" The Centaur and the Copper Star"
Chapter 2 – The Cliff
She walked for hours without knowing where her footsteps were leading her.
The world around her had become unrecognizable. Its colors had faded, its sounds had fallen silent. Only the wind, the stillness, and the unbearable grief that had consumed her soul for months remained.
When she reached the top of the cliff, the sea stretched endlessly beneath her like a vast, dark abyss.
The waves crashed violently against the rocks below while the wind lashed across her face, yet nothing could shake her.
She stopped at the very edge of the cliff.
One step.
Just one.
She closed her eyes and tightly held the wedding ring that still hung from a delicate chain around her neck. It was the last piece of the man she had loved, the only thing time had failed to take away.
Tears continued to fall, but she no longer felt them.
She had reached her limit.
She was not tired of life.
She was tired of pain.
Every morning was a battle.
Every night was a sentence.
Every memory reopened a wound that had never truly healed.
The sea seemed to be calling her.
The wind seemed to be urging her forward.
The emptiness before her appeared almost more merciful than the suffering she carried within her heart.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
She stared into the abyss.
The tips of her shoes touched the edge of the cliff.
She remained perfectly still.
Just one more moment...
...and she would decide whether to let go of life or hold on to it one final time.
It was at that very moment that the sky began to change.
The stars shone brighter than they ever had before.
Somewhere beyond the invisible boundary between heaven and dreams, someone had heard the silent cry of a broken heart.
And was about to reach her.
