this is not a duet

I remember my trip two years ago, to San Francisco. I took a cab to this bridge while my sister was on a conference call. I stood there for about two hours, looking down, people watching, and wondering how far down the water was. A girl sat next to me, and asked me, “You’re not going to jump„ are you?” I smiled and reassured her I wasn’t. That I was just a tourist. She then said, “You look a lot like my sister. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable. But I had to ask, can I hug you? You just look so much like her.” I felt awkward at first, but then I realized. “She jumped?” This girl’s face just crumpled, and she started crying. I hugged her, without a second thought, and for some reason I apologized. Not sure what else I could say. She goes, “Those were the last words she ever spoke to me.”

And I will never forget this girl, her name was Ariana.