The Rope That Told the Truth

"Ready?" Chloe stood at the edge of the cliff, arms spread wide.

"Ready!" Sienna raised the phone. "Starting the livestream!"

She opened the app, adjusted the beauty filter, and forced out a sweet smile.

"Hey, everyone! Sunny is already at Eagle's Beak Cliff!"

"Today, we're doing a super thrilling challenge--Cliffside Life-or-Death Moment!"

Comments poured in.

Chloe waved at the camera, smiling like a flower.

"Guys, I'm standing right at the edge of the cliff. In a second, I'm going to challenge myself to take a few steps along the edge and pretend I lose my balance.

"There's a safety rope around my waist, so it's totally safe. Please don't imitate this!"

As she said that, she shot me a look.

I stood beside her, expressionless.

She frowned and lowered her voice.

"Lena, look at me."

I looked once.

Only once.

Then she suddenly widened her eyes. Her expression turned terrified, and her voice trembled as she shouted, "Don't push me--Lena, what are you doing--don't push me!"

She fell backward.

I stood where I was.

I didn't reach out.

I didn't touch her.

And unlike in my last life, I didn't try to grab her.

I didn't even move a finger.

Chloe's body was already leaning backward.

Her expression shifted from fear to triumph.

Because she thought she was about to hang suspended in midair.

The comments would explode.

She would go viral.

The rope snapped tight.

Then--

A crisp crack sounded.

Like a dry branch breaking.

Chloe's eyes flew open.

This time, it wasn't acting.

It was real.

Her mouth opened. She seemed to want to scream something.

The wind was too loud.

I couldn't hear anything.

She fell.

Her white camisole dress flipped upward, exposing her stomach.

Her hair streamed above her like dark waterweeds.

Her arms clawed through the air and caught nothing.

Then she grew smaller.

Smaller.

Finally, she became a white dot.

Then she vanished into the mist.

Two seconds later, a muffled impact rose from the valley.

Thud.

Like someone had thrown a bag of wet cement off a building.

Then came the echoes.

Thud... thud... thud...

Each one softer than the last.

Then nothing.

The world went quiet.

Sienna held the phone, mouth open, eyes almost bulging from their sockets.

Molly knelt on the ground as if her body had been hollowed out.

Her lips trembled. She couldn't say a word.

The livestream comments went insane.

"Holy crap holy crap holy crap!"

"The rope snapped???"

"Did she actually fall???"

"Call the police!"

"This isn't scripted, right???"

"I recorded it. She really fell!"

Sienna's hand began to shake. She almost dropped the phone.

She looked down at the screen, then up at me.

"Lena... you... you pushed her..."

"I didn't move. How could I have pushed her?"

"But she shouted your name. She told you not to push her."

"I heard that. But I didn't move at all. Didn't you see?"

Sienna's tears fell instantly.

She wasn't grieving.

She was scared.

Because she was the one who bought the rope.

Molly finally started crying, sobbing at the top of her lungs.

"Someone died! Someone died!"

I crouched down and looked at her.

"Molly, call 911."

She shook her head wildly.

"No... I can't..."

I took out my own phone and called 911.

"Hello. Someone fell from Eagle's Beak Cliff scenic park.

"Yes, a girl fell from the cliffside walkway.

"Cause? She was filming a video with a rope tied around her waist. The rope snapped.

"Her roommate bought the rope."

My voice was calm.

So calm that even the dispatcher paused for a moment.

"Miss, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

After hanging up, I looked at Sienna.

Her phone was still livestreaming.

The viewer count had skyrocketed from a few thousand to one hundred fifty thousand.

The comments blurred by too fast to read.

Some people were typing "killer."

Some were typing "call the police."

Some were typing "who bought the rope?"

Sienna finally came back to herself and fumbled to end the livestream.

But she was too panicked. She hit the wrong button and flipped the camera to front-facing mode.

Her tear-streaked face appeared on screen.

"It wasn't me... I didn't buy the rope... Chloe told me to buy it... she said any rope would be fine..."

She slipped up.

The comments went even crazier.

"She said she bought the rope?!"

"Any rope would be fine? For something that dangerous?"

"Isn't this negligent homicide?"

Sienna saw the comments, screamed, and finally ended the livestream.

But it was too late.

The whole internet had screen recordings.

I stood and walked to the railing, looking down.

I couldn't see anything.

Only fog.

And wind.

And the approaching sound of sirens.