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Not this time.I will not lose anyone this time.

He quickly spotted Juliet, clinging to the edge of a shattered balcony, her face ashen with terror.

“No,” he whispered, running into the building. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, blocking out all sound.

Please, please. Let me not be too late.

When he reached the balcony level, he was met by a small group of tearful girls. “Please save her! She only climbed up to the broken balcony because we were stuck. Please help her!”

Hector nodded, first gesturing to the stairs that had led him to that space.

“You all need to leave. If this entire floor is unstable, all of us lingering here will only make matters worse. Please, carefully make your way outside,” he instructed quickly.

The girls hesitated for a moment, glancing at Juliet.

“Juliet is my wife. I will do all that I can to get her off that balcony safely.”

At that, the girls carefully and swiftly made their way down. Hector moved closer to the balcony, his heart breaking when he saw Juliet pressed precariously against one wall, her eyes squeezed shut as her fingers wrapped around its stone edges in a white-knuckled grip.

“Juliet,” he called out to her softly so as not to startle her.

She did not respond at first, so he called for her again. This time, her eyes cracked open, and she peered in his direction, her voice breaking as she replied,

“H…Hector?”

“Yes, darling,” he sighed, relieved that she had responded. “I am here. I will get you down from there, all right? I promise.”

“I am so afraid that I can no longer move,” she admitted.

“I know, sweetheart. I know, but you will not be there for much longer. Trust me,” he assured her gently, already studying the mess before him.

It didn’t take him too long to find a relatively stable path for her to traverse that would bring her close enough for him to lift her from the crumbling balcony.

“Juliet, I see a way out. Can you move a little to the right for me?”

She whimpered then opened her eyes a little more before shaking her head frantically and squeezing her eyes shut again.

“Juliet, I know. I understand how scared and reluctant you are to make any moves because you are afraid of falling. But if you stay there, you will become mortally injured, and I would be rather distraught. Do you trust me?”

She nodded, pressing herself further against the corner she had backed herself into.

“Then you need to move, all right?” He waited until she nodded again before he tried once more. “A little to the right, Juliet. Slowly and carefully.”

She followed his instructions, inching in his direction.

“Good, good. Now, take a step forward…yes! That is excellent; you are nearly there. You are doing wonderfully well. Just one more …”

That was when he heard it: the unmistakable crack as the floor finally came apart, and he held out his hands.

“Take my hands, Juliet!”

Juliet grasped his hands as Hector yanked her body onto solid ground as the rest of the balcony disintegrated.

Juliet fell into his tight embrace and began to sob.

“It is all right, Juliet,” he whispered to her softly, stroking her hair gently. “You were so incredibly brave. You saved all those girls and then yourself. I could not be prouder of you.”

As she continued to cry, her shoulders released all the tension they had been holding, and she melted against him, making his heart tingle with affection.