It was a sweltering afternoon, and I hurriedly made my way to the roof top of the office building, climbing approximately four flights of stairs to finally reach the scene! I pushed open the door to the corridor, and a series of hot gusts of wind hit me in the face like slaps, as if scolding me for meddling in things that were none of my business.
Indeed, I was being meddlesome.
The man in front of me is about to jump off the building, but why did he choose such a scorching hot day?
This is a 47-story office building standing in one corner of Kuala Lumpur's city center. I'm just a bubble tea delivery person, and I happened to see this guy in a suit on the roof top of the building across from the 43rd floor. He was standing there, poised as if preparing to jump off...
What exactly is the "preparing to jump off" posture? Certainly not as graceful as an Olympic diving athlete...
Without saying a word, I rushed to the rooftop balcony. My body's limits were telling me, "It's time to lose your weights!" Bubble tea is the root cause.
The man turned towards me, shouting, "Don't you come any closer!" The wind muffled most of his voice, but I could imagine that he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Watching his feet teetering on the edge of the stone wall, I was nearly overcome with fear, and my blood sugar felt like it was plummeting, almost causing me to faint.
This scene was nothing like the plot of a TV drama, especially with the oppressive heat of the sun and the terrifying hot wind, making my sweat pour out as if in an exaggerated manner!
The man shouted again, "Don't you come any closer!"
I replied, "I won't! I didn't come here to tell you to come down!"
"What? What did you say?" It seemed my voice wasn't carrying, as if the direction of the wind could indeed affect where sound travelled. He couldn't hear a word I was saying, so he furrowed his brow and asked, "I can't hear you!"
Seeing this, I took a few steps closer and said, "I said, I didn't come here to tell you to come down..."
He looked at me as I approached, clearly flustered, "Don't you come any closer!" His angry expression was like a tiger deep in the forest, but he wasn't looking to attack; he was seeking death.
I felt a surge of anger; I almost wanted to tell him to jump!
But there was no one here except for the two of us, and I had no idea if there were any security cameras around... If he really jumped, I wouldn't be able to clear my name. I swallowed my frustration and stood my ground. Raising my voice again, I said, "I didn't come here to tell you to come down!"
"What? What did you say?" he asked again. "I can't hear you!"
"What an asshole!"
"You're cursing at me!" Oh My God, how could he hear that curse word from me?
I rolled my eyes and shouted at the top of my lungs, "I have no intention of telling you to come down!"
After some struggle, I finally made my way to his side, though I remained about 3 meters away from him. He was sitting on the edge of the stone wall, with his feet hanging in the air, swaying in the hot wind.
I examined him closely: perhaps due to the heat, his face was greasy, and his disheveled hair seemed to be covered in dandruff. He had a well-proportioned face, though his eyes were a bit small. He was wearing a suit with a slightly askew black tie, likely due to the gusty hot wind. His wristwatch on his left hand seemed expensive, giving me a few guesses: could it be a business failure? Or an investment gone wrong?
Since he had his eyes closed and remained silent for a long time, I broke the silence with a "Hey!" He's shocked and nearly fell off!
My God, if you're truly afraid of death, why jump in the first place?
I didn't utter those words from the depths of my heart. Instead, I stuck to the main point and asked, "Why did you want to jump?"
He shook his head, and the sweat from the tips of his hair splattered all around, landing on me... I bit my tongue to control my temper and asked again, "Why did you want to jump?"
After a series of probing questions, he finally spoke, "People at the company were bullying me... I spent a lot of time working on something, and in the end, the accounting department credited my commission to their accounts... I saved money every day while watching them enjoy Starbucks coffee and dine at the Sushi King. In the end, what do I get? I had nothing!"
Under the scorching sun, I couldn't fully open my eyes, so I squinted as I continued to gaze at him.
I truly couldn't understand why a building as high as 47 stories didn't bring the coolness of higher altitudes. Wasn't it supposed to be cooler at higher elevations? Looking up into the sky, there wasn't a single cloud to provide shade, and the enormous sun was glaringly bright...
He was probably crying, and his tears were mixed with sweat. I could faintly hear his sobbing.
However, I repeated my question, "Why did you want to jump?"
He looked at me and said, "Didn't I just tell you? They were bullying me! I'm facing workplace harassment! My mental state is really off balance now! I'm truly in pain..."
I shrugged, saying, "Just because of that, you want to end-up your life like this? Don't you think they are the ones who should jump?"
"What?" he asked.
"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to go and harm them anyway!" I quickly waved my hands, concerned that I might mislead his broken mind, and it would be terrible if he actually went to commit harm to others. "What I actually mean is... haven't you thought about other options?"
He retorted, "What other options are there? I've lost all will live... They get to enjoy it while I keep working! Like a slave..."
With that, he stood up in frustration, as if all the bitter memories had ignited his anger. Sadly, his anger gave him the courage to end his own life.
I took the thermos bottle out of my backpack and opened the lid. The aroma of the milk tea wafted out, making me feel content. Then, I handed the thermos over to him, but when I saw how sweaty he was, I instinctively pulled my hand back, fearing his sweat might drip into it. It was gross.
He asked, "What's this?"
"Milk tea," I said. "Having a cup of milk tea before you go might be nice, don't you think?"
"Hmm..." He actually considered it. "Well, maybe if I drink it, I'll be reincarnated as a 'pearl' in my next life."
What kind of weird thought was that? He sat down, reaching for the thermos bottle. Just as he was about to take a sip, I quickly warned him, "Be careful, it's hot!"
"Huh? It's hot?"
Yes, it was indeed hot. Drinking scalding hot milk tea under the blazing sun wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. However, if I hadn't reminded him, he might have burned his tongue and accidentally thrown my thermos bottle off the building.
His face carried a touch of sadness, perhaps thinking workplace bullying, a messy suicide attempt, and even the milk tea before dying was scalding hot...
I gave a wry smile and said, "Just bear with it! It tastes really good."
He nodded towards me and said, "It does smell really good! It reminds me of the 'CHAGEE'!"
"Hey!" I pointed my finger at him angrily, giving a serious warning, "Don't mention my competitors! My milk tea is my milk tea, completely different from what they make!"
My outburst startled him, and he quickly said, "Okay, okay, I'll drink it..."
"Slurp! Slurp—Slurp!"
He was gulping it down as if it were nothing.
I found it odd; shouldn't it have been too hot to drink so quickly?
After he finished the milk tea in the thermos and placed it by his side, he exclaimed, "Ah! That was so delicious!" He looked satisfied, like a poor child who hadn't had a drink in days.
He asked, "What's your secret recipe, anyway?"
I thought for a moment and replied, "Tea leaves, powdered milk, water, and... some sugar!"
The man seemed to grasp something, greedily licking the traces of milk tea around his lips. He said, "I don't know why... I feel really happy now, completely different from how I felt earlier."
He looked at me, appearing somewhat embarrassed.
I nodded to him and said, "Can I give you some advice?"
"Sure... but if you're going to tell me to quit my job, then forget it... you don't understand the problems I'm facing."
"I wasn't planning to tell you what to do. I just want to play the role of a wise elder man like your grandfather and share some wisdom with you."
"But my grandfather passed away before I was born."
"Then let me play the role of your grandmother."
"My grandmother remarried after my grandfather passed away, and I've never met her."
"You..." I was almost driven to the edge of the building by his responses!
At this point, I moved my body backwards and retreated to the end of the stone wall. "Regardless of who I am, or who you are... I actually have no right to care about your life or death. But I want you to know that there is only one kind of person in the world who would want to end their life, and that's someone who can't find any meaning in their life."
I smiled and said, "Like my milk tea, for instance! Haha!"
He replied, "Hmm." I believed his answer wasn't about my milk tea.
"Your grievances run deep... your anger has magnified the whole issue, overshadowing many things you want to do. Have you seen the Northern Lights in the Arctic? Have you visited Egypt to see the mummies? Have you been to Washington, USA, to witness their naked street parades? I believe you have many more interesting things you want to experience, and seeking death would only cause you to miss out on so much!"
I climbed down from the stone wall and extended my hand. "Do you know that all souls in this world are fractured?"
He grabbed my hand with his sweaty right hand and said, "Hmm..."
At that moment, I pulled him down, and he chose to come down with me.
I continued, "I just listened to your complaints and grievances. I understand that the unfairness of this company has made you feel like life is not worth living. Many people go through experiences like yours and find themselves in a helpless situation. But I believe there are still many meaningful things waiting for you to do, don't you think?"
He pondered for a long time, saying nothing.
"The question I asked you just now, and the answer is simple. It's because our souls are fractured that we have the space to be filled with interesting things," I explained. "Only those who consider themselves perfect don't need to seek meaningful things to fill the void..."
After saying that, I handed him a business card. "Feel free to visit my bubble tea cafe when you have time."
"Frog... Eye... Bubble Tea Cafe?"
"Yes."
"You're... Desmond Lim? The branch manager of the bubble tea cafe!" He exclaimed in surprise, leaving me with question marks above my head.
I nodded and asked, furrowing my brows, "Is there a problem?"
He ran his hand through his wet hair and curiously asked, "Why would a branch manager like you personally deliver bubble tea? Can't you bear to pay for delivery?"
I rolled my eyes and replied, "As for that question... I'll tell you when you visit my cafe. How about that?"
He smiled.
A genuine smile from deep within!
I knew it; it was that smile! I couldn't be mistaken. He wasn't trying to deceive me; it was filled with gratitude, remorse, joy, and confidence. At that moment, he wasn't thinking about the workplace bullying at his company. I truly hoped he would escape the misery and never consider taking his own life again...
However, I had a strange feeling that someone was watching me from behind.
I turned to look, but there was no one in sight.
Was it just my imagination?
To be continued…
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