Dear Stranger

Annabelle is a young girl at school who has become socially isolated with a degree of anxiety and depression. We see how this has led her to commit self harm. In this story when she does make a further attempt to commit suicide, she encounters a stranger who drops some possessions for whom Annabelle retrieves them. The stranger has a brief chat with Annabelle letting her know how kind and helpful she is. A little later, her grandfather finds her at a bench, overlooking the River Thames. Clearly she's been here before with previously failed suicide attempts. As they have a conversation about what Annabelle is intent on committing, she has second thoughts (albeit briefly) about what she is about to commit. As she eventually approaches the bridge anyway, she encounters another girl who is also about to commit suicide on the same bridge. In this moment, Annabelle uses her newfound perspective to talk to this girl and reassure her in subtle ways of the value of her life. In this way, it is shown that the meaning here is to reassure and remind such vulnerable people that they have kindness and value within them.