He climbed the parapet wall and looked down.

Eighty feet separated him from the hard ground, a tiled one at that. He looked up. Millions of stars - all eagerly waiting to catch some action. Just 80 feet separated them from him.

Eighty feet.

He had crossed many hurdles, traveled many miles and reached that parapet wall. Eighty more feet and he would be history.

He blinked. He didn’t suffer from depression. He was not short tempered. He believed that death by no means could solve anything.

Yet he stood there on the wall – ready to begin the last journey of his life; the last mile of his quest. The Green Mile indeed.

There was a thunder preceded by a blinding lightning.

He saw God.

And there was a question from Him.

I don’t know what to do God!

God persisted.

I can’t live. If I live, she will die.

Another flash of lightning. He saw his lifeless body on the tiled floor of his apartment complex. The image blurred. Next he saw her on the top of the apartment complex – standing on the parapet wall.

If I live, she will die. She will be murdered.

Then he knew. If he died, she would live but she would end her life. If he didn’t jump off the wall, she would be murdered. Either way it was the end of the road for her. His action would have no effect on the outcome.

He looked at God, eyes moist.

I can’t live without her. If I live, she will die and I will end my life as well because I can’t think of a life without her.

God smiled.

He saw a ripple ripping apart the space time continuum. He saw himself laughing merrily with her – white hair and no teeth.

It is clear God! Either way we will both die. What you are showing me is not real. I don’t know who they are. I don’t know why they want me to kill myself. All I know is that she is with them. And they are merciless. If they can cut the finger of the most beautiful girl in the world and send it as a proof that “she is still alive”, I am sure they would not hesitate to terminate her in the most painful manner.

God replied with silence.

He knew at once what he had to do. He had to gift her, the ability to choose her death. If she wanted to die, she could – as she wanted – according to her protocol. He would not let someone else kill her.

On the other hand, if she wanted to live – to ensure that her man’s sacrifice was not trivialized – He would wait for her up there. He would know he had made the right choice.

The cloud disappeared. His mind was clear and focused. He saw that the last eighty feet of his journey as defined in the protocol did not scare him.

He nodded at God.

God smiled again.

The lightning struck – And persisted – He saw an opening – A way. He walked into the Great Light not waiting for his sweetheart to join him.