The low-hanging winter sun in its off-white brilliance shone from the southern end of the Hudson River . The warm, bright rays of the late afternoon illuminated the powder blue of the bridge, complementing the sky blue of the clear day. The usual amount of vehicle traffic shuttled back and forth between New Jersey and Manhattan
A lone figure of an Asian-American man barely out of adolescence stood still at the middle of the bridge. Traffic rushed past him, giving nothing more than a mere passing glance, a momentary distraction in its daily routine. His eyes narrowly gazed out toward the sun, his round face basking in the light of the new year. He closed his eyes to absorb fully the moment, to appreciate intensely the workings of his senses. He opened his eyes wide and looked into the river dark and swirling below, then at himself, his own mortal stature--his legs, his body, his arms stretched out in front of him, his hands and his fingers. He had become more self-aware than ever before.
Taking one quick and deep breath, he launched his body over the railing and into the chilly open air. He descended with the length of his body positioned almost parallel to the surface of the unjudging and giving river. The wind slowed his descent; his long navy blue coat and gray scarf fluttered in the air rushing past him. He closed his eyes and screamed as loud and long as he could--his final exclamation to the world he knew.
Like an errant diver, he plunged headlong into the river with much force, tossing streams and spray of water into the air like a blast of a choreographed fountain. Soon the water calmed, and he disappeared among the fading ripples, only to reappear many hours later as a lifeless body floating near the Jersey- side of the river when the police found him.
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