The boards of the pier were rough beneath her hands as she watched the sun sink lower, turning the water fiery red. Her hard mulled cider sat untouched by her hand, long since chilled by the evening air. A stiff breeze cut through the thin sweater she\u2019d pulled over her sexy pirate costume. The wind brought with it the smell of the beachside bonfire and the raucous laughter of the revelers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey\u2014Emily, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her feet jerked mid swing and she swore as she banged one against the post. She hadn\u2019t heard his approach. \u201cIf you don\u2019t mind, I\u2019d prefer to be alone right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour friend wanted me to tell you\u2014she\u2019s leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat.\u201d Emily kicked her feet into the open air. If she pointed her toes she could just dip the tips of her shoes into the dark water. \u201cTell her I\u2019ll find my own way home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a moment when she didn\u2019t hear the scrape of shoes on wood she glanced behind her. \u201cYou\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. Sorry. Kind of my calling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStalking girls?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t enough height from the pier for a clean break,\u201d he said after a moment. \u201cIf you\u2019re lucky, you lose consciousness from the shock of the cold water. If you\u2019re not, you hit the bottom and slice your feet on the broken glass. You slowly bleed out as you swim for shore, the saltwater a constant burn in every cut. Maybe you\u2019ll make it to the shore\u2014some people do\u2014but then you\u2019re alone on a beach, unable to walk because of the lacerations. Every minute you remain outside wet and shivering your core body temperature drops until you fall asleep and never wake up. Most people never make it to land.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about you? Did you make it to land?\u201d Emily asked. She rubbed her hands on her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I jumped, my foot caught on a board and I went in head first. Snapped my neck upon impact. I never had more than a moment to regret my choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
She picked up her cider and took a sip, the alcohol burning the back of her throat. \u201cSo if I were to jump\u2026 if I wanted to end my life\u2026 I should go headfirst?\u201d<\/p>\n
His hand passed through her shoulder as he tried to grab her. \u201cThat is what you took from my warning?\u201d<\/p>\n
She rolled her shoulders and quirked her lips into a half smile. \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright, Michael. What made you think I came out here to jump? Did somebody say something? Or is it because I\u2019m by myself at a party?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael shook his head. \u201cThere\u2019s a\u2026 a feeling. And a name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas my friend actually looking for me? Or was that your way of trying to lure me away from here? Because if it was, that was a terrible way to go about it. Telling somebody suicidal that their friend is planning on abandoning them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it works.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine more often it encourages them to jump.\u201d She turned back to stare out across the water. \u201cHow many people have you encountered?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDozens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many were you able to talk out of jumping?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe a third of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you get tired of that? Always having people come out to your pier. Reciting the same speech time and time again? Don\u2019t you just want to\u2026 to stop? Especially since you\u2019re unsuccessful more often than not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe. But\u2026 then I remember the people I saved. And even those I didn\u2019t? At least they didn\u2019t die alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you had the chance to be free, you\u2019d stay here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my calling. I finally found my purpose in life\u2026 ironic that it took me dying to find it, huh?\u201d He sat down next to her. \u201cThat\u2019s my story. What\u2019s yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s All Hallows Eve. This is the night when the boundaries waver. This is the night when wandering souls can cross over.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re what, another spirit trapped on this realm?\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily shook her head, her hair catching the last rays of the evening sun. \u201cNo. I\u2019m the person who helps lost souls find their way home. Still not interested?\u201d She held her hand out to him and wiggled her fingers. \u201cAll you have to do is take my hand\u2014and jump.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The boards of the pier were rough beneath her hands as she watched the sun sink lower, turning the water fiery red. Her hard mulled cider sat untouched by her hand, long since chilled by the evening air. A stiff breeze cut through the thin sweater she\u2019d pulled over her sexy pirate costume. The wind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[381],"class_list":["post-9434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","tag-fall-prompt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9434\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.confabulatorcafe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}