Yesterday I was planning to jump off a really tall bridge and kill myself. I only went to see Julie Evans to wrap up any loose ends. I didn't actually want to die, I just wanted to forget about the awful things I did… I remember in Primary School, there was a new girl. She was deaf and didn't really sound like the rest of us. Mr Roberts introduced her as Julie Evans. She was little, frail and actually quite cute. She stood there clutching a sign with her delicate, little fingers, her voice soft and static. "Hi! I'm Julie Evans. I hope we can all be friends." Friends! With her? How pathetic! I'm NOT going to be friends with someone like her. Everyone was staring at her, waiting for someone to laugh. So I did. Over those few weeks, she tried to become friends with the rest of my classmates. I would call her names and write mean things in her book. Soon my friends joined in. That progressed to hiding her things, breaking her equipment and eventually, physically hurting her. Still, after everything we did, she would put her fist to her chest and rub it in circles. Why is she apologising? I hated how kind and pure she was. One day, something in me just snapped and I broke her hearing aids. Tears streamed down her face. She held the fragmented pieces and looked up at me. Those once bright eyes bared dullness and lifelessness. I had broke her but at what cost? After that day, the name Julie Evans was a memory of the past. Word got out in High School that l used to bully a deaf girl so bad it got to the point she left the school. It wasn't only me! My friends spread this fact like the plague and soon, nobody liked me. That's not fair! They bullied her too! I shouldn’t have to take all the blame. But then again, I laughed first. It didn't take long until some of my peers started calling me names, writing cruel messages in my books, hiding my property, breaking my equipment and eventually physically hurting me. It's crazy how life has a way of getting you back. In a sense, this was my atonement for the atrocities I committed against her. Julie Evans. My life just dragged along painfully slow. I would walk down the school hallways with my head down, shoulders slumped. When I looked up, I would see an array of purple crosses. On February 10th 2024, I withdrew all the money from my savings. I carefully placed it in an envelope with a note. "Dear Mum, I love you but I just can’t anymore. Tell sis that her big brother is watching over her, ALWAYS." I hid the note and envelope under my bed. I couldn’t go without making amendments first, otherwise, I wouldn't forgive myself even in the grave. So, I set out, and searched for Julie Evans. After weeks of trying I finally found the new school she went to. I waited outside the gates for a long time, the anticipation killing me. I was the boy who ruined her life. At exactly 4:03pm she steps out. She was most likely surprised to see me as she stumbled back a bit. "Hi Julie." It's me Nathan" I signed to her. "You know sign language?" She signs back. "Yeah, erm, it’s just something I learnt over the summer holidays." "Why are you here?" She signs to me, her brows furrowing slightly. "Well, I never really got to properly apologise for what I did". I rubbed my chest in a circle with my fist, that same gesture she did to me those years ago. "I have forgiven you a long time ago," she smiles. We talk, more like sign, a conversation. Mission accomplished. I can finally rest peacefully. I go to the bridge. Tomorrow, I will do it tomorrow. I come back home and my mother greets me with a hug and a kiss. "Hey Nathan", how was school?"