End of the Line

Everyone said I always read into things too much; that I let my imagination fool me into thinking things that weren't really there. I'm grateful for that - especially August 1st 2012. My name is Holly and that was the day I became a life saver.

I was at the train station in my small town, heading for Manchester. I was leaning against the fence, waiting for my train - I had about 15 minutes kill waste. There were a few other people too, non really of interest except one. I wasn't quite sure why he stood out to me despite how hard he tried to make himself invisible. Maybe it was how he had his hood up, shading his face, on ths scorching day. Or how he kept looking around nervously. Or how he was shaking - obviously not because he was cold. Or how when his gaze met mine, his eyes screamed 'I'm sorry'. His sunken, emotionless, blue holes of despair surrounded in black in an attempt to hide the redness of crying.

As I watched him, I was almost certain he didn't have a ticket - he didn't buy one and he wasn't holding one. That started off a series of posibilities inside my head:
a) He was a train spotter (unlikely)
b) He was meeting someone (likely)
or c) ...
I didn't even want to think about what 'c' could posibly be even though the morbid side of my brain repeatidly sneered 'He's going to jump'. I didn't want to list that as a posiblility but somehow, I just knew.

That made me watch him more, analysing what each of his actions could mean. He probably thought I was some kind of creep. He kept checking the time which was 16:01. I made my way towards the edge of the platform - an old habit of mine - and before long, he followed suit. That dampened my spirits because if he was meeting someone, he would've stayed back there to avoid the [posible] flow of people spilling from the train. He was only a few feet away from me.

"The 16:03 service to Manchester is delayed by approximately 9 minutes. We apologise for any inconvenience." The automated voice rang out across the platform and I hears a few groans from the other people. He now had his hands in fists but they were still shaking.

My worries kept piling up and every single move he made added to them. I needed to do something - I could practically feel that he was going to do it. I needed to get within grabbing distance of him - just incase. I couldn't just shuffle closer to him or else he'd just move away thinking I was even more of a creep.
'Ask him something,' good idea brain. But what? What do you ask a complete stranger that you think is going to take their own life within a few minutes?

I finally came up with something and awkwardly walked over to him. "Do you, um, know what time the train'll get in? I've got another train to catch after this..."
He looked startled, like a deer in head lights. "N-No, sorry," he said quietly, not trying to draw attention to himself.
"Oh, thanks anyway," I smiled at him and he returned an empty one.

Looking at the clock, there were five minutes before the delayed train arrived. 'Five minutes to make a difference' I said to myself.
The automated voice startled me: "The nest train on platform 1 does not stop here; please step away from the platform edge."
'No!' Nonononono! I saw the train coming round the corner rapidly. I also saw him grip his fists even tighter and bend his knees slightly. A sudden gust of wind blew him hood down and I could see his face. His eyes were screwed tight.
'Is everyone here completely blind?!'

The train was approaching rapidly; I wasn't ready but I was the only one who could save him.

He bent his knees to spring infront of the soon-to-be life taking contraption. I was a fraction of a second behind him. I dived along the platform in a desperate attempt to grab him. My fingers brushed his back.
'No!' I didn't know whether that was said aloud or not.

Time had frozen but I was still moving. Still falling. His hood was in my reach and I pulled on it with all my strength before I hit the floor.