Dear Diary,

Something happened yesterday. I don’t know where to start. I met this boy. Well, I didn’t really meet him first. It’s surreal but I guess I...saved him.

I was driving on the bridge at about eleven last night, in the middle of one of the heaviest snowfalls I had ever seen. It had been a long day at work. It’s especially hard to function throughout your day when every time you look at someone’s face, you can understand everything their going through, but you can’t do anything about it. Because I’m terrible at talking to people.

Like I’ve said before, anybody else in the world would’ve been better fit to have this emotion reading “gift” I have.

I just wanted to go home, hide in my blankets, and watch Netflix.

Anyway, I was driving down the road when something caught my eye. Only, it was a someone. A person, a child, was standing on the edge of the bridge staring down below at the icy waters.

Panic and adrenaline spiked through my veins.

All I could think was don’t jump, kid. Don’t jump. Please. Oh no.

I veered my car over and slammed the brakes. I opened my door and the icy air met my face, shocking it.

Don’t jump.

I ran out of my car. “STOP!” I yelled. The child turned in the direction of my voice. I couldn’t see their face through all the snow.

I ran out to them. “I’m here now, don’t jump” I said.

“I love you, I’m here to help you.”

I wrapped my arms around their waist and lowered them back down to the concrete. The child didn’t resist, though I could feel his or her body wracking with hiccups and shaking with fear.

I thought, how the heck does a kid this young decide to do this?

Now I realize, this kind of thing doesn’t have a limit on how old you have to be.

I turned the child around to face me.

It was a boy, with his nose bright red and tears frozen to his face. He sniffed and cried out.

This was the moment.

I would’ve tried consoling him, to read his emotion and situation so I could at least try to talk to him...but his emotion...

it was different.

I had never encountered what he was feeling, and for once, I couldn’t understand it.

Grey.

I didn’t understand.

The child’s emotions were numb and the only thing I got from his face...was grey.

Instead of trying to understand, and to use words to help, I pulled him into a hug.

And we stayed there, embracing, holding on to each other, as the snow fell from the night sky.

I would’ve stayed there all night with him.