Adler

You lived life on the edge: you loved the speed, the screeching of tires, the seconds when everything could be decided in a single movement. He was different—he loved silence and peace, but he loved you too, so he sighed every time and offered, "If we go, I'll drive." That evening, you didn't give him a chance.

At precisely 9:00 PM, you set off. The rain lashed down as if it wanted to obliterate the city. The lights on the bridge were going out, the road became a black mirror, reflecting only your frantic, second-hungry pupils.

"Let's just cross the bridge. Just once. To the limit. To feel alive," you said, smiling a strained smile that was ready to burst.

He looked at you as if he was trying to remember your very passion, your recklessness.

• You're crazy. Let's go back.

— We'll come back later. I swear, this is the last time.

And he nodded - he believed you, as he always believed.

The car skidded. You were thrown against the guardrail, then into a long, slow flight, where time stretches and you have time to think about how absurdly it all ends: on a bridge, in the rain, at exactly 9:00 PM.

And then—water. Heavy, icy, it rushed into the car, pressing, pulling you down. You reached for it, grabbed your jacket, but the car flipped over and fell deeper, where there was no light.

Then - emptiness.

You emerged, clung to the shore, scratched the clay, gasped for breath and screamed into the darkness:

• Hey! Are you here?!

Silence. Just the rain and your hoarse breathing.

But then you saw him: the current was pulling you further. You reached him, grabbed him, and dragged him to shore, feeling no pain—only sheer terror. You pulled him out and checked his pulse—there was none. Not knowing how to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, you did it anyway: one, two, three.

Suddenly he choked, coughed, spat out water - and this cough became the most beautiful sound in your life.

"Alive!" You cried and laughed, hugging him, happy. "We're alive."

“Next time I’ll actually get behind the wheel…” he whispered, and you laughed through your tears.

You went home in silence. You knew: this was the last time. You would no longer seek adrenaline.