Today is my last day on Earth. Today I’m going to kill myself

That was the message I saw on my phone when I woke up. I assumed it was a joke from one of my friends when I saw I name I didn’t know as the sender.

I quickly checked the time stamp. It was sent only five minutes ago. Surely this person didn’t intend to kill themselves in five minutes.

Did they?

I didn’t waste time pondering that thought.

Please don’t. You have so much to live for

I quickly typed that response and hit send. It’s funny, I hadn’t even fully woken up and I was talking someone out of committing suicide. And all before breakfast.

That’s a little cliché, isn’t it?

I couldn’t tell if that response was meant to be a joke or not. Under any other circumstances I would have accepted it as one and would have tried to lighten the mood. Now though, the air around the message was thick and depressing. I could feel dark mood emitting from this person’s side of the phone. Nothing about the vibe of this conversation allowed for jokes.

Maybe but it’s true
Think of your friends and family. There’s always something worth living for

I sent those two messages and waited as the three little dots appeared on my screen. I bit my lip, silently praying that I had convinced him to at least continue the conversation.

If he was talking to me he wasn’t thinking about offing himself.

That’s where you’re wrong. My family doesn’t care about me and I’m a loner. No one would miss me

I was tempted to counter that, to say that I would miss him, but to be honest I barely knew him. This was the first time we’d had an actual conversation.

I’m sure someone would. Teachers, pets, somebody

He replied quickly.

Nope
There’s no use in trying to help. I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to kill myself at the end of the day

I bit my lip in frustration. I couldn’t let him go through with it. Whether we were friends or not, he messaged me to tell me his plan. That meant something, right?

Please, just find someone. Anyone. I know someone cares for you

I was on the verge of tears. The fact that this kid, whose name I wasn’t too familiar with, was telling me that no one in his life cared if he lived or died made my sensitive emotions go into overdrive.

I quickly sent another message.

Just give it some time. It’ll get better

I waited. I waited for what felt like an eternity for him to respond.

Fine then. You have 24 hours to give me a reason to live

Notes