At the Cliff of Irrational Arguments

An asylum stood in a recluse town that bordered the coast. The winds came from the west and washed the shore with some pacific waves. Everyday, the asylum's staff walked along the coast with their assigned patients. The serene sounds soothed troubled minds and brought them peace, even if it was for a moment.

One day, one patient had enough. He was on his daily group walk when he lagged behind and the distracted staff failed to notice him. Not long after, he turned around and went in the opposite direction. He walked far, all the way to the edge of the beach. The calm waters turned to foam, and the waves clashed together in a fight. He walked even further, until the sand turned to grass, and the sky turned black. He walked up the hill, that turned steep then transformed into a cliff.

The cliff rose a hundred feet above the water. Below, black rocks speared out of the water, sharp as razors, cutting through the cascading waves into explosive thunders. The man stood at the edge, watching the menacing waves below begging him to jump. He stood still, made a long last prayer, saying goodbye to this cruel world.

Someone, in the distance, spotted the human like silhouette at the edge of the cliff and radioed in the staff. A minute later, panic ensued.

Just like they had rehearsed, the authorities followed protocol and gathered a team of expert therapist, doctors, and the local fire station. They rushed to the cliff before the man had finished his prayer. A life, whether it belongs to a healthy man or the mentally ill, is all too precious.

The doctors lined up, each prepared a sound medical argument relieving the man of any blame. "You are sick. We only want to help."

"No!" the patient yelled. "My body feels just fine. I've had it with believing anyone."

The therapist lined up and each employed their expertise to get the man to walk away from the edge. He wouldn't hear any of their sound arguments.

"I can't take it anymore. If this is all the world has to offer, then I will jump."

It was hopeless.

"Please," the last therapist pleaded and got on his knees. "Please don't jump. You have everything to live for." It was a sincere plea that made the patient reconsider, even if it was only for a second. But then, he remembered why he was there and how he got there. The world was a cruel and unfair place, and it didn't deserve him. Life had driven him to the very edge.

"No!" he answered.

The firemen didn't have much to add. They stood on the grassy land with their axes in hand, feeling useless. There was nothing left to do.

The therapists, the doctors, the firemen, and the staff that had build a human barrier to shield other patients from the horrible view, they all were helpless. They watched the man standing at the edge of the cliff, ready to fall to his death. The menacing waves would wait for his body to fall on the rocks, then they would crash on him once more, swallowing him whole, never to be seen again.

"Hey! Steve? Is that Steve?" A patient with a limp interrupted his own peaceful walk on the beach and asked. A helpful staff, operating as a human barrier, turned to him with eyes filled to the brim.

"Yes" he cried. "It is Steve. He won't come down, he decided to end his life."

"What the... Hey Steve!" The patient broke the human barrier. They parted away and this patient that seemed to know the jumper walked with a pissed-off look on his face. "What in the world is he thinking," this patient muttered.

"Please, be careful." The sentimental therapist, still on his knees, warned. But the pissed off patient ignored them all the same and limped his way toward Steve.

"Hey, Steve!" He yelled once more. The jumper turned around to see a familiar face. "Get down from there right now!" He said in a menacing voice. The jumper was scared, his feet trembled, but he was resolved to complete his mission.

"No!" Steve yelled back.

The limping patient stopped on his tracks. He looked at the team of expert for a moment. He walked to a fireman, grabbed the ax, this one complied, then limped back menacingly towards Steve. Steve's eyes grew wide with shock.

"If you don't get down right now, I'll chop down this mountain, and you will collapse and die!"

The jumper squealed, quickly gathered his feet and ran away from the edge of the cliff, to safety.

The therapist where stunned. The doctors, dumbfounded. The firefighters, laughed. Together, they had thousands of years of expertise, but couldn't save this man if his life depended on it. It took an insane patient with a primitive argument to reach an unreasonable man.

---

I like this story. Every time I watch people chattering online, I think of this story.

---