She sat on her childhood bed all pale,
Her droopy, tired eyes staring at me.
They’d sent her home that day those fools they had no hope.
But I did.
She held my hand and we talked about those wonderful times we shared and she said,
“You helped me in the good times and bad, you’ve grown and although I wish I was here to stay,
I must go to a place where I suffer no more.”
And I squeezed her hand and between those moments of tranquility and peace we lay still,
And right when I thought she’d fallen asleep she whispered in a voice only I could hear,
“I love you.”
And as the salty tear rolled down my cold cheek we fell into the deepest sleep.

Oh how I wished I could have done something, said something
But I dwell with the guilt and it follows my every move.
And so the following morning the only person I’d shared my deepest thoughts, secrets
And even my life and no longer have a face of despair and tiredness,
But she had no breath.

Everyday those moments playback in my head like a broken video player.
I think of her last words to me, I think of the countless laughs we shared,
But now their nothing but memories.
And as I lay sobbing and grieving the rain drops fell to the ground and it was as if could hear them falling so gently and peacefully.
It almost seemed that the sky was too, crying.
And just like that my only true friend gone.
Cancer had won, but with the madness of it all,
I rest knowing that my aunt, role model, best friend, and even a secondary mom,
Was finally at peace.

Rest in Paradise
Nelly Ayala (1988-2010)