"You're not thinking of jumping, are you? Because the distance from here to down there is quite far. If you jump, you might have difficulty getting back to the surface."
"W-who are you? Don't try to stop me," Theo retorted as he found the man suddenly appearing and startling him. The man shifted his focus to Theo.
"Me? Why would I stop you?" The man furrowed his brow upon hearing Theo's earlier words.
"W-what? Don't you intend to stop me?"
"Everyone has their own problems, and each person has their own way of dealing with them. To fight or to surrender, it's all in their hands. If for them, ending their lives is the best way, then that's their choice."
"You don't care if someone wants to commit suicide in front of you?"
"It's not that I don't care. It's just, isn't that their decision? If someone decides to die, it means they're ready to face even bigger problems that they'll encounter in the afterlife, right?"
"W-what?" Theo was taken aback by his surprising statement. The man's words seemed to pierce through him.
"Just think about it. Perhaps in this world, you have many problems that make you tired and want to give up. But by choosing to die, it doesn't mean you solve all the problems you have, right? We never know what significant problems we'll face in the afterlife. Just so you know, when you die and encounter problems in the afterlife, you won't have a chance to run away anymore." The man leaned on the bridge railing, gazing straight at the wide river below. Beside him, Theo stood in stunned silence, contemplating the stranger's words.
Theo slowly descended and stood beside the man, gazing in the same direction toward the river. The man glanced at him when he noticed Theo abandoning his suicide attempt. "Maybe what you said is true. But you don't know how serious the problems I'm facing are. I truly feel incapable of dealing with everything. Moreover, I have to face it all alone."
"It's not just you who has problems. Out there, many people also have the same problems as you, maybe even more severe. But they still endure and face it all because they believe that in every difficulty, there's a happy ending waiting for their journey."
"A happy ending?"
"Yes. If you believe in that too, then you'll be able to fight through it all. Perhaps now your journey feels heavy, but someday you'll remember this journey as your greatest time when you could face everything. Alone, without anyone's help."
Theo fell silent once again, pondering over his words. For some reason, every word that came out of the man's mouth felt true. He shouldn't give up on everything he's facing and should continue to fight.
"Why are you silent? Weren't you intending to commit suicide earlier? Did my words change your mind?" the man asked, observing Theo, who remained silent without answering. His intention to end his life instantly vanished upon hearing every word spoken by the man.
"Okay, if you don't want to answer, but I want to know something. If, for example, you die and get a second chance at life, what would you do?"
"If that really happens, I just want to live happily and try to lead a better life."
"That's good. You'll surely be able to achieve all of that." The man smiled warmly. Theo remained silent, staring at him. Shortly after, Theo's attention shifted when he noticed a light emanating from something. The light came from a small gem in the man's shirt pocket.
"That..." Theo unconsciously pointed at the object in the man's pocket. The man turned his attention to what Theo was indicating and took it out. It turned out that the item with the small gem that Theo saw was a pen.
"Why are you looking at my pen like that?"
"No, I just saw the object glowing."
"This pen glows? Haha, you're funny. There's no light in my pen. It's just a decoration with a small gem. Oh! By the way, I have to go; I still have some business." The man walked away, leaving Theo still in silence, gazing at his departure. He was certain that the pen he saw was glowing.
*
Crash!
The door was violently smashed until it came off its hinges. A group of men in black suits entered, wreaking havoc in the entire room and destroying everything in sight. The commotion disturbed Theo from his sleep. The man immediately woke up upon hearing the chaotic sounds inside his house. Theo rushed to the door to check what was happening. Upon peering through, he saw a group of strangers entering and wreaking havoc in his entire space.
Robbers? Theo's eyes widened as he realized their presence. Panic and fear immediately enveloped him. Restless, Theo didn't know what to do. He tried to think for a moment about how to face such a situation. Unfortunately, his mind was too slow to think in this panicked situation.
Before Theo could come up with an idea to handle the situation, the robbers approached his bedroom and forcefully broke down the door without hesitation. Startled, Theo's body was thrown backward, and he fell to the floor. The robbers tried once again to break the door until the bedroom door swung open. "I knew you would be here."
One of the robbers smiled while staring at him, causing Theo's fear to escalate. His body trembled violently, and sweat covered him entirely. For a moment, he was completely unaware that the group of people seemed odd from the beginning, with their unusual appearance. Instead of looking like robbers, they resembled a gang of thugs assigned to cause all this destruction.
They all approached Theo and crouched right in front of him, scrutinizing him closely. "I-I beg you, don't hurt me. You can take anything into this house. But please, don't hurt me..."
For him, surrendering now and giving away all his possessions seemed better than resisting and ending up injured at their hands. Theo believed that if he fought back, he could end up dead. Their expressions seemed like those of people who wouldn't hesitate to kill others to achieve their goals. Upon hearing Theo's plea, one of the men chuckled.
"Do you think we came here to rob? What we're looking for here is you!"
"M-me?" Theo trembled even more. The man approached, gripping Theo's jaw forcefully.
"We came here for revenge because you dared to touch our master."
"Y-your master—agh!" Theo's words were cut off as a cold object suddenly stabbed into his stomach. He lowered his head and saw the man thrusting a knife into his abdomen.
"This is the punishment you deserve." The man pulled his knife, and blood immediately gushed out, soaking the entire floor. Theo's voice was stifled by the intense pain. Right after what he did, the man stood up and looked at him mercilessly.
Theo's large body slowly collapsed and sprawled on the floor, with blood continuously flowing out. "Go to hell!"
***