The bridge remained lit despite the late hour. The city sent beams of light from its bright whole into the dark of the other side as the occasional car slid by on the wet road.
She remained the lone pedestrian foolish enough to be traveling despite the damp weather. Her steps paused midway through the trek. She looked out, past the edge of the bridge and towards the water somewhere far below that was doing its best to match the sky. Laughter echoed somewhere above her in one of the towers that marked the halfway point of the bridge. She could dimly make out shadows that indicated movement beyond the stained glass windows, no doubt another late night celebration of the city's anniversary.
She gripped the top of the wet steel that marked the boundaries of the bridge, her hands long numbed to the cold. Her breath came out in light visible puffs as she pulled the rest of her body up, kneeling on the top of it.
Hands trembling, she gripped the beam above her and nearly slipped. She clenched her jaw, managing to swing up and catch her legs on the bottom of the beam, then slowly willed her body to inch its way to the top of the bridge's supporting crossbeams.
There. She sat on the edge, looking out towards the water that seemed to touch the edge of the sky. A chill breeze slipped through her clothes, causing her to shiver. The water would be near freezing below. She glanced down towards the relative safety of the sidewalk, her expression revealing her growing indecision.
And yet hesitation is why she came at this time. No one was around to try and stop her. This was the best way.
Her legs trembled as she rose to her feet. The drop loomed below her, tugging with gravity's insistence. Again she mentally debated herself. The easy thing to do would be to climb down, go back, pretend everything was the same and hope that this need would become a bad memory. Live a comfortable lie.
The icy breeze returned, burning her cheeks. Her head lifted up towards the sky, hoping for a single star to break through the shadowed monotony. Instead a light rain began to fall.
Despite her fear, she smiled. No miraculous sign would be her guide. This was her own choice.
She lowered her head towards the water, angling herself to the position she believed would work the best.
The rain covered the spot she had been standing, no sound to mark her departure.
Far below, the water churned.
A figure met the point between the water and sky. Two long shapes spread from the back, lifting the figure higher into the air, rising past the cloud cover to greet the morning.
