As Ming let go of the hand rail, he accepted his fate and relaxed his body. A hand swiftly approached Ming's back and had grabbed onto his shirt. With a smooth motion, Ming was yanked backwards, preventing him from jumping off the edge. An arm coming from the same person wrapped around Ming's neck, locking him place.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?!?!" The person behind Ming shouted out vehemently. The male panted rapidly. Clearly, he had seen Ming from afar and had ran as fast as he could to catch up.
"I..I.." Ming couldn't answer, rather, he was struggling to ever breathe with such an arm lock on his neck.
"Climb back over now!"
"But.."
"Now!" Ming could only listen to what the stranger was saying. After all, with such an arm lock, it would be impossible to jump even if he wanted to.
Ming climbed back over the railing. His legs weakened and his entire body slumped to the ground. The stranger who was preventing him from suiciding was also resting on the ground. He must've ran a far bit of distance so as to stop him from jumping off the highway.
"Why did you stop me?" Ming looked up with his spiritless eyes at the stranger.
"Huh?" The noise from the highway was too loud that the stranger couldn't pick up what Ming was saying.
"Why did you stop me from jumping?" Ming repeated.
"I did not want someone to die under my watch," The stranger finally caught his breath and continued with a follow-up question, "Moreover, what makes you think that suiciding was a good idea?"
Ming would normally not speak much to people that he did not know. However, at this point, what did he have to lose by telling this stranger his situation. "I have no reason to live anymore. I never had a reason to be alive in the first place."
"And what made you think that there was no reason for you to live?"
"From young, I never had a purpose in life. I never experienced joy for the most part of my life. I was always a pushover in other's eyes too. When I finally found colour in my black and white, I managed to lose it within seconds. I'm worthless and so, why not just end my life entirely?" Tears started to roll down Ming's face as he told the stranger how he felt.
"Then, why not prove those people that looked down on you wrong?" The stranger questioned. "What makes you think you would not be able to find colour in your life again? It is not the end in life until you yourself have given up on it!"
The stranger came closer to Ming and pulled him into his embrace. Ming was given a hug by the man. It wasn't the sort of hug that he was used to. Comfort. Warmth. Company. Those words entered his head as his weightless body felt something he lacked all these times.
"Find that purpose in life. Never give up when the going gets tough. If you really did jump, do you know how many people in this life would be impacted? I was taught by my father to always be humble, honest, and never be selfish. Death in itself is extremely selfish. When you die, you inadvertently leave a permanent mark on those you had left an impact on before."
"Ahhhhh! Ahhhhhh!" While the stranger spoke close to Ming's ear, the twenty-one year old couldn't help but start crying. The emotions which he had locked deep within his heart had been opened up with the key from the stranger.
"There there…You must've been through a lot, but this is only just the beginning of your life. Cry it out. Cry out all of that emotions you had kept in yourself over the years." The stranger patted Ming's back as he calmed him down over time.
After ten minutes, Ming finally felt better and the stranger got back up from his kneeling position. Reaching out his hand, he helped Ming up from the walking path.
"Thank you for stopping me. Wh..what is your name?" Ming looked at the guy who looked around his age.
"The name's Yue Guang. Ming Yue Guang." Ming Yue Guang smiled, satisfied. "What is your name?"
"My name is Li Ming, but others usually call me Ming."
"Li Ming… That is a nice name. Dawn of the day." Ming Yue Guang complimented.
"You are saying my name is nice? Your name is the moonlight."
The pair looked at each other and chuckled heartily together. Walking together along the highway, Ming and Yue Guang got to know each other better. Over time, the incident from before was put behind the both of them as they got to hear each other's life.
"You are saying that your father had been lying to you about his occupation his whole life?" Ming was surprised to hear such a story. This was normally seen only in books, but right now, there really was someone that was dealing with such a problem.
"Yeah…" Yue Guang smiled acceptingly, "Although he had lied to me my whole life, I know that my father was only doing that to protect me and my mother."
At the end of the highway, Ming and Yue Guang realised that they both studied in the same university. Yue Guang was currently doing his Masters in International Studies there. The two exchanged numbers after realising that they clicked rather well.
"Go back home and wash up, Ming. Unpause your life and continue pushing upwards into the sky!" Ming Yue Guang pumped his hand up while parting ways with his junior.
Ming watched as Yue Guang walked away from him. He smiled for the first time in many weeks. Right now, he was glad that Yue Guang was able to stop him from jumping. He was right. It was not the end of the world for him. He just needed to continue forward and not give up halfway.
Looking at Yue Guang's back, Ming shouted out, "Thank you for stopping me! Really, thank you!"
Ming Yue Guang pumped his hand up cooly one more time, not looking back as he walked onwards too.
Two individuals, both experiencing loss. One boy lost his father who had hidden the truth from his, so as to assure his son's safety. The other had his heartbroken by his first love and was not able to recover from such a trauma. The physical loss and emotional loss were two opposing ends and yet, when put together, the two boys would be able to learn some things about one another. From that, they will grow together, and eventually, they can move on towards a brighter future.