LOVE IN THE HEIGHTS

Hello my name is Sheng and this is my story, I'm from a middle class family, as a boy I didn't suffer for money and since I was a child I've always been with my best friend, Mei, a nice girl, but with a terrible problem, a rare disease which does not allow her to lose weight actually she is not so obese, but she feels very bad about it, right now we are heading to the Shanghai tower building, we are just at the entrance climbing to the top to commit a madness.

Well I put them in context, for the same problem that I told you my friend suffered a lot of bullying at school, college and finally at work, I always felt attracted to her and that's how we became boyfriends, my parents were not very happy with this, but it was my decision, they did not understand and just voted me out of the house with 17 years, my friend didn't have a good time either because her parents didn't treat her so well, they were typical damn parents who think that their children's problems are small, well when we both turned 18, she decided to live with me, since I had been kicked out of my house a year before, I was working first, so I was saving money to rent a place to stay, The truth was not so bad, I got a job where I could support myself very well, thank goodness I did not waste my time with my parents because at a young age I already had a degree, I am very intelligent, of course without boasting, in the end Mei had nothing, only because of her problems she never had the courage to get ahead, she was only belittled and humiliated, I felt bad for her, I really loved her very much.

After separating from her parents she came to me to formalize a relationship, since I had already told her my feelings and she was happy for the first time in her life, things happened fast, we both had jobs to support ourselves, But unfortunately for me this was not good enough, I felt frustrated, I felt I could do more, but she could not be leave her alone, I really wanted to see her happy, every day when she came back from the office she cried because she was always being belittled and humiliated at work, she had to put up with it because of the damn money, she told her to stay home, One night I got up to go to the bathroom and I realized that she was not by my side, I found her in the living room crying, looking at the sale and praying, she wanted to end it all and that I would not suffer anymore for all that I had to endure for her, that made me sad and gave me much more courage to give a better life to my wife, I am a kind and quiet man, but that night I decided as they say to take the bull by the horns, I did not tell them, but I had a degree in programming and this career for these times was a boom!

So then I spent my days, between the job I had and studying a little more to have more experience in my field and get ahead in something else to improve my lifestyle, I am very curious, I studied what I did best, I went through robotics to expand my knowledge, I wanted to be the best, but on the way I did not realize something very important, I was neglecting her, it was strange, I didn't realize it until it was too late, she always came quietly, I only talked very little with her at home to continue with my work, I didn't ask her how she was doing and the times I did she told me that everything was fine, so I assumed that and continued with my work.

The days passed, I had something in my hands and I was close to close a business I was having and it would stabilize us economically, but the fateful night came, I woke up around 3 in the morning to continue working, I had only slept 4 hours because there was little left to finish my project, when I woke up I heard the front door closing and I was surprised I thought someone had entered to steal, but when I turned to see Mei, she was not there I got up to look for her in the house, but I found nothing and that was when I saw a letter on the couch, It was hers, I didn't understand anything, I opened it quickly and she said not to look for her and that I deserved something better and I realized that the noise from the door was hers so I quickly put on my shoes and went out to look for her because I knew she wouldn't be far away, 20 minutes passed and I found her, I quickly grabbed her from behind, she looked at me and started crying I asked her what was wrong, why did she do that, she crying told me that she felt bad about everything, she had no luck in anything and that she felt bad for me, she also told me that I was very skinny and haggard, that I did not know how to help, I had no talent for anything and she told me desperately that I deserved something better, that she was a shackle tying me down, it broke my heart to see her like that, she told me that she had achieved something in her work and that because of bad people, her idea was taken away, they appropriated her idea and promoted her because of her idea, She tried to tell her boss, but he did not believe her, they just made fun of her. I told her that it was not a problem, that soon she would have things solved and we would get ahead, that we would make it because I was closing an important project with a large robotics company and she looked at me, was silent for a few seconds and told me that she had terminal cancer, I was devastated I knelt on the floor and started crying I asked her how much she had left and she told me 3 months at the most, I couldn't do much I didn't have enough money to help her with anything I asked her why she didn't tell me, she told me it was better this way, that I wouldn't have a burden, I told her not to talk nonsense she was the love of my life, everything I did, I did it for her to try to give her a better life and we hugged and cried for a while then I asked her where she was going, She told me that she wanted to end this suffering because the cancer was very advanced and she was not feeling well and did not want to spend her last moments bedridden, she was going to commit suicide by throwing herself off a building, I thought about it for a while and smiling I told her that I was going to go with her to do it, since it would not make sense to continue living without her, at first she did not want to, she told me that I had a bright future and that I should not waste it for her, I insisted so much that in the end she accepted, I told her that if we were going to do that, why not do it in a big way.

And here we are climbing the Shanghai Tower. It was about 6 am, and on the way, we had spent 3 hours. As we cautiously snuck up to the heights of this building, we began to remember the times we spent, both good and bad, while on the 50th floor. We started to be honest with each other. I asked her why she hadn't said anything about the cancer. She told me she only found out when she had 5 months to live and that she didn't want to bother me because I was too busy. I told her that all this was to give her a better quality of life. She looked at me and lowered her head. I told her not to worry, that it was better to spend the last moments together. We were a little tired on the 60th floor, so we started to rest for a while. We talked about what happened in her office. She told me that she had a very profitable project for a place she had discovered to build a shopping center. I hadn't mentioned it until now, but she suffered a lot to get where she was. She had worked in a real estate office and told me she got a big lot. But one day before presenting her project, a colleague stole her presentation and presented it as his own, taking that opportunity from her. She told me she confronted him, and the bastard told her she was a fat woman who didn't deserve anything. That made me furious, but I calmed down for her. I told her that all this would soon be over. Already on the 100th floor, we heard some voices; it seemed to be a millionaire man talking on his cell phone. We didn't pay much attention and quickly slipped away. We arrived at the 128th floor, the last one. We went out of the building, and there was a kind of inclined ramp circling around the building. It was very windy, and when we were going up, I naively told her to be careful not to fall because of the wind. I looked at her, blushing, and remembered what we were there for. She just laughed, and we continued moving forward. We arrived at the last part of the way, climbed the whole ramp, and reached the top of the building. We sat on the edge and looked at the wonderful view of the building for the last time. She started to cry, telling me she was sorry for dragging me here. I was crying too. I told her that it didn't matter, that I would always be with her until the end. At that moment, we stopped, looked at each other, kissed for the last time, and said goodbye. I told her I hoped to see her in the next life, and she told me the same thing. We said it at the same time as we were ready to jump. We turned around to jump backward, and when we turned, I saw someone climbing the ramp. He looked at us and quickly understood what we were going to do and started to run, but we had already jumped. The guy stood still for a while, saw us falling, and then he jumped. I thought he was crazy, but I realized that he had a parachute. Quickly, we started to accelerate as we fell, more so her because she had more weight, and gravity pulled her faster. I couldn't keep up with her because the scare from that man caused me to let go of her hand. The man grabbed me and yelled at me to get into an arrow shape, looking down to reach her. I immediately complied. As we were in the middle of the building, the guy shouted that there was no more time left and I had to open the parachute. I told him no, to wait a little longer, and I watched her fall. Mei looked at me and mumbled something. I started to cry and gritted my teeth. The guy opened the parachute, and I just shouted her name << MEIIIIIIIIII! >> until I was almost hoarse. We landed on a nearby building. I fell to my knees on the ground, screaming her name and crying, hitting the ground. The sir came to me and tried to comfort me. I was upset with him. I grabbed his clothes, shook him, and asked why he had to save me, that it had nothing to do with him. He pushed me, and I fell to the ground. He looked at me and yelled at me, asking what I was thinking and that I should be more grateful for life. Then he told me to think about what she wanted. What he said at the end calmed me down for a moment, and I remembered what she said at the end. I could read her lips and remembered her smiling face telling me, << BE HAPPY FOR BOTH OF THEM>>. My eyes quickly became wet, and I laid down on the floor, crying a lot. The man sat down and accompanied me in my pain for several minutes. I told him about my situation, Mei's story, my story, the problems we went through, and the last decision we made. It turns out that this man was the same guy we had seen on the 100th floor. He was a millionaire who liked extreme things and wanted to go skydiving for a long time. At first, they didn't want to let him do it, but he offered a large amount of money, and in the end, they accepted. In the end, I thanked him, and we left from where we were.

The next day, what happened was in the news. The millionaire did not accuse me. I managed to close the business I had. I buried my wife Mei with the greatest honors in a decent place; even though we never got married, I already considered her as such. I managed to get ahead on my own. Now I have a great company and a luxurious mansion. I went through a lot, but I always remembered her last words to me. I put my fortune into charity, helping to develop various things to assist those in need. I never denied help to anyone who needed it. I founded a cancer organization to help those who seek it. It has been 50 years since that incident, and now I just sit here in my living room, watching the sky through the window, waiting for the time to leave and see her again.

Sometimes you get opportunities from those you least expect, and there are people who sacrifice their own lives for someone else. If something similar to what happened to me happens to you, do not waste the new opportunity given to you by that sacrifice. Carry it high and help those who need it. Good luck, survivor.