I once knew this girl. She was the most upbeat and cheerful person you would ever meet. Her smile was infectious, and I never once saw her cry, until one day in eighth grade, when she received news that her grandmother had suffered from a major stroke. Her grandmother lived, but lost most of her memory and struggled to survive daily life, still I watched her smile, with teary eyes, and move forward with hope.
That summer I texted her and learned that her nephew had passed away. It was apparently the first dead body she had ever seen, she described the experience as shocking and numbing, but the worse part was seeing her brother in shambles, screaming and weeping at the loss of his firstborn. She knew that she had to be there for her family though, so once again she wiped away her tears and finished out the summer, visiting her brother and taking his mind off the tragedy.
