And just like that, it was all over.  On the day of July 27, 2016, I was in the store with my brother when I heard the news.  My mother called me and my heart fell into my stomach.  I could feel the pulse of it through my body.  I was thinking the news I was hearing could not be true.  I started to feel light headed and my skin turned as pale as a ghost.  My worst fear had been confirmed.  I could hear the choking in her throat trying to hold back her tears as she told me that, my friend, Chloe Calhoun, was dead.

I had heard the news of a car crash the night before not knowing it could be someone as precious as Chloe.  That morning I was shopping with my brother to help him buy new supplies for his room.  I was in the paint store with him when my mother had called me from her summer school job.  I ran to the car so as the people in the store would not see me as a stream of tears began to flow down my face.  My body began to tense up as more and more tears fell down slowly drowning me into a state of depression.  All the memories I had with her began coming to my mind.

Whenever you thought of Chloe, you always could imagine her smile.  She had a smile that would make your soul feel happiness even when you were dispirited.  When the people around her were down, she always found a way to make a joke or do something to make us all laugh and uplift our spirits.  Her laugh was contagious, whenever she laughed the area around her would light up with glee, making her aura even more blissful.  Chloe was on my field hockey team last year when she was a senior and I was a junior in high school.  No matter what we did, whether it be one-hundred yard sprints or taking shots on goal, she was always encouraging her teammates and peers to work to the best of their abilities and to never give up.  If you ever needed a reason to smile, she could make you laugh so hard you could topple over from the pain in your stomach.  When someone needed a friend to lean on and talk to, she would give you her heart, her mind, and her ears to listen and help you through whatever troubles you may be having.

When I heard this news, I could not stop the tears from flowing from my eyes.  The pain I felt from the moment I found out continued throughout the day.  My heart was broken.  All I could think was why this could ever happen.  Why did God let this happen?  I felt a deep pit in my stomach as if someone was repeatedly stabbing me with all the force they could muster.  What I felt was indescribable in words, the only way to know what it felt like was to feel it yourself.  All I could think way why.

With her humor, bright smile, her own sense of self, and infectious laughter, she was made into one of the most beautiful people I have ever met in my life.  I have now realised that you can never tell someone too much that you love them, or that you appreciate them for everything they do for you no matter what it is.  Always appreciate the time you have with someone because you never will know if it will be the last.  Losing someone that is so dear to you goes to show that we all sometimes take life for granted.