Can you hear the wind?
She took a walk by the lake. A casual walk on a particularly ordinary day. She tiptoed along the bridge above the water and, without thinking about it, climbed on the railing and gathered herself. Dancing dangerously on the edge, her white dress whimpered in the wind, fluttering to and fro. A damsel, very much distressed on a windier day than normal.
Suddenly, as if she was never there, she was gone. A gust of wind, bad footing, or maybe her lack of will to live, either way, she was gone. She disappeared from the bridge, her body descending beautifully into the grungy blue abyss. The mystery she was just admiring, she would soon become a part of. She wasn't afraid, she didn't scream, she had always been an invisible woman. No one would notice or miss her now. She was met with an extreme amount of pressure that temporarily numbed her. After the initial shock, the water was warm and welcoming, and it engulfed her body and swallowed her whole. She continued to hold her breath as she sunk further and further down. Soon she wouldn't be able to hold her breath anymore and this decision would be final.
Quickly, impulsively, and out of nowhere she began to fight. Fighting, climbing frantically towards the surface, she was running out of time. The water doesn't forgive though and, as the only person fighting in her corner, she was outnumbered. Something had a hold on her and was trying to pull her back down.
A silent war and now this final silent battle will determine the winner. Quietly combating and suffering in plain sight everyday had exhausted her. So, she decided to surrender or so she thought. She’d never said much, she never wanted to complain or burden anyone. Between the vast lake, crashing wind, and the hums and moans of the city, no one could see her struggling. She was giving her soul in the fight of her life, but as usual it wasn't enough, nothing was ever enough.
Feelings of unwantedness, insignificance, and worthlessness.
She was consumed.
Frustrated, stressed, disturbed, anxious, dejected, distressed, worried, debilitated, drained, afraid, nervous, depressed, tense, troubled, worn out, defeated --
She couldn't handle it anymore.
Reaching her peak, about to boil over and literally unable to hold her breath any longer, the waves bounced up and down. Fortunately, her head was close enough to the surface to use the next bounce to catch a second of air before being pulled down again. So close to the top, but her body was becoming fatigued and now every breath she managed to get was also filled with water and she was losing it. After realizing that she was going to lose this war, she began to scream the next couple of times she was able to reach the surface. Sounding gargled and incomprehensible, she had never screamed so loudly before. She actually never screamed at all. She had accepted her position in the shadows a long time ago, and shadow people don't make much noise. She was used to not being heard or even seen for that matter. She let out a generous number of painful screams before being completely devoured and digested by the water. She never saw the couple on the bridge, stretching in between their routine jog. She never knew that someone had finally heard her.