The Witness

“We were all shocked that day of school. No one had expected it. Honestly, who could’ve seen it coming? Right there, for everyone to see as they came in. There, hanging from the light post in front of the school, from the chain noose around her neck, there hung the corpse of a girl. Her body limply covered in gauze, the gauze covered in ink, but untouched by blood. I guess that's one way to wake you up. No one could see her face, but I knew. I knew exactly who it was.
“Crystal Faehel Insuela. A junior in band, tennis and basketball. one of the top ten of her class. Everyone else knew her as ‘The Over Achiever.’ I knew her as Fae. I guess you could say we were close. I’ve been her friend since she moved here two years ago. Best friend actually, but I guess you’re not asking for specifics. In any case, yeah, I knew her. She was a complicated person if you ask me. She could change gears so fast, if you weren’t paying attention you’d have no idea.
“She was a good student, I mean sure she didn’t get along well with authority, but she had good grades, great really, never got into trouble, save for one or two lunch detentions never for anything major though. Normally just for being late, sometimes for interrupting class, one time she knocked over a desk, but that’s the worst she’s ever done.
“She was a happy person I guess. I’ve never seen her cry. She was always smiling. For the most part at least. Of course there were times when she would say something, out of character I guess you could say.
“We were told that her gauze, the stuff she died in had writing on it. They hung it up in front of the school. I read the entire thing. There was something, one sentence, written to everyone she knew. Mot addressed directly, of course, but it was obvious enough. It must have taken forever. The right was so tiny, and neat, as opposed to her usual chicken scratch. Most of them were insulting. Namely the ones directed at her parents. She never got along very well with them.
“That’s why she killed herself. That’s what you’re saying isn’t it? Because everyone was so mean to her. Because of rumors at school. The thing is, there weren’t any rumors, no one had anything to say to her or about her, and she loved her life. She had a great life. So why? Why would she do it? Because she wanted to know.
“In a way, I guess you could blame me for it. I was the one the brought it up a few months ago when my grandfather died. I kept asking if it hurt, and what it was like. I could have stopped it. I thought it was just another one of her rants. If I gave it a second thought. I could have stopped her, but I didn’t.
“You can check my phone if you want. I didn’t delete the message yet. It’s still there. She told me she was gonna do it, but I didn’t really pay much attention to it.”
I look the police straight in the eyes, and hand them my phone, already showing the message she had sent me the night she did it. I knew exactly what they were reading. I had every letter burned into my head. 'Remember when you asked me what death was like? I think I’ll find out. They hand to phone back to me slowly.' “She wasn’t crazy. Just curious. I remember one day she wanted to know what it would be like to date a rock star. There’s this one guy in our school that always walks around with his guitar, and plays at lunch. You know what she did? She walks right up to him and kisses him. The next day he asked her out. She never answered.
“I asked her out once too. I don’t think she was really paying attention then though. But like I said, she wasn’t crazy. It’s weird you know. Referring to someone in the the past tense. Someone that you were talking to just the previous day. It’s strange how life works.
“Do you know what bothers me the most about this whole thing though? What bothers me the most is that she never said good-bye. She never said good-bye, and she never answered my question.”
I stand up and leave the police there walking aimlessly outside. She never answered my question. Maybe I’ll find out too.