Chapter 1: The Bridge

I had counted fourteen steps to the railing.

Step fifteen was air. Step fifteen was the sea. Step fifteen was silence.

I took step fourteen.

Then I heard a cry.

Not mine. I had stopped crying months ago. This was smaller. Weaker. Like a kitten left in the rain.

A baby.

I looked down at the beach. Driftwood. Dark sand. A bundle moving near the water's edge.

Keep walking, I told myself. Fourteen steps. One more. You are done with this world.

But my feet turned toward the path to the beach.

My leg screamed. The stone joint fused to my bones—the doctors said I would never move freely again. Every step was glass in my veins.

I kept walking.

When I reached the bundle, I saw her. A baby. Maybe one year old. Tiny fists clenched. Face red from crying. Abandoned. Alone.

Like me.

I reached down. Grabbed her. My hands were shaking. I had never held a baby before.

She stopped crying.

Her small hand found my long hair. Pulled. Held.

And then she smiled.

I forgot the bridge.

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