911 DISPATCH LOG – CALL #2714
Operator: Mira R.
Timestamp: 02:47 a.m.
Location Ping: Riverfront Bridge, Exit 19B
beep.. soft static clicks in as the line connects
[CALL CONNECTED]
Mira:
911, what’s your emergency?
Caller:
..Emergency? No.. hm.. Not yet though.. hahaha
Mira:
Oh. Kay.. Can you tell me your name, sir?
Caller:
Name, why do you need a name.. You’ll know my name tomorrow maybe in the front page or if there is another sensational news today, then maybe in the back pages. You’ll see what all I accomplished and what all I was good for.
Never the bad things though.. hahaha
Mira:
If your name didn’t matter, you wouldn’t have called..
Caller:
I didn’t call to talk.
I wanted someone to hear it, the sound of me cutting through wind, the sound of me peacefully exiting.. The sound of the splash and then no sound, just the silence..
Mira:
You are on a bridge?
Caller:
yeah
Mira:
Is there traffic?
Caller:
It’s 3 AM..
Just me, the water and the drunken drivers, who also may become a part of tomorrow’s newspaper.. Here’s someone who is jumping to his death quite literally and the others who do it figuratively.
chuckles
[3-SECOND PAUSE]
Mira:
It is guilt, isn’t it?
Caller:
…. what?
Mira:
Like it is wrapped around your chest.. You think if you sink deep enough, it will stay behind on the surface
Caller (tense):
you don’t know anything about me..
Mira:
You’re right, I don’t.
But I feel it, every time I pause and listen to your voice… it’s there.. that regret and it’s loud.
Caller:
It was supposed to be me driving.. Not him, he was tired. I knew it.. But I let him take the wheel..
Mira:
Your brother? Your father?
Caller:
My father.. My everything.. He was about to get me and my mom into a big apartment.. He was going to give us the best life we ever had..
Dead on impact.
[4-SECOND SILENCE]
Mira:
What would he say if he were next to you right now?
Caller:
He.. He is not here.. right?.. He would call me a bad son, who doesn’t care about anyone else but only himself..
He will hug me and would say “To complete his life for him” and “To take care of my mom for him”
Mira:
So don’t
Caller:
I ruined everything.. everything we were saving up for, everything they built and everything we dreamed about…
Mira:
You survived and that is not a punishment.. That is permission to do something with the time he didn’t get..
Caller:
To be honest… I don’t know how.
Mira:
That’s okay. Just… not this. Not tonight.
Caller:
I… I don’t think I can move.
Mira:
That’s totally fine. Stay still and stay with me.
[1-MINUTE SILENCE]
Caller:
Are you real?
Mira:
My name is Mira and I am here for you. And I won’t hang up until you are safe.
Caller:
Okay… okay. I’ll show the world how I will rebuild it for him.. I am stepping back now..
[FOOTSTEPS. METAL CREAKING.]
Caller (softly):
Thank you.
Mira:
No, Thank you for calling.
[END OF CALL LOG]
Outcome: Subject escorted safely by officers. Referred for mental health support.
Operator Note: Three second pause before responding triggered emotional insight again. Strong guilt detected. Continue journaling pattern.
The writeup that led me to write this story :
https://ajayan.substack.com/p/3-seconds-that-can-save-your-relationships