In the dim, blue early morning hours, your light was stolen away. From the blue to the black, never to come back, your fate sealed in the serenity of a late June’s dawn. In one terrifying moment you were crept upon like a cloud, gone, without a hug, without a goodbye, without a trace. Only your image remained to haunt us all. An unwilling poster child to a community bereft. A face seared into our collective memory, unmistakable, unforgettable. A beautiful reminder of the short time we had with you, and the pain left of wanting you back. Our celebrity of misfortune.

You may be gone but you are never far from any of us. A name that often falls from our lips, a name sealed in our hearts, and forever synonymous with pain, mystery, and guilt.

A City remained, left to pick up your belongings, and take a hard look into the mirror. A City with more questions than answers. A City who keeps it’s secrets, but lost it’s innocents. It’s evil side incarnate, sleepless, and always present.

May that city one day finally remove the yellow ribbon that symbolizes your absence and embrace the closure of a mystery solved by bringing you home.