It was time she faced the truth. Jessica 'Aqua' Talbot sighed as she sat down on the edge of the steep drop into a gully below, letting her feet dangle off the edge. This spot used to bring her peace of mind. Now it just seemed to beckon to her, inviting her to let herself take the drop, plummeting to oblivion and end it for once and for all.
What was she still living for? For the world? She didn't care about the world anymore, no one in it seemed to care about. Nothing seemed to awaken her from her depressed state. For her family? Aqua laughed bitterly as she touched the still bruise forming on her right cheek. In an fierce argument her mother lost her temper and slapped Aqua on the cheek. I've never let a man slap me. And I'll be darned if I let my own mother do it twice! Aqua thought to herself angrily as she stood on the edge of the cliff, all she had to do was step forward and everything would be over, one step and the pain would stop.
"Are you planning to jump?"
Aqua spun around upon hearing the quiet question from behind her, coming to face to find five boys her age. One boy had a uni-bang of brown hair which hid one of his forest green eyes. To his left stood another with messy dark brown hair that was clear of his black eyes but Aqua got a slightly cold air from him so she looked to the next. The one beside him had short blonde hair and blue eyes. To his left stood another with short black hair and black eyes, Chinese, Aqua decided. And the last had long brown hair that was held back in a ponytail and he had dark brown eyes.
Aqua looked at the five in surprise, she hadn't hear anyone coming up behind her over the last few minutes and for some strange reason they seemed familiar ... like a childhood memory she couldn't grasp. "Maybe." She replied cautiously as turned back to the cliff though she glanced back at them, waiting for a reply.
The answer came from the one with the ponytail. "You know you don't want to do that."
"I believe I know my own mind. What would you know of it?" Aqua replied sharply.
"He knows because we know you." This came from the Chinese boy.
"No one knows me." Aqua muttered to herself but the five heard her.
"You say no one knows you? Not even your family?" The boy with the cold air asked.
"My mom could care less about me." Aqua replied lightly touching the bruise on her face without thought.
"Ouch. Fistfight?" The blond one asked.
Aqua shook her head. "No, she left after she slapped."
The ponytail boy stepped closer, standing to Aqua's left as he looked over the gully. "Some of us came here before. I know I did, I wanted to jump." The boy said softly so only Aqua heard him. "I didn't, though."
"May I ask why?" Aqua asked.
"Because I thought, long and hard here for about four hours." The boy began. "There's more to life than being used or hated. That and my ... friends," He nodded to the four others. "Wouldn't have let me."
"Hated would be my case, or loved only for what I can do." Aqua sighed.
"But you do have friends?" Asked the blond boy as he also came closer.
"No, well." Aqua thought about it with a frown. "Yea I guess, one or two. But lately we been drifting apart, they been acting like they want me to just disappear."
"Maybe you just need a break from each other. We know how that feels." One of the boys behind Aqua chuckled slightly at his friend's comment.
"What?" Aqua asked, looking over her shoulder, though she wasn't sure which one had chukkled she thought it was the one the uni-bang that hide his eyes.
"We have gone through the same thing. Just go out and do something alone for a while. It helps to reflect before you make such a drastic choice. Both with your family and your friends."
"But then, what if it doesn't help?" Aqua asked quietly after a few moments, allowing doubt showing in her voice.
"Then you talk. See why everyone are acting like that. If they don't know they're doing it they'll try to stop; if they didn't mean to hurt you so badly they would apologize." The blond boy answered giving her a reassuring smile.
"Why did you come here today?" Aqua asked as she turned to face all five of the teens.
This got the one that had a cold air to smilesoftly. "We have own reasons and one was to stop you from jumping."
Aqua raised her eyebrows at them but getting no response she kicked a rock into the gully below. Maybe she should talk it out with her friends ... she was starting to think her mother hadn't really meant to hit her. She probably thought Aqua would duck or just didn't mean to.
"So, have you decided to jump or not?" The ponytail boy asked, drawing Aqua from her thoughts.
Aqua looked at the gully below before she took a step back. "I'll not jump, ever. I think life is worth living. But may I ask your names?"
"Why Aqua, we thought you know us. Maybe you should check your old boxes." She could hear the ponytail boy's voice laughing but she was only confused.
"What --" Aqua turned to find herself alone. "Wha?" Aqua scratched her head. Was the five a dream? A hallucination? First time a dream gave her advice... but she wasn't going to look a gifted horse in the mouth.
Aqua smiled to himself and began to trek back to home. When she got there her mother was waiting at the door. "About the fight..." She began.
"Forget it mom." Aqua interrupted as her mother touched her bruised cheek and started crying as she garbed her daughter in a hug.
Aqua dug through some boxes that held things from her childhood and early teen years, it had been a week since she had that experience at the gully though everything didn't become easy and happy so quickly she, her mother and her friends was working thingsout.
Aqua smiled to herself as she remember decorating the tree for Christmas yesterday, tomorrow would be Christmas Eve and she was going through boxes to check over things they would put up for more space. Aqua jerked her hand back when she felt some cool, like metal in the box.
Funny. She thought. I thought I only put old movies and toys in here. She thought as she reached it. It was a tin case and in it was three movies but Aqua didn't look at the title as she saw the faces on the cassette cases.
It can't be. She thought as she jerked one of the movies out and quickly put it into her T.V/VCR. She felt the air leave her lungs as she watched the faces of the five young men she seen on the cliff cross the screen and remembered what the ponytail boy said.
Maybe you should check your old boxes! That was them! The blond one ... he was Quatre! The ponytail boy was Duo, the one with green eyes that was Trowa, Wefui was the Chinese boy and Herro was the other! She thought to herself as she looked at the screen again.
"So then ... that how they knew. Seems my childhood heroes decided to save my life too." Aqua said out loud as she took the movie out and with the other movies of the Gundams and their pilots she put them up on the shelf where her most valued things was kept. Aqua smiled to herself as she closed her eyes. "Thanks guys, where ever you are thanks. And Merry Christmas." She said as she left the room, though she knew the five wasn't here Aqua had a funny feeling they heard her.