While studying in the university library, Katherine lost track of time as usual. When she looked up from her textbooks, she realised that there was no one else in the library except for her and the guy who was one of the best students in her year. She stretched her back. Her neck was quite sore. She had forgotten to take a break again.
She quickly gathered her study materials. Just as she was about to leave the library, her smart classmate stopped her with a worried tone, "Uhm! K- Katherine, are you leaving?"
What was his name though? Anyways, "Yes. It's getting quite late. Are you going to study more?" Katherine replied politely. The boy stood up as if ready to leave, "No, I was just about to leave too. Do you... want to get something to eat on your way?"
For a brief moment, perhaps less than a second, he saw a change in the girl's expression. It was as if her face was switched between two different moods. "I'm... not hungry. But thank you for the kind offer!"
She had the most beautiful smile which send butterflies to the guy's stomach. "Oh, yeah! Sure. Have a good night then." He watched her leaving the library. "You haven't eat anything since you came here though..." he mumbled to himself.
After leaving the library, she stopped by the market to buy a few things for dinner. When she peacefully gazed at the sky, the cool spring air filled her lungs with a fresh feeling.
Living far away from the city lights, she could see the sky much more clearly. The sky was full of shining stars. Their beauty was calling her, urging her to come closer. In the end, she couldn't resist and found herself walking up the quiet street, surrounded by falling leaves. When she reached the top, she was all alone. There was nobody around and there was no sound except for the rustling of the wind sweeping through the branches of the trees.
Of course she had been here before, but she had never had time to admire the view of the city below. She lifted her head, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Suddenly, a sob interrupted her peace, caused her to look towards the edge of the abyss.
There was someone sitting on a wooden bench at the end of the path with their head down. Katherine squeezed her eyes to be able to see far in the dark. She heard sobs coming from the person. Was that person crying?
The person quickly raised their head and stood up, causing a couple of beer cans to fall from the bench. Now, after seeing the curves of her body under her dress, Katherine was sure that the person was a woman. The woman's blond hair blew in the wind for a while, then she approached the safety bar, wobbling slightly before climbing onto it.
Katherine's eyes widened as she gasped. In the blink of an eye, she dropped the things she had bought from the market and began to run towards the woman. She wanted to scream between her quick breaths to make the woman stop, but she was not sure if that would scare her and make her fall instead.
Katherine had almost reached the safety bar as the woman took a step into the void. As soon as she reached the safety bar, she grabbed it with one hand and caught the woman's wrist in mid-air. There was a loud thud as Katherine slammed into the safety bar and the woman into the wall.
Katherine clenched her teeth, and tightened her grip both on the woman's wrist and the bar. She was in terrible pain from hitting the bar. Her stomach was throbbing. She looked down at the woman. The woman must have been stunned from the impact with the wall since her head was on top of her shoulder, fully unconscious.
Katherine tried to catch her breath, "Miss- Haah... Miss, are you all right?" The woman's head moved slightly. At first, her gaze wandered into the void and then she raised her head and met Katherine's eyes. Katherine was momentarily surprised by the irises set like diamonds in woman’s tearful eyes. They were beautiful.
The woman's expression was not one of fear, but rather of disappointment. Her cheeks were wet with tears. Katherine was shocked, but before she could get over her surprise, the woman raised her head to the sky and closed her eyes. She was expressionless.
Did she gave up? Katherine thought to herself. She had no idea what the woman was going through or who she was, but for now, all she wanted to do was to save this woman. A tear fell from the woman's closed eye. It landed on her chin and fell into the void.
Katherine's chest ached. It was only for a moment. But it hurt. She tightened her grip, then pulled the woman up the hill as if she was pulling a piece of paper. Leaning against the safety bar, Katherine wrapped her arm around the woman's waist. She then lifted her up and placed her on the safety bars. Gathering her strength one last time, she took the woman into her both arms.
Katherine hugged the woman tightly and collapsed to the ground. The woman clutched the collar of Katherine's shirt as her head rested on Katherine's shoulder.
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