Martha was nineteen. She looked out over the roof of the skyscraper, and seeing the city below shining in the dusk, she was overcome with dizziness. 

The skyscraper was silver, supreme and fortunate in that most beautiful and pure evening, as here and there the wind stirred a few fine filaments of cloud against an absolutely incredible blue background. It was in fact the hour when the city is seized by inspiration and whoever is not blind is swept away by it. 

Looking down, Martha was intrigued at what the feeling of dropping would be like. What it would feel like to fall, and keep falling, until she couldn’t feel anything. She knew what the consequences of her actions would be, but she didn’t know if they were enough to stop her. She came up to the roof of the tower with a purpose.

From that airy height the girl saw the streets and the masses of buildings writhing in the long spasm of sunset, and at the point where the white of the houses ended, the blue of the sea began. Seen from above, the sea looked as if it were rising. And since the veils of the night were advancing from the east, the city became a sweet abyss burning with pulsating lights. Within it were powerful men, and women who were even more powerful, furs and violins, cars glossy as onyx, the neon signs of nightclubs, the entrance halls of darkened mansions, fountains, diamonds, old silent gardens, parties, desires, affairs, and, above all, that consuming sorcery of the evening which provokes dreams of greatness and glory.

Martha hopelessly leaned out over the railing and let herself go. She felt as if she were hovering in the air, but she was falling. Given the extraordinary height of the skyscraper, the streets and squares down at the bottom were very far away. Who knows how long it would take her to get there?

At that hour the terraces and balconies of the top floors were filled with rich and elegant people who were having cocktails and making silly conversation. They were scattered in crowds, and their talk muffled the music. Martha passed before them and several people looked out to watch her. 

Flights of that kind were not rare in the skyscraper and they constituted an interesting diversion for the tenants; this was also the reason why the price of those apartments was very high. 

The sun had not yet completely set and it did its best to illuminate Martha’s simple clothing. She wore a modest, inexpensive spring dress bought off the rack. Yet the lyrical light of the sunset exalted it somewhat, making it seem elegant. From the millionaires’ balconies, gallant hands were stretched out toward her, offering flowers and cocktails. “Miss, would you like a drink? . . . Gentle butterfly, why not stop a minute with us?” 

She laughed, hovering, happily: “No, thanks, friends. I can’t. I’m in a hurry.” 

“Where are you headed?” they asked her. 

“Ah, don’t make me say,” Martha answered sadly, waving her hands in a friendly good-bye. 

A young man, tall, dark, and very distinguished, extended an arm to snatch her. She liked him. And yet Martha quickly defended herself: “How dare you, sir?” and she had time to give him a little tap on the nose. 

The beautiful people, then, were interested in her and that filled her with satisfaction. She felt fascinating, stylish. On the flower-filled terraces, amid the bustle of waiters in white and the bursts of exotic songs, there was talk for a few minutes, perhaps less, of the young woman who was passing by. Some thought her pretty, others thought her so-so, everyone found her interesting. 

“You have your entire life before you,” they told her, “why are you in such a hurry? You still have time to rush around and busy yourself. Stop with us for a little while, it’s only a modest little party among friends, really, you’ll have a good time.” 

Martha hesitated. Did she really want to keep falling? She made an attempt to answer but the force of gravity had already quickly carried her to the floor below, then two, three, four floors below.

Of course, the distance that separated her from the bottom was immense. It is true that she began falling just a little while ago, but the street always seemed very far away. 

In the meantime, however, the sun had plunged into the sea, transforming into a shimmering red mushroom. As a result, it no longer emitted its vivifying rays to light up the girl’s dress.

It was a good thing that the windows and terraces of the skyscraper were almost all illuminated and the bright reflections completely gilded her as she gradually passed by. 

Now Martha no longer saw just groups of carefree people inside the-apartments; at times there were even some businesses where the employees, in black or blue aprons, were sitting at desks in long rows. Several of them were young people as old as or older than she, and weary of the day by now, every once in a while they raised their eyes from their duties and from typewriters.

In this way they too saw her, and a few ran to the windows. “Where are you going? Why so fast? Who are you?” they shouted to her.

“They’re waiting for me down there,” she answered. “I can’t stop. Forgive me.” And again she laughed, wavering on her headlong fall, but it wasn’t like her previous laughter anymore. The night had craftily fallen and Martha started to feel cold. 

In the dark quiet, she had time to recollect. She thought about the sorrow that led her to this moment. She thought of all the times her and her sister, Angela, argued. She thought of how awful it was growing up without a father in her life. She remembered the dark days after her mother’s funeral, sitting in her room crying for all hours of the day, not being able to sleep or eat.  Martha knew she didn’t have a reason to live. Martha remembered laying down and falling asleep pondering this thought. When she woke up, she made a choice. A choice that led to this moment.

Martha looked down and saw a bright halo of lights at the entrance of a building. Here long blacks cars were stopping, looking as small as ants because of the great distance, and men and women were getting out, anxious to go inside. She seemed to make out the sparkling of jewels in that swarm. Above the entrance flags were flying.

They were obviously giving a large party, exactly the kind Martha dreamed of ever since she was a child. She wished she could go to that party. She imagined herself landing nicely on the red carpet rolled out in front of the entrance to the skyscraper. Martha closed her eyes and savored the moment in her mind. When she opened her eyes, she noticed that another girl was falling about thirty feet above her. She was prettier than Martha and she wore a classy evening gown. For some unknown reason she came down much faster than Martha, so that in a few moments she passed by her and disappeared below.

Then she realized that they weren’t alone. Along the sides of the skyscraper many other young women were plunging downward, their faces taut with the excitement of the flight, their hands cheerfully waving as if to say: look at us, here we are, entertain us!

It was a contest, then. And she only had a shabby little dress while those other girls were dressed smartly like fashion models. So self-assured when she began the leap, Martha now felt a tremor growing inside her; perhaps it was just the cold; but it may have been fear too, the fear of having made an error without remedy.

It seemed to be late at night now. The windows were darkened one after another, the echoes of music became more rare, the offices were empty, young men no longer leaned out from the windowsills extending their hands. What time was it? At the entrance to the building down below—which in the meantime had grown larger, and Martha could now distinguish all the architectural details—the lights were still burning, but the bustle of cars had stopped. Every now and then, small groups of people came out of the main floor. Then the lights of the entrance were also turned off. 

Martha felt her heart tightening. Glancing upwards she saw the pinnacle of the skyscraper in all its cruel power. It was almost completely dark. On the top floors a few windows here and there were still lit. And above the top the first glimmer of dawn was spreading. 

It was when Martha saw the sparkling beams of light radiating from a new sun that she realized she did not want to die. She wanted to live a full life. She wanted to graduate college, get married, and die at an old age, knowing her legacy had been fulfilled. But it was too late for her. She now had time to recollect again. She thought about the arguments she had with her sister, Angela. They were petty arguments, argued about for the sake of arguing. Then she thought about all the fun times she had with her sister. Her and Angela did almost everything together. They were born on the same day, in the same month, in the same year. They shared the same birthday, shared the same friends, went to the same college, and took the same classes. Martha couldn’t imagine her life without Angela in it. Martha remembered the time they went rock climbing in Arizona, and Angela would’ve died if it wasn’t for Martha to step in and save her. Martha realized that if she couldn’t imagine a life without Angela, then Angela probably couldn’t imagine a life without her. Martha realized then and there that she did have a reason to live, and that reason was her sister. Martha knew that she needed her sister, and her sister needed her.

“How could I be so selfish?” Martha thought to herself. She wished she could just reverse everything. How could she do this to Angela? To herself? She looked down, and saw that the ground was starting to get closer and closer to her. She felt her body start to pick up speed as gravity pulled her closer to the ground. Martha could feel the wind run through her body as the speed of her descent increased. She knew she had failed her sister.

“I’m so sorry,” was all she managed to whisper until she slammed into the ground and then … darkness. Martha felt groggy. She tried opening her eyes but they felt locked shut. She felt someone softly shaking her. She wanted to open her eyes to see who it was, but grogginess fought her. Martha eventually won the battle and opened her eyes to see Angela beside her bed.

“Hey,” Angela said. “Let’s go get some lunch.”

Martha was flabbergasted. “H- How are you here?”

“How am I here?” Angela asked, confused. “I just walked into your room!”

“Are you dead?” Martha asked.

“Of course not, silly! I’m right here!” Angela exclaimed.

That’s when it hit Martha. The whole drop from the skyscraper was a dream. This thought excited Martha. This meant that she didn’t die. This meant that she didn’t fail Angela. This meant she had another chance at life!

Martha smiled and looked up at Angela. “I would love to get some lunch. Where would you like to go?”