By the door, a couple stood greeting friends who walked in. Around them stood their children and a few grandchildren. Despite the help of kleenexes, tears streamed down many of their faces leaving behind stains that refused to be rubbed away. Off to the side, sitting on a chair in the back, a young man cried softly to himself, his face held in his hands, speriodically rubbing his short brown hair, wondering if there was anything he could have done to save her from the tragedy. Back in a secluded corner, a young girl in her twenties sobbed, her entire body shaking with every gasp of air she took. The girl’s body remained tight in a ball on the floor as other crying girls held tight to her and each other. But the one part of the room that not many stood near, except those whose eyes remained dry, there lays a closed coffin and within that coffin a young girl barely older than twenty. Her eyes lay closed and a faint smile played at her lips giving her the look of only a peaceful nap but the idea is wiped away by the absence of the usual color that glows in her cheeks and the life that she brings to a room. Instead the room feels cold and void of life.
As time passes the tears in the room subside and the minister walks in and takes the floor beginning to speak words of comfort. Those who have entered the room are now seated as they listen to the words spoken about healing and the afterlife.
“Emma was a wonderful girl who we will all miss,” the minister says solemnly while looking into the eyes of the gathering, “we will never forget her. Now would any of her family or friends like to say anything in memory of her life?”
Slowly rising from their seats, Emma’s parents walked to the front of the room to speak. “Emma was an absolutely wonderful child,” Emma’s father said while still holding the arm of Emma’s softly crying mother, “she was always smiling and still held so much of her innocence. I have been in awe of her from the moment she was born all through the precious years that she was growing up. I still remember the way she would run up to us as a child and bring us flowers or show us the latest insect friend she had made. I remember taking her to her first day of school. And when she went to prom. The way she told me to be easy on the boy who was taking her and how she got upset with me because I didn’t,” he took a deep breath, “she was so young.”
Rubbing his hand across his mouth, Emma’s dad blinked back tears. “We’ll never forget Emma. She has impacted our lives in a way that I could never fully describe. I am so happy for the time we have been able to spend with our precious daughter and hope she is happy in a better place.”
Wrapping his arm around his wife’s shoulders he led her back to her seat and held her against his shoulder as she cried. A moment of silence covered the room with only the sound of soft crying. After a few minutes, a teenage girl rose and stepped to the front of the room, leaning, against the speaker podium as she looked over the crowd. “Hi, my name is Racheal. I know that many of you don’t know me, but I knew Emma. She was amazing and from the minute I heard about her accident up until a day ago, I cried my eyes out. I still cry but memories of her have made me feel so much better. I’d like to share a memory with you now and maybe it can help you feel better too.
“Emma was my piano teacher but she was also my best friend. I remember there was this one time that I came in for my piano lesson and I was just not feeling into it. She must have some sort of emotion sensing superpower because she sensed it right away and instead of having me pull out my piano books she grabbed her coat and she took me out instead. While we were out, she talked through my problems with me. Typical boys issues. I liked this boy but he liked so and so and that so and so happened to be my best friend. That stuff. Well like any best friend would do, she comforted me and told me how much he was missing out. Well after visiting a nail salon was when our fun really started.”

“Don’t I just look marvelous in this outfit?”
Rachel giggled as she scanned over Emma’s absurd outfit. She wore a large purple sun hat with a fuzzy cheetah print coat, green alligator print pants, and huge boots that gave her an added three or four inches along with some extra intimidation provided by the gold spikes running around the heel. “It’s absolutely ravishing! The queen of England would faint with envy if she ever saw you in such an outfit.”
“Do you think I should get it?” Emma laughed.
“Hmmm, I don’t think so. If the queen of England would faint for an outfit like that, imagine what it could do to the general public.”
“Oh I do think you are right.” Both Emma and Rachel burst out laughing as Emma lifted the sun hat off her head and placed in on the hat rack. Thirty minutes later, they stood side by side while sifting through the long rack of consignment jeans in the hopes of finding their next favorite pair.
“So what do you think is cute about a guy. Like what kind of physical feature?”
Rachel thought a minute about Emma’s question. “Ummm...I like it when they have the swoopy hair style, at least when they do it right. Ummm...athletic. I don’t like it when they are super tall cause then they tower over me. Blue eyes are super cute -.”
“So a guy like him?”
Following Emma’s finger, Rachel spied a guy looking through shirts with a friend across the store in the men's clothes. “Yeah he’s pretty attractive.”
“Just attractive?”
“Okay a little more than just attractive.”
“Thats good, ‘cause I saw him glancing at you a few times.” Before Rachel could do a thing Emma had started walking over to the guys. “Hey could you help us. We need a guys opinion. My friend here is torn between two dresses and I am not much good at helping her.” Rachel, blushing from ear to ear, held up two dresses. “Long or short?”
Smiling at Rachel, Emma touched her hand to Rachel’s shoulder telling her she would be back as she stepped away in the direction of the restrooms.

“Emma was so good at finding ways to cheer me up when I was feeling down. She knew exactly how to make me laugh...and happened to know how to embarrass me but get me a guy at the same time,” Rachel’s smile slipped as she sighed, “I have never forgotten how much fun that day was and I never will. I will miss her.” Pushing herself off the podium, Rachel wiped a tear from her face and walked back to her seat. The tale Rachel had told brought tears to the eyes of her family and friends and a comfort that seemed to spread around the room like a thin blanket that slightly took the edge off of the chill in the room.
As Rachel sat in her chair, an old man using the back of the chair in front of him, pulled himself slowly to his feet and began a slow walk to podium. His worn rough hands gripped the wood of the podium as he looked over everyone in the room. His old eyes looked sad and aged. “Someone so young and full of life should not have left the world so early. She was a ray of sunshine on cloudy days.”

Rain poured down from the sky as Bill arrived at the office building he did janitorial work at. Pushing the door open to his old rusty Chevy truck, he drudged through the rain to the front doors of the building. His arms wrapped tightly around his body, he watched the ground for puddles. As he reached for the handle to the entrance door, the sweet ringing sound of a familiar voice stopped him.
“Good morning Bill. I hope you are doing well this wonderful morning.”
“Oh Emma. It’s difficult to see it as wonderful.” Bill said turning to her with a broad smile that crinkled around his eyes.
“It’s all a matter of perspective Bill.”
“And how do you see the rain so I may know the trick?”
“I like to see raindrops as a little watery shield that surrounds a single ray of sunshine. It’s the sun’s way of sharing its energy with the earth. Kinda like coffee. Speaking of which, I have some here for you.” Smiling, Emma pressed a warm cup of coffee into Bill’s wrinkled hands.
“God bless you darling.”
“Thank you,” Emma replied smiling, “and you too. I’ll see you later. Take care.” Waving goodbye, she stepped down the street on her daily walk to work.

“She was a wonderful young girl and I will miss the sunshine she brought to me everyday,” Bill’s lower lip trembled as he looked to the ceiling, “Lord bless her.”
Bill returned to his seat and the silence of the room returned.
The silence rested over the room for a moment slowly comforting the aching hearts that still saw Emma in her deathly sorrowful state. Rising from her chair and stepping to the podium, a middle aged woman swept her eyes over the room. Running her fingers through her thinning hair, she breathed in. “Emma was one of the sweetest girls I knew. She was such a darling and had such a big heart. Losing her will affect all of us deeply. She was a great young girl who just loved to chat and help out wherever she could. I remember the days she would come over to help make blankets for the pregnancy center, we would brew some tea, she would unwrap some homemade treat she had made and all of us girls would sit down and chat for the next two hours while making blankets.”

“Oh the tea is ready! Emma-.”
“I’ve got it Lisa!” Rushing into the kitchen with a tape measure hanging around her neck and a pair of sewing scissors in her back pocket, Emma swept an oven mit onto her hand and slid the screaming kettle of tea off the stove burner and onto a hot pad sitting on the counter. Then spinning around she grabbed five coffee mugs and filled them with steaming water and a tea bag each. Within a few minutes, Lisa, Emma and her three sisters were gathered around the living room, some in chairs and some on the floor.
“So did you guys hear?” Susie, Lisa’s older sister asked, “that young girl, Taylor, had her baby just yesterday. I saw the pictures and he is absolutely gorgeous! A beautiful baby. Seven pounds, six ounces.”
“Really?” Lisa’s two other sisters cooed.
“Just this morning Mrs. Oliver had her baby,” Lisa said while looking up from her quilt embroidering, “a beautiful little girl and such hair! She came out with a head full of thick dark hair!”
The girls all talked babies for a few minutes, oohing and awing at the latest entries into the world.
“So Emma, when is it your turn?” Susie asked smirking.
Emma blushed as she looked at the floor. “I don’t know. I suppose not for a while yet.”
“You still dating that boy, Liam was it?”
“Yes.”
Susie nudged Emma, “you think your gonna marry the boy?”
Emma pulled her knees up under her as she smiled and blushed again, “he hasn’t asked me yet. We’ll see what the future brings.”

“She never did get to have her baby. We will all miss her. Us ladies especially. She brought so much joyous conversation to the room. In memory of Emma, the ladies and I made a blanket for her that we would like to drape over her coffin. We have signed our names to it and would love others to sign it as well. Just a little thank you to her and all the great memories she has given to us.” 
Lisa pulled out a large tie blanket, neon green and zebra print. Lisa and her sister’s signatures were already written in bold black marker in one corner. Carrying the folded blanket close to her, Lisa carried it over to a table where she laid it out, green side up, and placed a fat fabric marker on it. The minutes passed as everyone took turns carefully etching their signature in the empty spaces left on the blanket.
The hour grew late as everyone slowly filed out of the room, ready to get some sleep before the funeral in the morning. Hugs were given, encouraging words said, and more tears were shed before the room was empty. Empty save for one. One young man, who had stayed back in a shadowed corner for the evening, finally rose from his chair and approached the coffin. He breathed heavily as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“I’m so sorry. Emma, I am so sorry. I tried to swerve away. I couldn’t!” His body shook as he slammed his fist against the coffin, “I couldn’t. I was too drunk. Forgive me. Emma, please forgive me.  I will never drink again. I promise....I will never drink again. I promise.” Laying his hand on the coffin, he breathed deeply in and out, keeping his body from trembling. Then pulling his long black hair away from his face, he slid away from the coffin and left the room like the others did.