He trotted nearer to the edge, his small feet kicking rocks into the sea. He watched as they fell; like small comets raining from the sky. They seemed to take forever to land in the water. Would it take him as long? Hopefully not. He wanted to get out of this world as soon as possible.

Would it be painless? He couldn’t know, but no pain could triumph the pain he had lived with.

Tears pricked his eyes as he remembered the looks, the disgust, the rejection.

Mom and Dad would find out soon. Then they would hate him like all the others.

He imagined Mom’s face when she discovered his secret. He imagined Dad’s when they discovered him gone.

They didn’t want his flaws, they wouldn’t want him. Would they? No. They wouldn’t. They would hate him too. With that thought in mind, he took a deep breath and plummeted to the sloshing water below.

As he closed his eyes and the water grew nearer, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he shouldn’t have done this.

But it was too late.

He was already falling.