The Cliff Edge

   Alex was standing at the end of a cliff and trying to come up with reasons why, after all this time he shouldn’t jump. He wasn’t studying any more,he finished his studies a while ago. Unable to find a job based on his speciality he went after any job he could find. He did find a job,and it was going well,for a while. Until he got pretty sick and he missed too many days to come back to work.He was let go. After that, more doctor appointments followed, which made a job search a bit complicated. Once he was all clear,he was healthy but without any income. He had to move out of his apartment and in with his parents. So there he stood,no more studies,no job,living with parents,single and history of depression.

   His depression was coming and going when it wanted,torturing him,making him feel like all is lost and hopeless.Every day of his life, felt like a vacuum,sucking him deeper into the dark abyss and making it harder with every day to get out. He did not know where to turn,who to turn to and when every day of his life felt like torture,he saw only one way to go. So here he stood,on the edge of a cliff. Free, in a long while, yet alone as usual. He was trying to come up with reasons why after all this time he shouldn’t jump. 

   The dark woods behind him,seemed serene and comforting,having opened the way for this vast open in front of him. As if the drop would be the internal embrace which would make it all better and the woods being the passage way to the end of the suffering. In this late evening,the stars started to appear. Alex looked up and took a second to appreciate the beauty of this world before him. Looking at the stars reminded him how he would move from city to city because of his parents, and yet every evening he would look up at the stars from his bedroom window,and the stars would always be there for him,with him,watching over him,right where he left them. It reminded him of the favourite songs he used to listen to at night, while gazing at the stars alone in his bedroom. It reminded him of that time he camped in his back garden with cousins, and spent the night,looking at the stars, he looks at now. These moments made him smile. It made him remember the good times,the innocent times,the fun times. It made him realise that maybe, the world is not as dark as it seems.Maybe there is always someone watching you,someone who cares about you. The stars he was looking at now, seemed like an old friend he had forgotten. No matter how dark it might seem,there is always a moment you wouldn’t trade for anything,the moment you would cherish and remember forever.

   The world might seem dark to Alex at the moment, but this evening he walked away from that cliff edge. Understanding and realising, that there is always some light in the dark.Something to cling to. Where there is dark,there is always light and where is light,there is always hope. Alex walks away clinging to his hope. Clinging to the hope, that he will have more of those small moments to cherish and remember.That things will get better and knowing that in his darkest hour,the world as not as dark as it might seem.