His room looked like it had when he'd first moved in, only the furniture that had been there for every kid before him remaining… and his kendo stuff.
Piling the notes together on the bed he shoved them into the envelope.
'Here's the money I owe you'
'15th – Final Day'
Rayleigh was away on the night shift when he left.
The envelope was on the kitchen table, he'd find it at some point.
He debated whether he should have left a note.
Writing it would have made him doubt his choice though once he started thanking the guy for looking out for him.
He'd always been a problem Rayleigh couldn't seem to get rid of though so it was best that he removed himself from his life permanently, it would be better in the long run and he was sure his foster father would come to see that.
The sky was beautiful as the sun began to set around him. He made his way towards the centre of the bridge and placed his hands on the railing, looking down at the glistening water below. Waiting for the cars to pass he climbed up, opened his arms out wide and closed his eye. Leaning forward he allowed gravity to work before…
'POP!'
Startled he gasped, losing his footing and falling backwards onto the concrete footpath. Looking through the railings he found the source of the noise, a group of kids lighting fireworks at the edge of the riverbank.
Damn.
Three elementary school brats watching a guy throw himself off a bridge would probably need some form of counselling and he wasn't really up for wrecking anymore lives by trying to end his own.
Oh well, there was always tomorrow.
.