Chapter 252

The wind on the rooftop was fierce, howling past Carmen as she stood teetering on the edge.
Below, the woman who had attacked her earlier was pointing upward while gesturing wildly, her voice faintly audible even against the wind. Around her, a small crowd had gathered. Some laughed while others shook their heads, but they all watched with that morbid curiosity reserved for train wrecks and car crashes. Carmen glanced down, her heart heavy with despair but tinged with something darker-resentment.
She thought about what their faces would look like after she jumped. Would they scream? Would they cry? Or would they feel that cold rush of guilt as they realized they’d pushed her this far?
A bitter smile tugged at her lips. The thought felt almost like revenge.
Closing her eyes, Carmen raised her arms, the wind tugging at her clothes. Then, she let herself fall forward.
“Gosh!”
“She’s jumping!”
Screams and gasps erupted from the ground below as her body tipped over the edge.
For a brief moment, Carmen felt weightless-free.
Then, everything stopped.
Pain shot through her arm as her body jerked to a halt. She opened her eyes, confused, only to find herself hanging in mid-air. Her hand was gripped tightly by someone from behind. “What-” Carmen’s voice was hoarse, her mind reeling.
Looking up, she saw her savior-Felicia. Her face was pale but resolute, and her arm was stretched taut as she clung to Carmen with all her strength.
Blood dripped from a gash on Felicia’s forearm where it had scraped against the coarse edge of the rooftop, but she was smiling. She looked relieved, almost triumphant. “Gotcha,” Felicia murmured, her voice trembling from the effort. “Just in time.”
She had sprinted up the stairs, her legs screaming with every step. She was completely out of breath by the time she reached the rooftop. But in that critical moment, she managed to grab hold of Carmen’s wrist and grip it tightly.
Carmen’s voice was choked with emotion, her throat raw as she pleaded, “Let go. Just let me go. I can’t take it anymore… I’m so tired.”
Felicia didn’t budge. One hand held Carmen’s wrist in an unrelenting grip while the other clung to the rooftop’s edge with all her strength to keep them both from falling. Her voice, strained but steady, carried a sharp edge of determination.
“Carmen, listen to me. The ones who deserve to die are those who spread lies about you. They haven’t faced justice yet. Why should you give up now?”
Her words were fierce and resolute. The fire in her eyes stopped Carmen cold.
Finally, help arrived. A crowd of people gathered on the rooftop and worked together to pull Carmen back to safety.
Once she was back on solid ground, a flood of well-meaning advice followed-“Don’t give up”, “Life is precious”, and “Think things through”. But as the crowd dispersed, Carmen stayed behind, her eyes red as she looked at Felicia.
“Why did you save me?” she asked, her voice trembling.
It wasn’t a simple question. Felicia had risked her own life saving Carmen’s. One wrong move, and she could’ve been pulled down too.
Felicia rotated her sore shoulder, inspecting the scrapes on her arm. They were nothing too serious; a good cleaning and some ointment would take care of them.
Hearing Carmen’s question, she paused. She thought about it, “Maybe it was empathy. Maybe it was my own inability to stand by and watch someone suffer. Or maybe it was because I had seen Carmen die once before.” Felicia stood up and extended a hand toward Carmen, who was still sitting on the cold concrete. “Carmen, tell me do you want to fight back? To use their own weapons against them?”
Carmen blinked, confused and
bitterly amused. “What do you
mean? I’ve tried everything. I went to
the police I tried to explain myself. I even went to the hospital and got proof an official report showing I never did anything they accused me of? But none of it worked
The rumors might shift, but they wouldn’t stop.
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