Her hair caused a hurricane of golden brown in front of her face. She lifted her hand to tuck it behind her ear but couldn't find the strength. Her head lowered to glance at her slender wrists. On the left one was the watch her father had given her for her fifteenth birthday. Her other hand stretched across and unhooked the clasp. Caroline's pale white hand stretched out and then released. The watch zoomed down like a comet entering the earth's atmosphere and barely made a splash as it hit the roaring, raging water.

How had she come to be here? What could have made her want to end what others might call the 'perfect' life? Then she remembered her dad's words, 'You should become a famous singer when you grow up.' She had only been five years old when her dad chose her career and future. Around the age of twelve she had explained to her father that she didn't want to be a singer. 'I want to be an actress instead, dad!' she had tried to explain. But he simply ignored her.

Now she stood at the balcony of the Golden Gate Bridge ready to jump down and end her life. A shriek from behind her made her turn quickly, almost losing her balance. A woman with quivering hands held a phone and began to push some of the buttons. 'I- I'm at the Golden Gate Bridge and there's a girl and-,' she stopped when she recognized the girl. 'Oh never mind. False alarm. Sorry.' The woman slapped the phone shut. 'You're Caroline Brown!'
'Yes I am,' Caroline turned back to the water, beginning to reconsider her idea to jump.
She heard the woman walking forward. Then she felt hands on her shoulders. A shriek escaped her mouth as she cut through the air into the violent waves below.

The woman's head peeked over the edge to check on Caroline. When the woman knew Caroline wouldn't be coming back up to the surface of the water, she climbed back into her car.


When she arrived back at her home, she pulled out a list of the top ten singers. A number ten had been printed by her own name. Her eyes scanned down the list and then stopped at '#1 Caroline Brown'. Her hand grabbed a blue pen from the counter next to her and added a check next to the name. 'Four down, five to go.'