Damista Park

"And then, everyone in the room was crying. You hear that Jess? Everyone. I think I cried the most, but, your parents were crying a lot too," I mumbled, looking forward into the clear, delicately blue sky. I paid more attention to the sky today than when I came here with Jess just a few days ago. "We sat right- "my voice cracked as I started to cry again, "right here." I ran my fingers over the carvings we made in the tree I was sitting up against, as tears cascaded down myburning cheeks.

 "Home," I whimpered, letting my fingers sink into the carved letters. "This was our home. Still is if you ask me." I sighed and let my legs straighten, and crumble to the ground, as I threw my head back against our tree and sobbed. The way the rough, brown bark felt against my thin hair reminded me of the last time I was here with Jess. She started breathing heavily as we walked to our tree, planning to write and talk for a while.

"You okay?" I asked her, offering her my hand.

She nodded, and smiled a little through her pale, chapped lips. I walked her over to the tree where she sat down and took a deep breath. By then, I was used to her slow walking, and her heavy breathing, and her long pauses, but I still got scared each time.

"What episode of Sherlock are you on?" She asked, pulling out her notebook from her bag.

"Um, season three episode two, I think," I did the same.

"You know what I wanna do?" She asked. I looked up from my paper and into her ivy green eyes; she was still pretty, even without her hair. I always tried to tell her that, but she didn't believe me.

"I wanna get a parrot and teach it to say 'help! I've been turned into a parrot!'" She chuckled.

I rolled my eyes, "In college, that is happening."

"Definitely." She agreed. We always had a plan to be college roommates and authors together. At that moment, she was my best friend and it just didn't seem like the world would keep spinning without her in it, but she's gone.

And it did.

I pulled out the note she left for me from my pocket.

"Dear Lizzy,

Okay, so, if you're reading this, I'm dead. Yeah, sorry

about that. Hey, at least I got to die being your best friend.

There's really no one else that I'd rather have as a best

friend than you, thanks for that. Thanks for all our

countless nights, staying up late and doing stupid things.

Thanks for all the awkward conversations and

experiences we went through together. Thanks for the

endless music suggestions and the tv show rants. But

most of all, thanks for being the only person in this world

that I truly fell, or- felt, like I could be myself around. Don't

be upset, just live on. Become an author, pursuit our

dream, you can do it I know you can. You know, the

hardest part of all of this wasn't my crappy lungs, or the

endless medicine and hospital trips, or even the

unbearable pain. It was the look in your eyes when you

asked me if I was okay. The way you where begging me

to stay here with you. I'm sorry Lizzy. If it were up to me,

you and I would be best friends until we're all old and lazy