Previously on Saving Grace: Grace took a ride with Connor, and he asked what she remembered about her life.

“Come with me.”

He stands abruptly, cutting her off as she struggles to think of anything beyond the last few weeks on campus. Part of her is relieved, her head is starting to spin; part of her is frightened.

A simple thing like remembering her life wasn’t rocket science, so why did it continue to elude her? “Lead the way,” she mumbled, slowly rising from her seat to follow him out of the apartment, onto the street. He set a brisk pace, and she jogged to keep up with his long strides.

“I don’t know what the hurry is,” she called, hoping to lighten the mood, but he neither stopped nor looked back at her. “It’s important Grace, we’re not playing around.”

Playing around? Playing around like he was when he gave her vague answers to her questions? She couldn’t believe how ridiculous he sounded, how strange he was acting now.

Just what exactly was going through the guy’s mind right now? He lead her through a park, stopping on a small bridge that spanned across a pond, climbing up onto the railing with his hands held out to either side of his body as if to embrace God.

“Look at me Grace, I could fly.” His voice wistful, yearning. If she could see his eyes, she imagined they would look the same, reflecting his wish to be up there among the clouds, soaring free. “Get down from there, idiot. You could hurt yourself,” Grace said.

“Imagine, if the bridge were bigger … over a river perhaps, in the middle of the night. I bet it would be beautiful.” He crouched, leaning over to stare at his reflection. She took a step closer to the railing to catch his gaze from the corner of his eye. “The cool wind brushing past your skin, the feeling of your legs shaking from fear from what might be, if you … fell.”

Fell. Falling. Falling. Falling …

Crash, as the water envelops her in its cold embrace, struggling for breath, frightened. She is cold and frightened.

“I imagine it would be horrifying.”

Flailing arms and legs, screaming silently only for the water to rush in, choking her, grabbing her by the neck and cutting off her air. No air. No air.

“And your last thoughts…before the darkness encloses your mind.”

Nothing. Nothing. Just … nothingness.

“But it would be easy, wouldn’t it? To just give up … to just,” he’s standing again, one foot hovering over the pond, “jump.”

“Don’t!” She hears a scream as she darts forward, her hand grabbing the back of his flannel shirt, pulling him back toward her. He stumbles backward off the ledge but jumps back down beside her with a soft thump.

“I know which way to jump,” he states with a shrug, staring at her with a thoughtful frown. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I jumped,” Grace whispered. He stares, unblinking. “And?”

“I …” It wasn’t a dream. “I remember. I remember the fall.”