“Don’t step any closer! I’ll jump!”

When the day started, standing on the ledge of a twenty one story building wasn’t something I planned to do. It was a long way down with no chance of survival. One small move and my life would be reduced to a puddled splotch of ruptured organs.

With a future predetermined, there was nothing that could have been done to change the chain of events that brought me to the building’s edge. Fate had a way of effecting plans or the absence of them. Life moved forward in a series of events and the only thing any of us could ever do was try to enjoy the ride.

As minute pieces in a cosmic jigsaw puzzle, each of us are connected in ways we might not see or understand. Nevertheless, the reasons are still important. These strands of interconnectivity bind us together regardless of our individual destinies. Lose one of the pieces and the totality is effected.

After coming across a stranger who was inches away from ending his life, I didn’t need to know the reasons that brought him to that point. The only thing that mattered was trying to save him from doing something regrettable. As far as I was concerned, destiny determined that our paths must cross and that was enough.

Never having been in that type of situation before, I wasn’t sure what to say. I had watched enough televised dramas to know there were some things a trained negotiator says and others they do not. Awash with adrenaline fueled hysteria, I couldn’t recall which words were the right ones. My mind was blank. I decided to talk to him no different than anybody else.

“Can you do me a favor?” I asked. “Can you move over about ten feet? My car is parked down there. If you land on it, my insurance might not cover the damage.”

Stunned by the request, he stopped threatening to jump from the building and cocked his head in my direction.

“Are you serious or are you trying to be funny?”

“A little of both, I guess.”

“Well, I can’t move. This is the spot.”

“Why? Over there is no different than here.”

“My father jumped from this same location. It’s my destiny to do the same.”

There were two types of people in the world; optimists and pessimists. Each perceived their birthright in a manner that best suited their view of the world. Scrutinizing interpretive moments from the past often led to a period of self discovery. It wasn’t a matter of being right or wrong. The actualization of self fulfilling prophecies provided a better understanding of the life each of us lived.

On the street below, a swarming crowd of onlookers started to swell in size. They looked small and insignificant, the way some people felt most of their lives.

Wailing sirens of emergency vehicles grew louder as the seconds ticked by. The longer I kept him talking, the greater likelihood that someone better trained in suicide prevention would arrive to coax him back to safety.

Pointing to his hand, I asked what he was holding. He averted his eyes to a photograph and traced around the woman’s face with his index finger.

“My wife,” he whispered. “That’s my Summer.”

“I used to know a girl named Summer back in high school. And another one named June. And one named December too.”

“That’s weird. My wife has a friend named December. Small world.”

“They didn’t grow up in Rockville, did they?” I asked with a chuckle. When the man stared at me with suspicion and nodded his head slow, I added, “Did they graduate from Rockville Academy?”

“They did. Did you know them?”

“It was a long time ago. I think we had a couple of classes together. I’m pretty sure one of ‘em was homecoming queen.”

“Summer was; two years in a row.”

As police and fire trucks pulled up to the building, a bevy of red and blue lights illuminated the ground below. With a little luck, the first responders were already on the elevator traveling towards the roof. All I needed to do was drag this out a few more minutes.

“I don’t know why you’re doing this but whatever the reason, it’ll pass. Everybody goes through a rough patch.”

“Not like this.”

“You think Summer deserves the pain you’re about to put her through?”

“She’s the love of my life. But…but the bitch is cheating on me. I can’t live with that.” Tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked at the photo one last time. “After I’m gone, will you tell her I’m sorry?”

“I will. I promise.”

I extended my hand and waited for him to reach out and shake it. When our hands connected, I yanked him closer to the wall that separated the ledge he stood upon and the flat roof where I was standing. As he tried to pull away, we struggled and his foot slipped off the edge. The full weight of his body almost pulled me from my perch.

He wasn’t a big man but neither was I. Without the necessary strength or leverage, my efforts to pull him to safety were futile. All I could do was hold him in place until someone else arrived. Unable to regain footing atop the ledge, his body thrashed around in fear. The look in his eyes suggested he didn’t want to die after all.

Behind me, I heard a cacophony of sounds; the opening of the metal door leading to the roof and firemen running in our direction.

I shouted over my shoulder, “Hurry up! He’s slipping!” I offered a comforted stare in the stranger’s direction, unsure what more to say. When our eyes locked onto one another, I whispered, “Your destiny is to die but mine is to marry your wife.”

Seconds before the firemen reached us, I released my grip and watched as he plummeted to the waiting crowd below.