Zoe

_________________2004 - 2022__________________ Barkskin Watcher Familiar It's not unheard of for dryads to form alliances with nature dragon clans. 2000

May you find solace among the clouds. We will miss you - I will miss you.

Nature welcomes you back into her arms, your dedication to her life acknowledged in your passing. There are too many words to offer yet none seem right. Your light should never have been smothered.

I remember feeling my heart pause when I heard. I don't think I'd really experienced the five stages of grief until that night. I frantically searched the news articles in the dark. It couldn't be true, I don't believe it. But it was and you were gone. I was camping with my family. I didn't want to wake them. I hid in the site toilets and cried. I refused to miss your funeral. I heard it from everyone. Over and over news of you passed through me. The denial lasted so long. Even at your funeral, I couldn't convince myself of it. There's nobody in that box. This isn't real. You'll spring out from somewhere. I still think I see you in the street. But it's been over a year now, and there's nothing more to deny. Only you to remember.



Making you laugh in classes because I'd done something dumb; because I'd crack jokes just to hear you laugh. Sitting in ESUS speaking in wildly inaccurate accents for the whole period. The way you loved listening to me sing, sitting through the practices, performing together on stage. Photography outings and meetings. Pictures of you only I know. Stories you hide but maybe I shouldn't have. Somebody I've seen long before I've known. The way you hug so tightly, afraid to let go. Your voice, your hair, your life. Your dedication to making the world better, forcing us to acknowledge that the way we treat our world needs to change. We hold events in your honor. I pick up the litter others leave behind and think of you all the while. I hope you are well now, that you feel better wherever you are. One day, but not one soon, I'll meet you again. Tell me all that you've learned, all that you've seen.
Farewell, old friend.