Father knew that he would die here, because he would never again have the strength to transport himself and Hannah anywhere else.

He discovered the

Dream Island Forum

By accident. Well, sort of by accident. It was what happened when you typed “How do I kill myself” into the search engine. Dream Island. Now also available as an app!

Hurrah!

A platform for people like him. Tired of life. Too cowardly to die. He had found friends. They talked together. They cried together. They encouraged each other. Traded tips. They supported each other in their death wishes and accompanied each other down the last path, so to speak. Since Hannah’s father had joined the community, a young man had hanged himself. One girl had jumped from a roof, another had overdosed on pills. The group had watched them die online, they’d sung and prayed until the goal of their fellow member had been reached.

After the departure of a Dream Island member there was a moment of silence in the forum. The ones left behind lit a candle and

When

HANNAH

Came home one night her father wasn’t there. Nice, she thought, that he seemed to have shaken himself out of his stupor. After an hour Hannah went into the bathroom. Where her father was lying in the bathtub with open eyes and open wrists. He was smiling.

On Dream Island, people cried, hearts flooded the profile picture of Hannah’s father.

Hannah knelt beside him.

Now she was

most definitely alone.