"I started coming to this bridge six years and a couple of months ago," she began, drawing her legs to her body as she wrapped her slim hands around them, hugging them to herself. "I had just lost my mom then." She paused, sighed and then continued. "My mom was the closest person to me then. I'm kind of a loner, and don't do well with making friends. So, it was a really hard and painful hit for me. I had felt extreme sadness for the first time. It wasn't like I hadn't felt sadness, but I hadn't felt it at that amount before. I was in school when the news got to me that day, I was at the lagoon front. And, as the news kept on ringing in my head and tears rolling down, I sighted the bridge. And then. Different thoughts started running through my mind. It was like all the good things that were going on in my life at the moment, became non-existent and only the sorrows and pains reigned. I felt empty and numb. It felt like it was the end of the road for me." She paused. She released her legs, straightening the right one as she rested her elbow on her left. "That night was the first time I visited this bridge, this exact same spot."

Tari could feel his dry mouth, as he shifted and tried to adjust himself. He still hadn't seen a reason for her to give up. People loss parents all the time, so, what was so depressing about that? But, he kept his thoughts to himself and kept on listening to her story.

She cleared her throat and continued, "My mom was basically the breadwinner of the family. It wasn't like my dad was jobless or something, she simply earned more and took care of most of the family finances. Things began to go downhill for both my dad and me. I had to look for a job to hold myself up," she paused. "I was only eighteen when all these happened or began to happen."

Tari opened and closed his mouth consecutively, not to produce sounds, but to help how dry his mouth felt.

"I got a part-time job, which was super hard. It was my very 'nice friend' that got it for me. My boss was super nice and understanding. He assisted me with whatever I needed and helped me a lot, but I received a lot of night shifts and duties – I mean, well it was for the benefit of my academics. But, it was also as an avenue for my boss to take advantage of me. It wasn't long after all the bliss, that my boss had called me to his office during one of my night shift – which was very odd. But, he was my boss, so I went to his office. He has spoken about how sexy and attractive I looked, how my beauty made heads turn, and how divinely I was made. I simply thanked him. But, he didn't leave it at that and began to approach me. I took steps back, but he told me not to 'be afraid'. " She paused and scoffed. "As if."

Tari began to feel his mouth become drier as she continued, "I was scared to my bones, honestly. But I had also try to look bold and stopped taking those step. " She gave a longer pause. "I don't want to go to details, but that night. Alongside slight violence, my boss raped me. He had even gone further to threaten me, about me telling anyone. For reasons still unknown to me, I was highly scared, that I couldn't even bring myself to tell anyone. I cried myself to sleep every single night. I also felt like strangling myself whenever I saw my boss, every single time. It was eating deep into me, so I felt that I had to open up to someone. I wasn't close to my dad at all, and didn't feel comfortable talking about such a thing to him, so I decided to trust my so-called 'nice friend'. Her very funny reply after I told her was, 'You'd get over it. People get raped all the time, it isn't a new thing dear. Don't worry it isn't as serious as you're taking it, you'd be fine'. I had never heard something so... so ignorant. I had been lost on how to react. It made me so unsure of myself. Made me think I was over-reacting. I had lived like that, trying to zero it from my mind. But, it still kept eating into me. I told no one after my friend, and also began to feel the urge to isolate myself from people, which I almost successfully did. Wasn't successful because, no matter how to try to not talk to people, people would still talk to you."