Suicide And Laughter— Can laughter heal what words can’t?

Do you believe laughter can heal something words can’t?

Tears rattled Sofie’s body from deep within as she staggered towards the window, after grabbing a chair from around the small oval table nearby. Pushing the pink lace curtain to her left, then opening the window, staring down more than two hundred feet from the tenth floor. ‘Maybe death is better than this?’ a voice asked from the depths within her.

She shook her head violently, as tears flowed, staring down at what looked like ants moving below, then said aloud, “Then I need to find out.”

The beep-beep, honk-honk, vroom, whoosh, whizz of engines starting or revving. The flashing of lights, tiny ant-like movement of humans, hustling and bustling to or from work or errands, paralyzed her for a moment as her life replayed. It was rush hour.

She was flung back into the pain and sorrow of her life. The kindness she showed made her a victim. She was raised to be kind. She gave it like rain feeds the earth. She gave it like the sun shines to maintain the Earth, humanity, and economies. She gave it like the moon and stars give to the night, protecting the vulnerable. She sends kindness out into the world like the earth sends a cool breeze to lessen the heat in summer. Her many acts of kindness were like water that quenched the thirst of humans. That water allows plants to grow while feeding humanity, keeping animals alive to feed and serve.

Kindness was her way of giving life, yet it meant nothing to most of the humans who took it. She was watering dead plants. Standing on the chair, then putting her right foot out, she was about to lunge forward to her death when she heard a laugh that halted her movement.

Glancing behind her, tears in her eyes, along with the pain surging in her body and mind, prevent her from seeing his face clearly. He laughed as if he were at one of Bob Hope, Rodney Dangerfield, and Dave Chappelle’s shows. He clapped and laughed as if she were the show. In anger, she stepped back, eased off the chair, staring at him, still boiling in laughter.

She marched towards him in anger and reached out to slap him when he grabbed her and hugged her tightly. He held on as she struggled.

Sofie opened her eyes, “YOU ARE KINDNESS’ written in bold letters, greeted her in a heart made of flowers, facing her on a flag hoist between the wooden footboard of the bed.

Glancing to the left, another sign read, ‘KINDNESS IS ALIVE IN YOU,’ between two poles planted on the wooden floor. Furrowing and unfurrowing her brows, she glanced to her right and read two signs in hearts made of flowers, ‘KINDNESS LIVES HERE,’ ‘KINDNESS MUST NEVER DIE!’

Tears streamed down, and a voice nearby said, “ My name is Moses Lamarr, and you said those words at the Wallace Community Center five years ago to the survivors of the nursing home fire. I lost both of my parents, who were employed there. They died trying to save others. I wanted to end my life, and your words gave me hope and a reason to live,” the voice edged closer.

A tall, brown skinned male, with curly black hair, dressed in black jeans and a white T-shirt with many hearts on it that spelled the word ‘love’ in different fonts, eased to the left side of the bed. He smiled, showing dimples that raced her heart. He sat beside her, took her left hand, then said, “I have been searching for you since. You accidentally left your front door open.”

Moses paused as if to subdue his pain, “As I was about to knock, I heard you crying. I open the door in time to see you about to jump. Laughter was my tool to stop you because I was too far away to prevent you from jumping. And it worked. You are kind, and if you end your life, you allow cruelty to win. You give cruelty life when you try to end your life, destroying the best part of you. You really are Kindness.”

Sofie squeezed his hand, saying, “That door wasn’t accidentally left open by me; it was left open by fate and destiny.”

Giggling as if he got a joke, he shared, “That’s life telling you, kindness must never die.”

Silence played a tune as they stared into each other’s hearts through their eyes.

Then she asked, “How did you know laughter would have worked?”

“I didn’t. I was desperate; I know words wouldn’t have worked. I used the best tool I could find at that moment. But you have proven that laughter really is the best medicine. It saved your life,” he said with affection.

“I am so sorry. I got so tired of being punished and victimized for being kind, I refused to live in a cruel world,” she confessed.

“The world isn’t cruel, it’s the humans who are. Never let them and their cruelty lead you into insanity or take your life. Don’t allow them and their thoughtlessness to injure your mental health,” he encouraged.

They both laughed as he hugged her again.

Never underestimate the power of laughter. It has healing and life-saving powers.

Laughter can heal, allowing us to help ourselves and others. Whom did you heal with laughter?