“This ticket makes any wish come true”: Love stops a Japanese teenager from taking his own life

A Twitter user talks of how his mother’s demonstration of love brought him back from the brink, and others share their own stories.

It’s hard to be a teenager. It’s especially hard to be a Japanese teenager, so hard that artificial intelligence robots made in their image easily lapse into depression too. Even with suicide rates at an all-time low, teenagers especially are still succumbing to stress at a worrying rate.

Twitter user @loveglasslip shared an experience where his own teenage life was at its darkest, and what saved him at the crucial moment.

His tweet reads:

“When I was a high school student, I suffered hardship after hardship until it all became too much. I found myself with my feet perched on the railings of the roof of my apartment building, thirteen floors above ground level, with the intention of jumping and ending it all.”
“But right then, my mother caught me. She held something out towards me, pulled straight from her wallet. I recognized it as the ticket that I had made for Mother’s Day in kindergarten. It read “this ticket makes any wish come true”.
The two of us embraced right there on the rooftop and wept together, and since then I’ve never once thought about killing myself.”

The poignant scene of a mother saving her son with his own childhood kindness wasn’t lost on the people of Twitter. Replies of “oh, this is wonderful” and “I’m so glad you didn’t die!” poured in, with multiple noticing “hey, it’s kind of like you were saved by your younger self!”

Other users commented with their own experiences. One commenter, who works in the funeral industry, had this to say:

“I’ve been working at a funeral parlor for nine years, and not once have I seen a pleasant ceremony for a suicide victim. The family left behind always blame themselves, and even if they send off the deceased person with a good ceremony everyone finishes it in low spirits.”
“Everyone dies eventually, you know. I think it’s okay not to rush it.”
“I’m really glad you could grant your mom’s wish.”

Another commenter provided a mother’s perspective.

“I’ve only just become a mother, and this made me cry so hard. All I can say is I’m so glad you were discouraged…!”
“Children are so important, so important that you can’t even understand.”
“If you had jumped, I just know your mother would have lost the ability to smile forever after. Thank goodness you didn’t.”

Finally, one last comment clearly hit a chord with many who were reading through the thread of replies, as it has well over 100 likes.

“This is my first time commenting out of the blue on a viral tweet…”
“This made me cry a lot. In fact, I’m still sobbing as I tweet this reply. I think it’s incredible just knowing that I’m living alongside other people who get it… Sorry, I don’t know how to put it.”
“I feel like I was saved by reading your tweet, in some small way.”

From the huge traction the tweet has gotten on the Internet, to the sympathetic likes and retweets expressing that the original poster wasn’t alone in his turbulent childhood feelings, it’s more important than ever to stress how important it is to hold strong through the difficult parts. And if you’re older, there are many small but vital ways you can help the youth around you, too.

If you or someone you know is in Japan and having suicidal thoughts, there are people here to help. Click here for more info.

Source: Twitter/@loveglasslip via Hachima Kikou
Featured image: Pakutaso



Credit:
at 20:14

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