Best Friends Forever

The definition of mourning is the expression of deep sorrow for someone who has died, so why is everyone at school saying that they are mourning over Danielle? It’s their fault she’s gone. They were vicious, and cruel people who showed no remorse on others feeling whatsoever. It was their taunting, their teasing, and their hurtful words that finally pushed her over the edge. The only one who is truly mourning is me, and her family. It was me who found the letter in my locker that morning. I remember every word so distinctly.



Molly,

I’m sorry I can’t tell you this face to face, because I know you’d try to stop me. I deserve this, and everyone would be better off without me. I’m really sorry, but that’s how it has to be.

I don’t want you to cry for me, because this is what I want. What I want you to do is to remember the good times we had, alright? Like the time when you, Chris, Jacob, and I went to play laser tag in the middle of the night, and the time you and I spent the night in the school because we were tired of being at home.

I want you to remember those times, and I want you to be happy. I know I was holding you back, and I was disappointing my parents, and that’s why I have to do this.

Tell my mom, dad, and brother that I’m sorry, please?

I love you, Molly. Thank you for being my very best friend, and sticking by me through all this shit. I’m sorry it wasn’t enough though.

-Danielle



The words were etched in my brain, and I’d never be able to forget them. I remember the picture that was in the envelope along with the letter. It was a picture that her brother, Chris, had taken when we’d snuck into an abandoned ware house. It was Danielle helping me climb over the fence, right by the do not enter sign. On the back of the picture, in Danielle’s handwriting it said,

“This will forever be my favorite night, and I want you to remember this one most of all.”

I pulled the picture out off my desk, and unfolded it. Tears immediately sprung to my eyes, as the memory of this night came flooding back.



“Come on, this way.” Danielle said, taking off down a small back trail in the woods. Chris, and I looked at each other, and then took off after her.

“Where are you taking us?” Chris shouted up to Danielle. She only laughed, picking up her pace. It wasn’t long before we finally came to an opening, where there was a large fence. Danielle turned to us, a huge grin on her face.

“Well, who’s going over first?” She asked, out of breath. Chris shook his head, and motioned towards the sign.

“It says Do Not Enter, Dani.” He said, leaning down trying to catch his breath.

“Yeah, so.” She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward. “Looks like you’re going first, Molly.” She said, laughing. She handed the camera she was carrying to Chris. “Take a picture.” She said, intertwining her fingers together, and holding them out for me to step on. I did as she expected, and as soon as my hands grabbed the top of the fence, Chris snapped the picture.

It took a good fifteen minutes for all of us to get over the fence, Chris being last over. Once we were over, we dusted ourselves off, and smiled widely at each other.

“Come on, let’s go explore.” Chris said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. I glanced back at Dani, who only rolled her eyes, and followed close behind. We went in through a broken window in the back, making as little noise as we could. When we were all inside the warehouse, Chris pulled a thing of firecrackers out of his bag.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Dani asked, motioning towards the firecrackers. Chris only shrugged his shoulders, laying the firecrackers on the ground, and pulling out a lighter.

“I’m ‘a light ‘em.” He said, flicking on the lighter, and holding it up to the wire. As soon as it caught, Chris ran, and Dani, and I followed screeching. A few seconds later, the packet of firecrackers went off, echoing loudly through the abandoned building. They went off for a whole minute, Chris holding me close to him, and Dani behind us. When they were out, Danielle slapped his arm.

“You’re a fucking idiot, Chris. If someones here, we’re definitely going to get caught.” She said angrily. Before Chris could reply, he heard one of the warehouse doors opening. We all looked at each other, too stunned to speak.

“Hello, who’s in here?” A voice asked. We could hear his steps coming closer, and we ran towards the window diving out, one right after the other. “Hey, STOP!” The man shouted, running back out, and around to where we were. We took off towards the fence, the man close behind.

“Good going, Chris.” Dani yelled from in front of us. She leapt onto the fence, hauling herself over the top and onto the side of safety. Then it was me, and then Chris. We sat against the fence keeping as quiet as we could. When we were certain that the man was gone, we let out long shaky sighs. No one said anything for a while, until Chris burst out laughing. “It’s not funny, Chris. We could have gotten into some serious trouble.” Dani said, but soon she was joining in on laughing too.



The memory was one of the best I ever had, and I found myself smiling as I thought about it. I folded the picture back up, and shoved it into my purse. I stood up, making my way down to the living room. My mom and dad stood by the door, sad smiles on their faces.

“You ready to go, sweetheart?” My mother asked in a soft tone. I nodded, and followed them out the door. When we got to the church, it looked as if no one was inside, which made me happy. Only the people that mattered were there. I walked in first, my parents closely behind. The first thing I noticed was the open casket that sat quietly at the other end. I quickly made my way over to her, tears now forming in my eyes as I looked down at the delicate girl laying inside. It looked as if she was in a peaceful sleep, and that’s what I was going to believe. That she was just sleeping. I pulled the picture out of my purse, placing it under her hand so it was hidden from anyone else.

“You keep it, Dani. I love you.” I said, closing my eyes, feeling the tear slip down my cheek. I felt someone gently touch my shoulder, and turned to see Chris. His eyes were red and puffy, and that’s what made me finally cry. He wrapped me in a tight hug, kissing the top of my head.

“It’s going to be okay, Molly.” He whispered. I nodded, holding on tighter to him.

The service took twenty minutes, and before I knew it we were standing around an open hole in the ground for another lost soul. They began lowering Dani into the ground, everyone was crying. Chris, and I were first to throw a handful of dirt down on top of the casket. Then it was Dani’s mother and father. Mrs. Card broke down, falling to her knees. She let out a pained wail, and Mr. Card bent down to console her. He was crying as well, whispering things into her ear. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to hold back my tears, but I couldn’t do it. I leaned into Chris, burying my face into his chest as they pushed the mound of dirt into the gaping hole.

Chris and I were the last ones to leave, sitting down beside the grave, telling stories about what we would always get ourselves into with Danielle. We sat there for two hours, retelling our favorite memories until it started to get dark.

“Come on, Molly. We have to go.” Chris said, standing up and offering his hand. I took it, letting him pull me up off the ground. I dusted the dirt off from my dress, and turned to the headstone.

“You’ll always be my best friend, Dani. I won’t ever forget that.” I whispered, as Chris took my hand and pulled me away from the grave. As he pulled me away, I could’ve sworn I saw Dani sitting atop her headstone in the clothes she was wearing the night we snuck into the warehouse, and just for a minute I thought I could hear her saying, “Best Friends Forever, I love you.”