Dear Great-Aunt Cynthia,

It's been a whole year without you being here. One whole year without you. One year since you became an angel. It feels so weird knowing you're gone. May 30th of last year I got a call from my Dad saying you were dying and had a few hours left. My world shattered. I couldn't stop crying, and I begged God to not take you away. There was so much we were supposed to do and see. I wanted to spend more time with you. My once healthy and hardworking aunt was now weighing no more than 60 pounds, and bedridden mostly unresponsive. My once always laughing and happy aunt was now dying. It was then when I started to think about the excruciating pain you were in, and I asked God to take your pain away. I didn't want you to suffer anymore. God did take you later that night.

When I went to bed that night, you visited my dreams. In that dream you kept telling me that you had to leave. You have no idea how much I'll always cherish that dream and I'm forever thankful for that.

One year later, I miss you more than I can explain. I know I will miss you for the rest of my life. Everyone misses you. Sometimes I read our old text messages and look at our pictures. Whenever I see certain things that remind me of you, I smile. Thank you for sending me those little things that remind me of you. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of you. I love telling everyone about you, and the time we spent together. It hurts knowing that I'll never see you again. There's times where I wish you could come back. You were the best at giving advice, and I could really use your help right now.

I pray that I become half the woman you were. Your time on this planet was short, but you had such an impact on all our lives. You motivate me to be the best person I possibly can be. I know that you're an angel watching over all of us. I will continue making you proud. Please keep watching over me. I love you Aunty.

Love,

Your Niece Aaliyah