“Hey, are you going to jump?”

I took a step back from the bridge as I suddenly heard a male voice behind me. I was indeed going to jump. I had already prepared myself for jumping, but this person out of nowhere suddenly interrupted me.

“You don’t have to do this. Every problem has a solution” he said.

I could feel that he was nearing me but I didn’t turn back.

“Whoever you are, just leave me alone.” I said to him in a cold voice.

“Are you dumb? There must be people who love you. Do you not care about them at all? How will they feel?”

I stood there without uttering a word.

Tears were rolling down from my cheeks.

“There’s no one who loves me.” I said in a harsh voice and walked away in anger, but was suddenly pulled by him. I saw his chocolate brown eyes as he made me face him. An unfamiliar face, yet felt familiar to me. His eyes were piercing through mine as if to see through me.

......................

I work as an illustrator in an animation company. It’s been six months since I joined this company. Illustrating department was always cheerful and lively. Everyone enjoys themselves even in working hours except this one girl, her name was Ivy.

I started to notice her because of her name. She reminded me of a little girl who I had a special relationship with when I was young. But we aren’t together now. I don’t know where she is too. Okay back to the point. She will come to office exactly on 9 and went back on 5. She never talked to anyone except our head and she doesn’t even bother to look at others.

She was like a robot whose programming was already set and she does things according to it. She refuses to go outing with colleagues and she never participated in any activities organized in our company. As days passed by, my curiosity in her grew into a tree from a little plant.

I wanted to know more about her not just because of her name. I genuinely started to feel for her. I never thought I would fall in love with someone than that little girl. Then I started to stalk her in the only social networking platform she was in, Instagram. But it was an utter failure as she never posted anything and probably she never used it. It was quite obvious and most of my colleagues knew that I was into her.

But she doesn’t even know me even though we work in a same company. What a pitiful person I’m, right! Anyway I kept watching her each day and the more I watch her the more I want to know the real person behind that cold face. I never made a move on her, for some reasons I didn’t had the courage to talk to her directly..

......................

Today I was working on an illustration after the office hours. She was also there… right in front of me, doing nothing. I didn’t know why she was in office after working hours when she don’t have any extra works, she was very oblivious that she didn’t know someone was sitting in the room except her.

An hour passed by like that. Suddenly I saw her getting up and walking out, I felt something off as I saw her walking. There was some kind of gloomy aura around her. So I decided to follow her, also have to try to not get caught stalking.

I was shocked when she walked to the bridge and stood there on the wall. Is she going to jump? My heart was pounding like anything. Somewhat I mustered up my courage and walked to her.

......................

“Who are you? Whoever you are, just leave”. I said rudely and jerked off his hands. He let go of my hands and looked at me dumbfounded.

“Oh my… Are you serious? You don’t even know the guy who sits behind you in office. I mean I was literally interested in you and was stalking you every day but you still have no idea who I’m” he said.

What? So he is my colleague. No wonder I felt familiar but why was he stalking me? Did he just say he is interested in me? Did I heard wrong? Anyway he spoiled everything…uhh... Suddenly he snapped me out of my thinking.

“I don’t know if this is the right time to say it. After all you were going to suicide just now…” I interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.

“What do you want to say? Just say it and go. Whether I kill myself or live doesn’t concern you. So tell what you want and go”. I said angrily.

“Oh God…Whether you kill yourself or live does concerns me a lot…because…because I love you. I had always loved you”.

I was shocked. Is he mad? Does he know anything about me?

“Are you mad? Do you know anything about me? How can you just love someone who you don’t even know well.”

“It’s true that I don’t know anything about you…except one thing…” he said and looked deep into my eyes.

“I know that you are going through something. These eyes hide a lot amount of mysteries. Every time I see you like that…with your cold face…without any emotions, I feel bad. I have that urge to hug you and tell you that everything is going to be alright even if I don’t know what you are going through…I want to love you and give you all the happiness. I want to see you smile. I always wondered how beautiful your smile would be”. He stopped talking for a while and took my hands.

“Ivy, let me protect you. Let me take away all of your sorrows. Let me tear away that gloomy mask you always wear and bring out a beautiful person. I promise that I’ll make you happy as long as I’m alive. Please just give me a chance…I’ll never give up on you and I’ll show it you”.

......................

I was literally shocked. Whatever he said had moved me to a very extend but how can he just say things like that.

He doesn’t know anything about me in the first place and I too don’t know anything about him. If he didn’t said that he was my colleague I would still have no clue about him.

But I was still in a daze. No one had ever told any good words to me in my 22 years. My life was a live Cinderella movie. Mama died, Papa got remarried, a vicious stepmother and her daughter and a long lost childhood love.

Stepmother and her daughter always mess with me and create troubles for me. These are the usual plots in movies yet it is the reality. It’s not that I am naive or I can’t react against their atrocity, I just love my Papa.

I was only 10 when my Mama died and Papa married my stepmother for me. But little did he know that she only had eyes for his wealth. She still acts nice to me in front of him.

I didn’t have enough courage to prove her true colours in front of him. It would shatter him and break his heart as he believed completely in her. Yesterday was Mama’s 12th Death Anniversary. Papa and I always made offerings to Mama on this day, but yesterday was a hard day for me and Papa.

My stepmother made a big scene for making offerings to Mama…she shouted at Papa to let go of his feelings for my Mama. I got really angry for her attitude and shouted back at her. She showed her true colours then, she kicked me out of my own house. What made me more angry and sad was Papa’s silence.

Papa neither said a single syllable when she badmouthed Mama and shouted at him nor he stopped her when she was kicking me out. I never knew my Papa will also abandon me for her and her daughter.

So I left that house once and for all with all my belongings and Mama’s things which I secretly kept for myself. I decided to go to the apartment in town, which Mama bought when she was working. She transferred it to my name before she died. At least I don’t have to be a stray dog, but I missed the last bus to the town and I had to stay in a hotel.

As for the suicide incident…I wasn’t really going to die but I was going to jump. I used to swim whenever I was sad and wanted to vent my anger. Papa always brought me to this bridge when I was a kid and we jumped together and enjoyed swimming.

I was crying because I was angry on that woman…I always hated the moment when my anger turns in to tears. What made me more dumb was this guy…he was right that I had many problems, but I’m not stupid enough to end my life. I don’t talk to anyone not because of my personal issues. I was suffering from a damned tooth ache for past 6 months and I didn’t bother to see a dentist as I’m not much of a talking person. His imagination was beyond the limit. He even managed to imagine such a stupid story for me.

......................