I was seven years old, when I saw that movie. It was an adult's film; I should never have seen it. My mother was in hospital, recovering after delivering my baby brother. My father, he was asleep - in the same room I was seeing the movie.

I stared at the screen, clutching the remote so tightly in my hand that it turned white; and the woman on the screen, she stared back at me. There was something in her eyes, dark and blunt, that seemed to kill all the desire to live. She twitched her lips, as if to say something, but her voice failed her. Her face was pale, expressionless; yet I could sense that she despaired.

I heard a soft ominous tune, and a sudden terror of anticipation ran through my blood. The hair on my arms stood lifeless still; then did I first acknowledge how cold it really was, that winter's end. I knew what was going to happen next, as she stood on the edge of the ledge. She didn't look down, she didn't look up; she just stared at me, unaware that I could see her - I wanted to quit, I didn't want to see her perish, such a noble creature!

I raised my arm, pointing the remote at the television set. Then, I saw my hand, trembling - and I knew what I must do; I had the power to end this insanity. However, my fingers were frozen, numb. It dawned on me that I needed to know what would happen next, just to make sure that I was right - that she would jump. She took a step forward; her feet found no ground, and as gravity embraced her she suddenly snapped out of her trance.

Instinctively, she let out a high-pitched shriek, and in the small room her voice was amplified. In an instant I turned off the television, fearing to awaken my father. The reverberations died out, but I could still hear her shriek. I was enveloped in darkness, but I wasn't afraid. A few slivers of street-light infiltrated the room through a translucent window, forming the silhouette of a naked tree branch on it.

I saw the silhouette reach out like a witch's long slender hand, as it always did. Normally, I would cower from this entity, sleeping with my back towards it; but today, I felt bold. The woman seemed to have given it her voice; and the witch seemed to be using it to call out to me, begging me to save her. The silent whisper - I sympathized with her, this entity which I had always feared.

I slowly stood up, stretching my legs; and as I did, I felt my heartbeat quicken. My mind drifted back to the woman - but I made myself believe that I had satisfied my curiosity, and shuffled over to my side of the bed. I slipped into my blanket, thin and softly pink, and pulled it tightly around me. My teddy bear sat alone beside my pillow, but that night I resolved to sleep alone. Alone... that's what I felt most terribly that night. I was thrust into a world of death, grief, and despair; and I wasn't ready for it!

Next morning, I was woken up by my father's "precarious" computer. Unnatural, it was usually I who woke up the earliest in the house. I sat up in bed, staring blankly into my thoughts. I had a dream - it seemed to flow into reality, but I couldn't recollect how; all I knew was that I had an unfinished task at hand. I turned my head around and saw my teddy bear, sitting lifelessly where I had last left it. I stared into it's dull, dusty eyes and wondered if it could talk.

Then I closed my eyes, and several sounds flooded my head: my father typing, the birds chirping, the cars on the streets moving, and a hapless voice calling. Then, I remembered... the witch with the woman's voice. A shiver ran down my spine - was she dead? I spun my head in the opposite direction towards the translucent window, but the hand had disappeared. Curiosity caught the better of me, and I sprung out of bed. I walked into the balcony sedately, counting every step off my fingers.

On reaching the balcony wall, I stood on my toes to peak over the red metallic railing onto the street below. I could see the cars on the street, but the woman was nowhere in sight. Then I reasoned that she must have fallen onto the pavement, and so I stood higher still on the tips of my toes; but the rain shield prevented me from being able to see it. So, I raised my right leg and placed it on the low concrete wall, above which the metallic railing began. Then, with my left leg I pushed the floor and elevated myself onto the railing, clutching it tightly with both my hands. Suddenly, I felt nauseous.

I realized that I was in a very dangerous position, and decided to get back in; but memories of the woman came flooding back to me - her dark eyes, her expressionless face, her despairing heart! Such a noble creature; I needed to confirm that she had indeed perished. So, holding the railing as tightly as I possible could, I turned around and lowered myself onto the rain shield. I was facing the balcony wall; I needed to see down below. So, I carefully twisted my body until I was facing sideways towards the left. Then, in a swift motion, I let go of my right hand and completing the one-eighty degree twist on the narrow platform, I quickly grabbed onto the railing again.

My heart was now racing; the blood was accumulating in my sweaty palms, turning them red. I took a deep breath to calm myself down; then I leaned forward to look at the pavement. Suddenly, my heart froze dead, as I realized that I was staring five stories down to my death. The woman; she wasn't there - I had been tricked by the witch! I pulled myself back against the balcony wall, shattered. My breathing became heavier; it seemed as if I was drowning. I clenched my teeth, as my mind lost it's willpower, exhausted; but then, I heard the most terrifying scream!

That was the most powerful moment in my life - that scream of crazed terror; cutting through my flesh and bones like an icy wind, sending shivers throughout my body. I knew that voice, my father. I turned my head to see him. There he was, in the second balcony from where I stood; his face was marked by devastation, he was wildly waving his hands in hapless agitation, and in his eyes I saw a crazed indecision and disbelief. In that instant, I wanted to survive - for my mother, my father, and my baby brother; I didn't want to die!

That moment, when I needed him the most, my father resolved and rushed away in a mad desperation. I wanted to cry, but I knew that it wasn't the right time. Next, I impulsively spun around - the feat which I had earlier achieved with such great caution, I now accomplished within a split second! In an instant, grappled the railing and pulled myself over it, and for a fraction I felt as though I was both inside and outside my body. I collapsed onto the balcony floor, and started crying.

My father rushed into the balcony, and picking me up, he embraced me. Next, after I had calmed down he looked into my eyes, wiping out my tears, even as he was crying himself; and he gently asked me if I needed anything - and I answered that I wanted to see my mother, my brother, and my teddy bear!