The Man on Top of the Skyscraper

*trigger warning, mental health content*

At the top of a building, a person stands on a bridge.  This building is a very tall building, like the ones you see in Chicago or New York City.  The man is on the edge of the building like there’s nothing left to lose.  A woman sees him from the sidewalk below.  Her heart drops, and her instinct is to scream out to stop him, but there’s no way he would be able to see or hear her from where she’s at and the distance he is from her.  She calls 9-1-1, and at the same time, the man’s brother runs out the door on the top floor of the building.  His brother sees him and calls out his name, “Jerry,” his brother cries out, “no,” he continues to shout.  

“Yes,” Jerry says calmly.  He didn’t turn around.  They were on the patio of their apartment.  Jerry was blind.

“This isn’t the patio of our apartment,” his brother explains in worry.  “Where’s your cane,” his brother asks.  Jerry had no idea where he was, that there was no railing around the “patio” of the very top floor of their apartment, and that he was about to get himself killed.  The police and the ambulance came, and Thomas, Jerry’s brother, had to explain that he’s a blind man that wanders sometimes, and that he’ll do a better job of looking after Jerry.  The paramedics and officers took a deep breath, and let out a half chuckle.  They told Thomas if he ever needed anything, to let them know.  They never told the woman that Jerry wasn’t trying to kill himself, they never said much of anything, actually.  They instead just told the woman not to worry, and that it’s taken care of.