Adrian opened the door and walked out onto the roof. He stepped up onto the ledge and looked out over the big city, seeing the street below him, with cars and buses, driving recklessly and honking their horns. He sat down, his legs dangling over the edge, into the void. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a picture. He looked at it and saw her, her auburn hair flowing in the wind, her eyes bright and sparkling. She was looking at him, behind the camera. It had been taken just last year, before the accident, before he got the midnight call from the hospital. She was his life, and without her, he was nothing. He let out a sigh. A tear ran down his face, slowly, and fell down to the street below. He stood up, wiped his eyes and brushed the dust of his shirt, and again looked out over the city. He spread his arms and closed his eyes, and then he heard something. He looked behind him, and on the other side of the roof was a girl, about his age, also sitting on the ledge. She was crying with her hands over her face. He walked over and sat down next to her.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s wrong?” She wiped her eyes and looked at him. “I just found out that my fiance has been cheating on me the whole time. We were going to get married in a few weeks, but then I-I caught him with someone else…I just can’t live with this. He was the most important person in my life, and now I have nobody.” She looked down at the street and sighed.

“I know what you mean,” Adrian said. “My girlfriend just died in a car accident last year, and I’ve been trying to cope ever since. People told me that it’ll only take a little time before I can go back to living my life and not thinking about her every minute of every day, but it never happened. I tried everything, but I just couldn’t get over it. The only thing I could think of next was...you know.” The girl nodded.

“But you know what?” He said. “I think meeting you made me realize just what I was going to do. Loss shouldn’t make you give up. Dropping out of your life won’t fix anything. You have to stay strong and persevere. You’ve only got one shot at life, and you gotta make it count. Forget about that stupid guy, he wasn’t worth it, anyway” The girl stood up and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “You’re right, you know.” She said. “Thank you. You saved my life.”

Adrian looked at her. “And you saved mine. I’m Adrian, by the way.” He extended his hand, and she shook it. “I’m Eve,” she said. “It means life. Kind of ironic, don’t you think?”

“No, not really,” Adrian said. He took her hand, and together, they walked away, ready for whatever challenges life would throw their way.