It's 10:30 pm and the sun hasn't fully set yet. Rianna stows the vacuum cleaner in the janitor closet, together with her janitor cart. Lately she has so much to do, because 2 weeks ago this particular company began demanding their workers to work not more from home, but from the office. So there are twice as many cups she has to clean, it takes twice more time to vacuum and to wipe all the desks. Her cleaning job takes so much time that lately she is always home around midnight, but not tonight.
Tonight she has a helper. A new cleaning lady, or girl precisely (probably a foreign student from somewhere around east european), who just got hired by her company because of high demand in office cleaning service. Unfortunately this girl is not used to cleaning, Rianna is curious how her room looks, or if she is even capable of cleaning after herself. But a helper is better than no helper. At least this way, she has a company to talk to, even if it's only about the weather or how gross some of the tables are. And ofcourse with an extra pair of legs, she can command her to go to the trash can when her plastic bag is too full, so the work gets done faster. If she could choose, she'd prefer someone who knows how to wipe a table without leaving stripes traces, or someone who knows not to mix bleach and other cleaning products in the toilet. But choices are something lacking in her life lately, so she takes what she can get. Afterall, she has to be realistic.
Annie keeps checking her phone. For what Rianna feels like thousands of times this hour. "If you need to go somewhere, you can go. I can finish up and lock up."
Annie grins. "It's my birthday today! I am going to meet my friends and drink at a bar in Leidseplein."
"How nice, then go! I will finish everything, you can write full hours on the sheet. Count it as my birthday present!" says Rianna, she gives Annie a wink and hand gestures to her to leave. But Annie stays still.
"Rianna, you are always so.. Nice to me… " she begins to tear up. "I can't do shit, but you are always so patient.. And cover up for me."
Rianna is searching for words while locking the janitor closet. It's been a while since someone has bothered to call her nice, so she becomes a bit flustered. "Well, I guess you remind me of my daughter."
Annie's eyes become wider. "No shit! You have a daughter already?!"
Rianna chuckled. She gave birth to Cathy when she was 21, so she is already used to people reacting like Annie. "Yes, she was 15 years old."
"You're kidding me! How old are you?" Annie asks with a loud voice, almost screaming while putting both of her hands on Rianna's shoulders.
"I'm 36 this year."
"No way… " she releases Rianna. "I know you are older than me, but I thought you were around 25."
Rianna chuckles. "Well, thanks I guess.. I'm Indonesian, they say Asians age slowly. Now go, before you are late to your own party!"
Annie checks her phone one more time, and types something really fast before putting her phone to the back pocket of her way too tight jeans with way too low waistline. "We only need to run the dishwasher, let's do it and then you can join us for drinks. It's my treat!"
Rianna considers this for a moment, but she doesn't have any reason to reject her offer. Finding new friends is bound to happen when you start a new life, besides, she has nothing to lose. So she nods, and they run the dishwasher together.
When they step out of the building, the sky hasn't gone completely dark. They chat while walking beside the canal commenting about everything they see. They talk about how Annie came to the Netherlands, and Rianna told her story about how she and Michel met.
While they are on the crossing road, the sky is already dark, the street lamps are lit, and the road ahead is almost deserted as it is Monday evening at 11 pm already. Most people are either inside their house, or already in the bars if they want some drink. But suddenly Annie stops walking. "Wait, you told me that you have a daughter. You said she was 15? Was?"
Rianna lets out a deep sigh. "Yes, she was. But I'd rather save the story for another day."
She prays that Annie will let it go and stop asking further. Annie seems to ponder whether it is smart to question her further or to push down her curiosity. In the end they both don't say anything and walk in awkward silence. Rianna knows that she has to tell someone about Cathy, to her new friends. But she hasn't consider Annie a friend yet. A potential friend, yes, but not quite yet. So they cross the road, and walk towards a bridge where there's only one person standing on the side of the balustrade.
The realization hasn't hit her until she is across the bridge. Rianna turns her back and sees the man, standing with his back towards her on the other side of the balustrade. His black shaggy hair is covering his face that is looking straight into the water. Now she realizes where he was standing.
He was standing on the wrong side.
Both of his hands are gripping the metal handle, and next to him are his shoes, lying on top of a white envelope. Without thinking, Rianna pushes her bag to Annie and sprinting towards the man. He stands there but not making any move yet as if he is still gathering his courage, or pondering his decisions, but it doesn't matter to her. She keeps running back towards the bridge.
"Ri.." stutters Annie still hasn't caught on to what is actually happening there.
But Rianna has no time to spare, so she keeps on sprinting. The only thing she does is look at Annie and yell "Call 113!"
***
"Sir!" calls Rianna to the man.
He lifts his head up and looks at her. His face looks pale, his slanted eyes look empty. She knows, he was ready to jump. "Please," begs Rianna. "Can we talk? Can you grab my hand, Sir?"
Annie, who finally catches on to what is actually happening there, runs towards Rianna and the guy. "Rianna… " gasps Annie.
"Call 113, or 112" says Rianna before she moves her attention back to the man. "Sir, can you hear me? Can you please grab my hand so we can talk?"
His blank eyes stare at her, and he shakes his head. She feels her heart drop into her stomach. She can't let it happen. Can't let it happen again.
Just can't for fuck sake.
"Annie, please call 113 now. I need professional help here." But Annie keeps fumbling in her handbag looking for her phone, which suddenly disappears without a trace. It's funny how you can't seem to find the thing you need at the most crucial time.
"Sir, please… Please come this way. We could talk."
He doesn't say anything. Now that they both stare at each other she could see that this man, probably from East Asia, Chinese if she has to guess, is a good looking young man. If his eyes are not so empty, and his face is not so emotionless.
Emotionless, that's the most dangerous state of mind. It is easy to console a sad one, or to calm an angry one. But when someone already doesn't feel any sadness, angriness, or desperation, it's over.
"Look, I understand how you feel." Rianna says almost pleading. "I was in your position 4 months ago."
Annie drops her hand bag in shock. Rianna turns her head towards Annie in disbelief. "What are you doing? Call someone!!" she says with gritted teeth.
"No."
The man finally says something. If Rianna doesn't see his lips moving, she would probably think that she imagines that. "Don't call. I'll talk"
Rianna grabs his left hand before he changes his mind. Once her hand meets his, she lets out a relieved sigh. "Can you climb over?"
He nods. "I will."
Rianna helps him climb over the balustrade. She doesn't release his hand while he wears his shoes, grabs the envelope and pocketed it. They walk hand in hand Rianna a couple steps ahead of him, like a mother leading her son back to safety.